We continue a look into Biltmore’s photo archives to see more of the construction of Biltmore House. See part 1 here.

Above is a view of the East Elevation from the Vista, 1893

East Façade and Esplanade looking west, 1893
Bad weather caused problems and delays during construction. Subfreezing weather halted masonry work, as mortar would not set. Spring rains flooded the clay pits along the river, stopping the production of bricks.
 
Entrance Hall and Winter Garden looking south, 1893
The Winter Garden is the hub from which the rooms of the main floor radiate. It creates an “all weather” interior courtyard. Particularly in winter, the lush, subtropical plants provide a green, inviting refuge from the cold and sometimes snowy world beyond Biltmore House’s walls.

East Façade, Base of Staircase and Library Wing Looking West, 1894
Stone carvers typically finished ornamental work after rough stone had been set in the wall. The workman standing on the plinth on the Stair Tower provides a sense of scale. 

Biltmore House looking southwest, March 10, 1894
After more than four years of construction, the outline of Biltmore House is apparent. In the foreground, the lower story of the Porte Cochere’s tower nears completion along with the curving interior wall of the Stable Courtyard. Note the scaffolding on the Porte Cochere’s dormers where carved ornament is being finished. The steel trusses will support the roof’s slates and copper ornament when completed. In the distance, the South Terrace (with Pergola below) appears finished. 
 
Stable Complex, 1894

East Façade looking west, 1894
This photo reveals considerable activity on the Esplanade, perhaps due to the deadline for finishing Biltmore House by the end of the following year. The Library and the Bachelors’ Wing appear nearly complete, but much work still needs to be done on the Main Entrance, Grand Staircase, and the main roof running down the center of the structure.

Construction on the east elevation of Biltmore House, including Staircase Tower, 1894 
 
East Façade looking west, December 15, 1894
Biltmore House is nearing completion. The left side of the Esplanade has been cleared and graded, and excavation of the central fountain has begun. The stone carvers remain busy, however, finishing the ornamentation on the exterior walls of the Grand Staircase.

Seeing the majestic appearance of Biltmore House today, you almost believe it was always part of the landscape. In reality, it was a monumental construction project as these photos from the Biltmore archives show in the first of two blog posts.

The House Site viewed from the top of the Rampe Douce, 1889
The photo above shows that Biltmore House was sited on the lower slope of Lone Pine Mountain, near the spot where George Vanderbilt had paused in 1888 to admire the view across the French Broad Valley westward towards Mt. Pisgah. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted determined the orientation of the house, intending to maximize “the good distant outlook.” 
  
Workers Commuting to Biltmore House, 1890
Workers constructed a temporary railroad spur from Biltmore Village (where it joined the main line of the Southern Railroad) to the building site. The railroad brought construction materials from the village. Each morning and evening the train also provided transportation. The stone carvers, aristocrats of the labor force, rode in borrowed passenger cars. The rest of the workers sat on supplies and construction equipment in the open freight cars. Although the rail spur was dismantled when construction was finished, remnants of at least one trestle are still visible and may be seen on the Behind-the-Scenes Legacy of the Land Tour.

Workmen on the Approach Road with Chauncey Beadle, Frederick Law Olmsted, and George Vanderbilt, 1891

On the front row, far right, are shown Chauncey Beadle, hired in 1890 to oversee the estate’s nursery; landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted; and George Vanderbilt. In this photograph one is struck by fascinating details that reflect the lives and labor of the men involved in building the great Approach Road—such as the road crew’s lunch pails on top of the masonry wall. The Approach Road remains one of Olmsted’s enduring masterpieces. He wanted visitors to encounter a variety of plants along the sides of the road as one would see “paintings on the walls of a gallery.” The road was to be a wide corridor, with plants carefully graduated: low shrubs nearest the road, then higher shrubs, followed by low spreading trees, then higher growing pines and hardwoods. Olmsted intended “this arrangement …[to be] irregular, of course, with some caprice.”
 
Foundation of the western wall of the South Terrace looking south, 1891
Rough-hewn limestone for the foundations was delivered to the site by rail, and then moved by hand-cranked, geared hoists. Work began with the walls of Olmsted’s Bowling Green—today the South Terrace—which provided a place to deposit earth excavated from other foundations. The construction of the Bowling Green also offered an opportunity to test the organization of work crews and the procedures that would be used once work began on the house.

View of the Rampe Douce and Vista with construction sheds and train in foreground, Ca. 1892
 
 
The Shrub Garden, or Ramble (left), and Esplanade (right), looking west, 1892
As this photograph reveals, the Esplanade in front of Biltmore House served as the work yard for all construction activities. Note the sheds and yards of the stonecutters and woodworkers; piles of stone, sand, wood, brick, and tile; and the tracks of the railroad. 

The Supervisors, 1892
Represented in this image are on-site contractors and supervisors. The supervising architect from Richard Morris Hunt’s office, Richard Sharp Smith, appears second from right. Others include F.M. Weeks, chief contractor, and W.A. Thompson, chief engineer. Smith designed many of the houses and cottages on the estate and in Biltmore Village. After the completion of Biltmore House, he left the Hunt firm and established his own architectural practice in Asheville. For the next 30 years, Smith designed many private homes and public buildings in Asheville and Western North Carolina.
Stonemasons’ shed on Esplanade, 1892

Workers and a Baldwin steam engine on the Esplanade, 1892

Pre-existing Homestead (foreground), the Gardener’s Cottage and Walled Garden (middle), and the foundations of the Bowling Green and Residence looking northwest (background), February 25, 1893
Here a complex of hewn-log farm buildings occupies the foreground, with the Gardener’s Cottage behind. The latter was the first building to be completed on the estate. This reflected the importance placed by both Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted on beginning the massive task of planting the landscape to hide the scars of construction. The Walled Garden appears nearly complete, while Biltmore House rises on the hill beyond.

See more archival photos in part 2 of our construction blog.
 

In celebration of the April 1898 engagement of George Vanderbilt and Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, we ask an important question: what would you wear for a portrait commemorating your engagement to America’s most eligible bachelor? 

For Edith, the choice was a beautiful blue velvet gown—the perfect backdrop for a diamond and ruby brooch she received from her fiancé as an engagement gift.

During the exhibition A Vanderbilt House Party – The Gilded Age, see not only a stunning re-creation of Edith’s gown, but also a replica of her exquisite brooch—part of a set of jewelry that also included a tiara and necklace. 

The groom-to-be also appears in the Tapestry Gallery of Biltmore House, stylishly attired in a formal evening suit befitting the man labeled “Cupid’s richest captive” in newspapers around the country. Vanderbilt’s engagement was a hot topic for the papers; in the U.S. alone, more than 60 articles were published about his forthcoming wedding. 

While George Vanderbilt drew much public interest, his bride-to-be was mostly unknown outside New York and Newport society. So how did this relationship blossom? 

It’s likely the couple met through George’s match-making relatives. Edith—a decade younger than her future husband—was friends with several of his sisters and nieces. She and her sisters were living in Paris after the death of their parents and grandparents, and it was in Paris and London where Edith and George renewed their acquaintance and embarked on a transatlantic courtship. 

The news of the engagement was welcomed by friends, including the author Paul Leicester Ford, who wrote to George:  
“My dear George,
I am very glad. Marriage is quite good enough for you, and is one of the few really fine things you haven’t had in your life. I wish I knew Miss Dresser better, but the mere glimpse I had of her was enough to make me like her, and time will perhaps fulfill my wish. That you both have my every felicitation, and hope for your happiness, need not be said…..It is a pleasure to me to think of you as having this great happiness added to your life. But in the big love, save a little if you can, for your affectionate friend
Paul.”

Chauncey M. Depew, who served as New York Secretary of State and president of the New York Central Railway, was a family friend who had known George Vanderbilt all his life. On May 13, 1898, he wrote:
“My Dear George,
Accept my cordial congratulations on your engagement. Possessing as you do every thing to make a happy home, and Miss Dresser so charmingly forming the complement. Surely the future is (illegible) secure for married life as the fates have arranged it for you…
Faithfully yours,
Chauncey M. Depew”

Just three months after their engagement was announced, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser and George Vanderbilt wed in Paris with family and close friends attending. After an extended European honeymoon, the newlyweds arrived at Biltmore in October 1898, and Edith Vanderbilt began a new role as hostess of Biltmore.

Learn more about how the Vanderbilts entertained at A Vanderbilt House Party –The Gilded Age continuing through May 27, 2019.

Photos

Main image: Re-creation of Edith Stuyvesant Dresser‘s engagement gown by Cosprop Ltd. of London, shown with George Vanderbilt evening clothing from the Cosprop collection.

Right: Edith Stuyvesant Dresser‘s engagement portrait, 1898.

Left: Close-up of re-creation of Edith Stuyvesant Dresser‘s engagement dress, headpiece, and brooch.