the supreme court and public events from washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. welcome to biltmore in asheville north carolina. we are in america's largest home. it is my privilege to walk you through the house. is a wonderful place to visit. it is an incredibly expensive home. it is a home with more than 33 bedrooms for guests and family. 65 fireplaces, and incredible massive staircase and architectural beauty. welcome to biltmore estate. it is my pleasure to give you a tour through the house. let's go ahead and head in. 's house was constructed over a period of six years starting in the late 1880s and finished in

1895. george vanderbilt, who was the owner of the home and builder of the home, he really envision s this is a getaway for family and friends. he was the youngest son of william henry vanderbilt and the grandson, commodore vanderbilt. this was an incredible family that had been building railroads and shipping industries in new york and across the world. he was really interested in intellectual pursuits. he was a book collector, a print collector and a friend to artists and writers. he was a collector of art and beautiful objects. george washington vanderbilt came to the asheville area when his mother was suffering from malaria. he was accompanying his mother down here for treatments. he fell in love with the landscape and the sweeping views and began to assemble an estate.

he began to acquire land with a vision of creating a house and gardens and a grand estate around it. you wouldn't think for a house this size and this scale that a bachelor would have built that. when he first began building biltmore, it was just he himself and his trustee dog frederick. it was really for family and four friends. it was his primary home though he traveled quite a bit. he fell in love soon thereafter and welcome hand -- welcomed his bride. ever since then it has been a family home. it is a really interesting story. when the architect and george vanderbilt started working together, they had a vision for a very small house. something tucked away into the mountains. as their vision grew, the house literally grew. they traveled to france and england visiting grand

chateau's and great country estates. they took components from each of those. i think they got excited about the idea and the possibilities and the vision for the house grew and grew. it grew into this, the largest home in america. from the exterior, it is very much an american expression of the french renaissance. it has grand, sweeping views framed by the architecture itself. the deep roof lines add quite a bit of drama but most of the architecture has been adapted from the french. we are in the entry hall. you come in through these beautiful, very large oak doors and you are struck by the size of the estate and also the quality of the workmanship. there is beautiful marble, limestone, the construction of the house is really exquisite. the entry hall is the center of this home. is flanked by the winter garden which is a beautiful blast of

space that brings sunlight into the home year-round. and then it leads into the library which is one of the favorite rooms. there are all sorts of spaces for entertaining. then we will proceed into the banquet hall. this is the place for the vanderbilts and their guests to dine every night at 8 pm. it was a very formal affair. gentlemen would be dressed in white tie and ladies would be in their gowns. the table would be set with crystal and china. we still have all that in our collection. this was their main home. they did travel and they had a home in paris, as well. one in washington, d.c. biltmore was their main home. they welcomed guests here. from edith wharton to henry james. many politicians came here and they would dine at this table. it was really a scene of

intellectual interest and exchange. i can only imagine the conversations that were held at this table. >> if you were part of a large party, you would be seated at this table. if you were a guest in small company, he would be at a table set up by this fireplace. it is almost a walk-in fireplace. throughout the house is remarkable carvings. curl better was an immigrant from austria that found his way working in these grand houses. he also worked on the fagade of the metropolitan museum. he did one called the return from the chase and another scene from the opera. he was a great fan of opera and you see many expressions of that throughout the architecture the house. >> this is a space patterned after these grand baronial

reception rooms. this ceiling is a beautifully vaulted wooden ceiling. it really takes your breath away. only in this room, do they have a three bay fireplace and a ceiling that is seven stories high. there are also animal sculptures. as i mentioned, george vanderbilt was a bachelor when he built this house but he soon welcomed edith as his wife. she became the heart of the estate. she was close to the estate workers. she served as hostess of the house not only to vanderbilt guests, but also across the entire estate. we have many stories, particularly in this room, adorable stories of ways that she and auntie supported workers across the state including one of the little girl whose mother was staying in the loft above us and she slipped and through the butler's

leg and asked for a little bite of mrs. vanderbilt office plate. instead of being angry, she fed her a little bite and sent her on her way. she told us how much she thought her mother must've died watching that entire scene. but it gives you an idea of how much beloved the vanderbilts were by the workers. in 1900, the vanderbilts welcomed their most special guest, cornelia vanderbilt. they had only one child but she grew up with the entire state as the playground. we are on our way to the music room. one thing that is really interesting and very unexpected is that the music room and the salon next to it were actually not finished during the

vanderbilt's time here. they were finished much later, almost 80 years later. these spaces were used sometimes for parties but mostly they were cordoned off with velvet curtains. this space remained unfinished until about 1976. it was finished by our former owner who passed away just this past year. this was really a space that he created. space was always supposed to be a music room. for a mysterious reason it was always unfinished. then, the previous owner hired experts in renaissance architecture and in richard moorhouse designs and finished the space the way you see it now. i think one of the most interesting things about this, despite so many fascinating things happening during george vanderbilt's time, this room housed one of the great mysteries. not only do we not know why it is not finished, but in the

1940s is served a very important role in american history. just weeks after pearl harbor was bombed, the national gallery spent -- sent much of their art to biltmore house for safekeeping. it is really interesting how it came about. edith vanderbilt was friends with the art director of the national gallery. he was very impressed with the building and how it was fire safe. he felt that the national gallery collection was at risk. so, he contacted mrs. vanderbilt and asked if he might send 72 pieces of art to biltmore house for safekeeping. they were loaded up on still crates in the middle of a snowstorm in the middle the night and housed in this room. but more at that point was actually open as a museum is much as it is today.

guests were walking past this space with curtains and steel fire doors and having no idea that great works by rembrandt and all the great works of the national gallery were here. so, the artwork was only here for a couple years. it was realized even before the war was completely done that they were not at risk in a way that they thought. was about a year that they were housed in this room and guests were walking past and there were guards on duty and dogs on duty. guests were walking past and had no idea. in 1943, the estate closed to guests because of lack of manpower due to so many being involved in the war and due to rations with gasoline. the artwork hung here on racks safe and tucked away for about another year or year and a half and then was sent back in 1944. this is vanderbilt did not

charge the gallery for that. we have a beautiful letter saying that it was part of her american duty and her patriotic duty to house and keep this art safe at biltmore. so, it is interesting to think why these spaces might not have been finished. many people say it was perhaps because of financial reasons. i'm not quite sure that is the case because there are so many other areas that guests would not have seen that are exquisitely finished. i do not think that if finances have been the deciding factor that those other spaces would have been finished so finally. it is very common that they would have been outfitted with sources from abroad that were from other homes being dismantled. this vanderbilt was very particular. so, i imagine they were waiting to find just the white -- just the right space to outfit.

also, the architect passed away during final stages of construction. i imagine they had grand plans for the room but never got to it. now, we are walking through the tapestry gallery. this space is more than 90 feet long. one of the most expensive spaces in the house and decorated with exquisite tapestries from the 1530s. these are some of the few from a set that really tells of the virtues of man. these are charity and prudence. this is a really special space because it is one of the least formal spaces of the house. this is where they would have greeted their guests, where afternoon tea would've been held, we know that cornelia vanderbilt and any visiting children would come down for tea. during certain times of the

year we like to populate this space with costumes to show what that would have looked like, as well. is a special space that opens up and has exquisite views of the mountains of the estate and beyond. you can just imagine the breezes and how much they would have enjoyed sitting in here with guests in the afternoon. another feature in this room are some of the paintings. we have many paintings in this collection. we have passed the portrait of edith vanderbilt that was done by family friend. we also have two -- one is of maria luisa vanderbilt. then, we are going to go into one of the favorite spaces in the house of our guest, the library. as i mentioned, george vanderbilt was very interested in collecting books. this space was created to showcase part of his collection.

there about 10,300 books in the room surrounding us. that is less than half of his collection. we have more than 22,000 volumes in the collection today. george vanderbilt was reading from a very young age and very interested in the idea of collecting, even at the age of 12 he began keeping a journal of the books he had read which he kept his entire life until his death at age 51. he had read 3159 books during his lifetime. they really span interests. american, english and french literature. he was fascinated with history and fascinated with art, horticulture, we had one of the strongest libraries of horticulture. very interested in architecture and our collection spans all of these topics. they are also bound, custom bound for him and it is magical to be in a space like this, his love of books so clearly comes

through. this room is architecturally very interesting. it is paneled with french walnut. some of these have concealed elements in them were maps and world documents could have been tucked away. i think we get most often, what are the secret passages in secret panels. unfortunately, we do not have any huge underground system of tunnels. but, one of my favorite things is that guests who were staying in certain suites had an area that would connect to a staircase and it would come down for an unexpected passageway behind the mantelpiece and then out the door of office on the second level. they were able to pop down easily from their room, grab a volume that piqued their interest and go back up to their space without disturbing anyone. not only did george vanderbilt host henry james and is important who really enjoyed this library, but at times we have hosted prestigious guests as well. one of them being president and

mrs. obama. they came to asheville to enjoy the mountains and the food here and the golf and everything that asheville has to offer. there is -- they spent a lot of time with us here in the house. the current a family toward them around. when they came to the library they were struck because they are both lovers of books. president obama was particularly transfixed by a glove that we have in our collection. it is very rare dating from 1899. he was very interested in examining the area in the middle east and the boundaries that were in place at the turn- of-the-century and getting the broader worldview. he spent a lot of time explaining how the structures that are seen on the globe at that time really impact our world situation today. thank you for coming to biltmore. i think it gives you an entirely different perspective of america in the 19th century.

it gives you insight into this incredibly fascinating family of the vanderbilts who were key to the growth of america but also into insight into a family who loved books and loved this calm, beautiful area who did a lot to enhance the understanding of farming and forestry in america at that time. you just get this glimpse into another time that does not exist anywhere else. it is a unique place in america. >> our guests, here on the estate, when they first arrived they feel a couple things. they are going to see a certain landscape and layout that does not look like what they left whether they are at the hotel or in their city. has a very specific feel to it. here at biltmore, we strive as hard as we can that the guests today with experience, will experience the same design intent that vanderbilt and

olmstead and hunt laid out in the 1890s. guests would come onto the in- state -- the estate. they would come up the approach road and there were wonderful letters between olmstead and vanderbilt and the gentleman involved at the time on what the guests would experience. olmstead wrote a wonderful letter to vanderbilt saying there would not be any long- range views. the guests would break suddenly to the open area level and the artificial court viewing the house. then, the guests would walk through the house and they would come out on the windows viewing the left side and that view which was the first view that vanderbilt saw before he even purchased any of the property that view would be the culmination of that experience. i think it is very interesting, that was done in the 1890s and even today in this decade,

president obama and his wife and some friends visited the estate on vacation. they came up the approach road and they suddenly came to the house and saw everything about it and then walked through the house and were standing on the loggia and president obama said this is why we came! back in the 1880s, george vanderbilt came and saw this wonderful view in western north carolina. he saw this view of the valley and it captivated him. so, he started purchasing some land and built this home here on the property for him and his guests. the estate, at one time, with all the forestry lands, had grown to 125,000 acres. we are presently right at 8000 acres. we are standing in the middle of a four acre walled garden.

it is an english garden set here in western north carolina. it is just one part of the larger gardens what was historically and what we still call the home grounds. the gardens associated with the biltmore house. soon, much of the land that vanderbilt was purchasing and looking at at the time, because of its proximity to asheville and lived in areas, much of the land had been over for a stated , had been burned over, cut over , people had taken everything from firewood to salt logs off of it. he performed on this land. it was not rich farmland at the time. so, what we are seeing is that the land was not as rich as what we see now. their plan was to rehabilitate the plan -- the land and make

it a hospitality based location for george vanderbilt and his family and friends. olmstead was what we called the first landscape architect. they did not care for that term, but what he looked at was this big picture. he had done everything from central park in new york city, he had done prospect park in brooklyn, he had a vision that could span huge acreage and also that ability to see what he called the picturesque, that pretty little vignette what that would look like. he was a man of great vision. he sort of started landscape architecture in the united states. frederick olmstead had worked with george vanderbilt in the past and worked with the vanderbilt family a number of times in the past. he was a preeminent person to have an estate like this laid

out. he was also at the end of his career. i think that means he didn't have anything left to prove. he could bring in all of his experiences and leave his ego out of it a little bit and paint this broad, beautiful picture that included forestry which is a significant thing that many of our guests don't really see consciously. they see the beautiful backdrops. wonderful rolling, forested hills. it did not look like that when olmstead began. he saw that was an important part of it. it was also very important that the country learn that you could have a scientifically managed forest. they had been doing it for centuries in europe but it wasn't the practice here. he helped bring that together with george vanderbilt. so, as olmstead and vanderbilt were working out the bigger estate and they both understood that scientifically managed forests were going to be a

really important part of the estate, they had to find somebody who can make this happen. the first person they brought in as the first manager, the first forrester was gifford. we all remember him more from the national forest service. he was the first leader of what would become the national forest service. he started his career here at biltmore. it was about what is it going to look like in 20 or 50 years. as director of horticulture here, i have one very important job and that is to maintain the design intent that was historically for the estate. whether it is a lonely of roche road or here in this walled garden. here in the azalea garden or the shrub garden or the water gardens in the italian garden. all of those things had very specific goals that the guests

would experience. it all comes down to that original design and the people that we have making it all come together. that is what makes biltmore. c-span where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. and, today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. c-span was in memphis tennessee earlier this year. for coverage of events commemorating the 50th anniversary of martin luther king jr.'s assassination on

april 4 1968. next, a ceremony remembering what is known as reverend king's mountaintop speech given at the mason temple the night before he was killed. speakers include two of his children bernice king and martin luther king the third as well as injury young who was with reverend king at the time of his shooting. the church of god and christ and the american federation of state and federal municipal counties hosted the event. citizens and brothers, the church of god and christ welcome you to the 2018 mountaintop memorization with a special musical performance by judith mcallister and the southwind high school choir.