The Biltmore Estate is located in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the largest private home in the United States. It was privately owned by George Washington Vanderbilt and his family. The house was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Frederick Law Olmsted designed the landscape. The Biltmore Estate played an important role in the development of the creative architecture of the era and is well known for being the largest house in America. The Biltmore Estate was built between 1889 and 1895. It cost approximately $10,000,000 to build. The Biltmore Estate was built on 125,000 acres of land. It had a total of 250 rooms. A swimming pool and a bowling alley are included in these rooms. There are 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces at the Biltmore estate. The house itself covers 4 acres of land. The house has features such as electric lighting, telephones and an elevator. The Vanderbilts were an extremely wealthy family of the time. George W. Vanderbilt grew up in one of the wealthiest families in the United States. George Washington Vanderbilt was born in 1862. He was one of eight children. He attended Columbia University at the age of sixteen. He initially purchased the land for his mother, who was often ill. He never intended for the house to be open to the public. Frederick Law Olmsted was the principal architect of the Biltmore Estate. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1822. He is also the designer of Stanford University, the grounds of the United States capital, Central Park, and the Niagara Falls State Reserve. Olmsted did not attend college. In 1895 he suffered a nervous breakdown and spent the rest of his life in an asylum in Waverly, Massachusetts. Olmsted died in August 1903. The Biltmore Estate was the last project he built. He...... middle of paper......bGl2ZQ==This site tells about Olmstead. He talks about his life before the Biltmore was built. I learned that Olmstead has created many masterpieces that rival real estate in Europe. Olmstead's career was winding down when he built the Biltmore.Wernick, Robert. "Here is the house that many, many jacks have built. ." EBSCOhost. NP Network. October 25, 2013. This website describes the Biltmore, as a turn-of-the-century pleasure dome for the Vanderbilts, now thriving by offering tourists a great day for their money. Tells how George Washington Vanderbilt conceived the idea for his luxurious residence, details regarding the construction of the palace; Restoration efforts in recent years; Who owns and manages the estate today.