Biltmore, the opulent 250-room French Renaissance chateau, nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, was the vision of George Washington Vanderbilt, carried out by renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt. Construction began in 1889 and the opulent estate, with grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, was opened on Christmas Eve in 1895 to family and friends.

Crane created this lavish summer retreat for his wife, Florence Higinbotham Crane and three children, Cornelius and Florence. The Crane Estate would come to exemplify the American Country Place Era, which emphasized the integration of indoor and outdoor spaces.

William Seward and Eliza (Lila) Osgood Vanderbilt Webb were married in 1881 and acquired some 32 area farms from 1886 until 1902 to create their 3,800 agricultural estate, Shelburne Farm on Lake Champlain.

Rosemary’s Farm or sometimes called the Conklin Estate was a Long Island Gold Coast estate on the hills overlooking Cold Spring Harbor. The estate was owned by Ronald Conklin, who operated realty firms, and his wife who was an opera singer and had her own private outdoor amphitheater.

The story of Kykuit began with philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil and the estate he built that was home to four generations of the Rockefeller family. The 40-room Georgian-style historic home in Pocantico Hills was built in 1913.

Coe Hall is the 65-room centerpiece of the 409-acre Planting Fields Historic State Park located in Oyster Bay, New York. The estate was originally landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, featuring greenhouses, rolling lawns, formal gardens, woodland paths and outstanding plant collections.

Westbook Farms started when William Bayard Cutting purchased the George C. Lorillard estate on the Connetiquot River in the Long Island town of Great River. Cutting was a New York City lawyer and sugar beet refiner, who made his fortune in railroads and in the development of the Red Hook, Brooklyn waterfront.

Olana was the eclectic home of Frederic Edwin Church and his wife Isabel. Frederic was one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The mansion was designed by Mr. Church in conjunction with architect Calvert Vaux and built between 1870 and 1872. A studio wing was added in 1889.