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- George Vanderbilt's Biltmore House was completed in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1895.
- The 175,000-square-foot home, now open to the public, is the largest private residence in the US.
- Its holiday display includes 36 interior Christmas trees and 75 others around the 8,000-acre estate.
On Christmas Eve 1895, George Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends to his new home for the first time.
What they saw no doubt astounded them, even by the wealthiest echelon's standards of the era.
The Gilded Age heir — a grandson of one of the richest men in US history — had built a 175,000-square-foot, 250-room French Renaissance Revival-style mansion that was a marvel of modern innovation, with 35 bedrooms, dozens of bathrooms with indoor plumbing, and two electric elevators.
The property, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, was the largest private residence ever built in the US, a record it still holds.
This year, Biltmore is celebrating its 130th Christmas. Its decorations, which are on display until January 4, include 36 Christmas trees inside the home, more than 10,000 ornaments, and 7,740 yards of ribbon.
Take a look inside the largest home in America, and see how it decorates for the holidays.
Gilded Age heir George Vanderbilt commissioned Biltmore House in the 1880s.
In 1888, George Vanderbilt began purchasing land for his future estate after falling in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains.
He selected family-favorite architect Richard Morris Hunt to design and build the home, while Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York City's Central Park, was chosen to design the gardens.
Biltmore was largely completed by December 1895, although final design touches weren't finished until 1898.
The estate is still owned by descendants of George Vanderbilt and is operated as a private company, The Biltmore Company. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1963.
While the largest, Biltmore is just one of the impressive, expansive Gilded Age properties built by the Vanderbilt family, who had multiple ornate homes in Newport, Rhode Island, and throughout New York, some of which were also designed by Richard Morris Hunt.
It's been 130 years since George Vanderbilt opened Biltmore's doors to loved ones for the first time on Christmas Eve in 1895.
The first Christmas celebrations, held just two months after George Vanderbilt moved into his new home, were attended by dozens of Vanderbilt relatives and friends, who took a private railcar to the home, per the estate's website.
On Christmas Eve, the guests enjoyed a meal with multiple courses and candle-lit musical performances. The next morning, the estate's workers and their families were welcomed inside, where they each received gifts. Celebrations continued into the new year.
The first Christmas festivities marked the beginning of an annual tradition, which continued after Vanderbilt married his wife, Edith, in 1898.
In 1906, The New York Times reported that the 30-foot-tall Christmas tree "will bear 1,500 presents, and all these Mrs. Vanderbilt will purchase herself, selecting each gift." Each staff member and former staff member received one each at a Christmas celebration, complete with music and vaudeville performers transported from New York.
Today, visitors to the estate enter through Lodge Gate, which is illuminated for the holidays.
The mansion has been open to the public since 1930, when Vanderbilt's daughter, Cornelia, responded to a call for ways to boost local tourism during the Great Depression.
The entrance to the mansion is flanked by two of the property's more than 110 Christmas trees.
This year, there are 36 decorated Christmas trees inside the mansion and 75 at other locations, such as its winery and retail stores, according to the estate.
The library's traditional holiday decorations also pay tribute to those of the past.
The carved walnut bookcases in the library hold George Vanderbilt's collection of 22,000 books.
For Christmas this year, the room is dressed with sumptuous sashes, evergreen garlands, and winter plants, such as poinsettias. In fact, the estate's decor this year features a total of 1,618 poinsettias.
Mantels at the estate feature evergreen garlands, mistletoe, and holly, as they did in 1895.
The tree in the library is also illuminated with electric lights. In all, there are approximately 45,000 lights and 442 candles inside Biltmore House this year.
The breakfast room also has its own tree, adorned with hand-tied bows.
The estate's decorations feature 7,740 yards of ribbon made from velvet, satin, burlap, and other materials, according to the estate.
Bows also add festive flair to the Tapestry Gallery.
The Vanderbilt family's original art collection is on display at the house. The collection's more than 92,000 items include artworks by Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
To the right of the fireplace is a tapestry called Triumph of Faith, which dates back to 1530.
Seasonal plants in the Winter Garden include Christmas cacti, amaryllises, and poinsettias.
The Winter Garden, a glass-ceilinged room where the Vanderbilts welcomed their guests, is one of the first spaces that visitors experience on the tour of the home.
Other parts of the estate, such as the Biltmore Winery, also twinkle with festive lights.
George Vanderbilt was a collector of fine wines. More than 50 years after his death in 1914, the first grapevines were planted at Biltmore in 1971, and its winery — a converted dairy barn — opened to the public in 1985.
George Vanderbilt's grandson William Cecil, who co-managed the estate, called the winery's opening "the most historic event since my grandfather had opened his estate to his family on Christmas Day ninety years earlier," per The Biltmore Company.
Even Biltmore's wine shop is decked out for the holidays.
The estate makes a variety of wines, including malbec, chardonnay, pinot grigio, and Brut.
A large Christmas tree welcomes guests to The Inn on Biltmore Estate.
The Inn on Biltmore Estate is 4 miles from the mansion, although it's still within the grounds, which span 8,000 acres.
The Inn is a newer addition to the historic estate — it was constructed in the '90s and opened in 2001.
Wreaths and garlands line stairways to the dining room at The Inn.
As in the main house, the holiday decor uses traditional colors, ribbons, and natural elements.
At Antler Hill Village, visitors can shop and dine among bright-colored light displays.
Antler Hill Village, a shopping and dining area 2 miles from the mansion, features more than 75,000 lights this year, including a 25-foot tree made from lights.
Guests visiting Biltmore this Christmas can see the Vanderbilts' traditions brought to life.
Biltmore's dazzling decor pays tribute to the Gilded Age estate's inaugural Christmas, recreating the festive atmosphere George Vanderbilt and his staff conjured for his loved ones 130 years ago.
Daytime tickets to view the decorations and tour the home start at $130, which includes an audio tour, access to the full grounds, and a complimentary wine tasting. Candlelight admission starts at $150.
