CityView Magazine

C C Christmas at Biltmore See America's largest home decorated for the holidays BY DIANE SILCOX-JARRETT hristmas at Biltmore is for all the senses. Just ask Cathy Barnhardt, floral display man- ager of the Biltmore House. She should know because for the past 34 years Barnhardt has helped deck the halls at Biltmore. Growing up in Ashe- ville, she dreamt of returning to Bilt- more aſter college and working in its gardens. Her dream came true when she got her first job working in the Green- house and the English Walled Garden. That year she was asked, along with the curator and the house manager, to decorate the Biltmore for the holidays. "I have been involved with Christmas at the Biltmore since its infancy," she said. This year, as for each Christmas, when visitors enter at the grand hallway they will return to an era when horse drawn carriages brought friends and family from the train station to visit the Vanderbilts. Because of fire codes, some of the decoration is artificial, but the majority is real. Fresh evergreen gar- lands will be hanging from fireplaces, raſters and stair railings, candles will be in the windows, and the house will be adorned with fiſty-seven trees all decorated in the Gilded Style. The Ban- quet Hall will feature a 34-feet-tall tree. "Once you put a tree of that size up then the whole house begins to smell like Christmas," Barnhardt said. Barnhardt has used her knowledge of historical gardens and her research of the era to make sure the Biltmore house is decorated in a way that would please George and Edith Vanderbilt. "When we first began decorating the house for Christmas we got in touch with the other Vanderbilt homes to see what type of decorations they knew had been used. There were no photographs of the home taken during the holidays and no original ornaments exist, only written descriptions of some decorations," said Barnhardt. "But we have stayed true to creating an authentic feel for the era." Within the extensive research on the Biltmore, which in- Christmas at cluded some oral histories, Barnhardt said what truly inspires the festive air around the estate is the love the family obviously had for the holidays. George Vanderbilt chose to have his grand house warming for the estate on Christ- mas Eve in 1895. He opened the doors to family and friends who made the long trip to the North Carolina Mountains by train, many staying for several weeks. The Vanderbilts extended their Christmas joy beyond their family and CityViewNC.com | 31

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