Biltmore Estate, sneaky laundry pics!

[streakers]

Hey folks, just did a trip to the Smoky Mountaibs last week and spent some time also at the Biltmore Estate...

Magnificent location and masterpiece of architecture... But, you're not allowed to take photographs inside... However, the laundry just called me and I had to whip out my phone and take a couple of quick one! I had my big DSLR around my neck, but I'm sure the loud clicking of the shutter would have had someone come and escort me off the premises in a flash!

Only a couple, and somewhat poor quality, but I found them cool and wanted to share...

 

[streakers]

[No message]

 

[aamassther]

The Estate is one of my favourite places to go. Have been a pass holder for years. Love the laundry too, duh. Lol. My favourite vignette is the one with the gold dust powder and the javel water. My spouse now works security there, I keep asking for a behind the scenes tour of the laundry rooms.

 

[launderess]

There are several *official* Websites of the Biltmore Estate

Giving details and pictures of the various systems and appliances including the laundry. We've had a few discussions about the place here before in the past.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/biltmore-techtour/1316

https://haroldrossfineart.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/images-from-the-biltmore-estate-part-5/

http://randwulf.com/hogwarts/biltmore.html

In fact there is so much out there in terms of photographs of Biltmore one assumes there must be an official channel for approval. I mean scores of websites cannot have taken and used "illicit" snaps.

Believe it or not the heirs of George Vanderbilt still own the estate and company that runs the farming/land business of the estate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltmore_Estate

Great pictures and glad you all had a nice time. Interesting when you think in real life period across the Pond most of the great country houses in England and much of Europe were almost hovels in comparison. George Vanderbilt made sure his new home had very mod con his money and technology could provide.

Unlike in much of Britain the Biltmore had full indoor plumbing, fully wired for electricity, central heating and so forth. Have said this before but is worth repeating; many American heiresses who married into the British peerage at this time were *shocked* at their new homes. Those drafty old piles were freezing much of the year (despite fireplaces and in some instances limited central heating), dark (no universal electricity) and above all often lacked full indoor plumbing. These girls had never seen a slop jar nor used a basin and ewer in their lives.

One American girl wrote to her mother saying she no longer accepted dinner or ball invitations because the houses were too cold to run around in formal wear. She also said at home she kept her furs on except when in bed.

Like Downton Abbey it was these heiresses money that went to improving if not preventing from falling down these vast English estates.

 

[norgeway]

I Wish!!!

They still made Biltmore Ice Cream, it was BY FAR the best ice cream I ever ate, all the stores used to have it.

 

[jetcone]

Wow

That laundry room is super cool!!

 

[jeb]

estate

I took the behind the scenes tour this summer . Down in the basement, where the guild was explaining the first refrigeration system there was a very early automatic washer. It was a Frontloader, very tall, with a round glass door about waist high. It looked very early commercial laundry but much smaller. I tried to get a better look at it but the guild didn't seem to think it was that important and knew nothing about it ( go figure !). One thing I did find interesting about the estate, it was built when the fight between A/C and D/c current was going on. The house is wired for both but when A/C won out the D/C was used to run the call bells, house phones and many other internal systems. JEB

 

[ovrphil]

I love this place, too - we visited it when it was allowed to drive up to the entrance and park our cars. Back then, the heir greeted us, William Cecil Sr. and stood in the entranceway and stairway, telling us how he played in this house as a kid. Back in 1986, it was a small group of visitors, very small..no winery or all the other features that have helped it thrive. I hear when sr. dies, the tax collector is asking 55% of the taxes owned for the estate, which will be interesting to see what happens. With Bill Cecil Sr.'s personal introduction to our tour, he explained the plans to expand, improve and make Biltmore a more self-sustaining place with more venues and features. At the time, we couldn't go upstairs, they were just beginning to lay out a plan of renovations and that wasn't in the top end of the list. The last time we visited was the early 90's...need to visit again, soon.

The laundry photos are much more complete than anything we ever remember seeing - thanks for the postings.

 

[launderess]

If you read one of the links provided about the infrastructure of the Biltmore estate a section deals with the two immense tube boilers (coal fired) and hot water system.

Apparently the system provided hot water at three (IIRC) temperatures. One was near 180F (laundry, kitchen, etc...), another was tempered down to around 120F or so for household use (bathing and so forth), and finally yet another temperature water was sent to the greenhouses.

One of the earliest uses of water heaters on both sides of the pond was to provide heat to greenhouses especially in northern European countries. This allowed for the growing of temperate flowers and even veggies in places like England that pretty much are cold and or damp most of the year. You also had orangeries where citrus fruits ( a treat then in northern Europe) such as oranges could be grown. Versailles has such a place along with other greenhouses.

In the years before freezing, decent canning and other ways to store fruits and veggies long term you wanted to have some sort of year round supply. Also "hot house" flower growing allowed for roses, orchids and other such plants to be grown year around and also outside of their normal range. In the days before chemical air fresheners flowers were much in demand. Not only were they the basis for many perfumes but you placed cut ones around for their beauty and to freshen the air. This by the way is one of the main reasons behind the tradition of flowers and funerals. In days before really effective embalming corpses began rotting almost at once. If you don't get it in the ground or vault you need something to mask the stench. When funerals were held at home you can imagine what your house smelled like with a dead body in the front parlor for a day or few.