Luxurious Mansions For History-Buffs To Visit Across The U.S.
By MADELINE BUIANO
At 178,926 square feet, this palatial Gilded Age mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, was built in the 1880s for art collector and heir George W. Vanderbilt II.
Biltmore Estate
The 250-room estate is the nation's largest home, with 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. During World War II, it housed priceless works from the National Gallery of Art.
Today, the mansion contains an extensive art collection of over 92,000 items with work from European masters Renoir and Monet and is home to a world-renowned winery.
The lore of this Queen Anne Revival in San Jose, California, begins with Sarah Winchester, widow to firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester.
Winchester Mystery House
After losing her 6-week-old daughter and husband, the wealthy widow moved and began remodeling. Construction on the house never stopped until she died in 1922.
The farmhouse, a 24,000-square-foot, 160-room maze complete with stairways and doors to nowhere, became her lifelong obsession.
This historic home of an influential family named Congdon sits majestically on 12 acres of breathtaking shoreline along Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota.
Glensheen
The Gilded Age mansion is a sprawling 39-room, 27,000-square-foot estate influenced by the contemporary Beaux-Arts movement, with ornate designs and carving.
Today, the University of Minnesota runs Glensheen as a museum. Tours take groups through the home but don't discuss the 1977 slaying of heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse.
U.S. Representative Walter Gresham commissioned this breathtaking 19,082 square-foot fairytale castle in Galveston, Texas, to house his family and host parties.
Bishop's Palace
The eclectic 1892 High Victorian stone mansion with local granite, white limestone, and red sandstone mixes French Renaissance, Richardsonian Romanesque, and New England Shingle.
The interior has London damask wallpaper, Venetian chandeliers, Italian marble, ornate trim, and decadent wood paneling, and the home is part of Galveston's Historic Home Register.
Also known as La Cuesta Encantada in San Simeon, California, the 97,000-acre property was initially bought by publisher William Randolph Hearst's father as a ranch.
Hearst Castle
This palatial 68,500-square-foot estate is a museum, captivating guests with bas-relief knights and 115 rooms, including 40 bathrooms, 38 bedrooms, a beauty salon, and a theater.