The library at Biltmore House, the largest privately-owned house in the United States. It was built around 1890 as a summer home by George Washington. The two-tier, 40- by 60-foot library contains 10,000 volumes housed in walnut-paneled bookcases and a fireplace surrounded by a carved, black-marble mantel. On the second floor of the library, there is a secret door that George Vanderbilt used to come down directly from his bedroom to locate or return a book. This may be the grandest private library in the United States, and it is certainly the most recognizable.
