WALL STREET JOURNAL – By Julia M. Klein, Saturday 3 December 2011
From the first, improbable view of Biltmore, looming over a vast lawn and framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains, we know we are in the realm of fantasy.
The 250-room mansion, America’s largest privately owned dwelling, immediately evokes the Loire Valley châteaux on which it was modeled. On closer inspection, the eclecticism and asymmetry of Richard Morris Hunt’s design come into focus. In keeping with the era’s revivalist predilections, the limestone facade incorporates Gothic spires and gargoyles, Romanesque arches, a Victorian conservatory and a freestanding Renaissance stairway.
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