Biltmore Estate

Welcome viewers to the Biltmore Estate here in Asheville, North Carolina. It once sat upon 125,000 acres of land, but from what I understand today, that has changed. It now sits on 80,000 acres. The mansion itself took six years to build, from 1889-1895, the owner George Vanderbilt inherited $12 million from his families fortune, however, there are only theories and ideas today as to how much it cost to build the house. George Vanderbilt refused to say how much, but it is speculated to be around 9 to 10 million, talk about costing a pretty penny.The house alone is huge, covering more than 4 acres of floor space and including 250 rooms, a swimming pool, multiple kitchens, and a bowling alley. There were even boasts of electric lighting, telephones, and even an elevator in this house around the 1890's. Construction again was six years, the workers, if you had experience, were paid $12.00 a week, if you were not very skilled in stone work than payment would some times be about half that, yet money went a long way back then.