Biltmore House architect Richard Morris Hunt collaborated with Richard Sharp Smith to create America’s Largest Home® as well as other buildings on the estate and in the surrounding area.
Among others, Smith remained in the Asheville area and contributed their talents to many homes and buildings around the region. Let’s take a look at Smith’s work in the Asheville and Western North Carolina.
After receiving architectural training in England, Richard Sharp Smith came to America in 1882, joining Richard Morris Hunt’s New York office in 1886. A pivotal point in his career came when he was assigned as Biltmore’s supervising architect, responsible for overseeing construction onsite. Following Hunt’s death in August 1895, Smith became Vanderbilt’s lead architect.
Once this major project was completed, Richard Sharp Smith started his own firm in Asheville, raising a family and becoming one of the area’s most popular architects until his death in 1924. At the time of his passing, the Asheville Citizen said:
“After long years of residence in Asheville, Smith has done more than any other person to beautify the city. He came to Asheville just at a time when he was needed, and was really a pioneer architect in the community…“
Smith worked in styles ranging from Arts and Crafts to Tudor to Colonial Revival. And not surprisingly, many of these homes and buildings are reminiscent of Biltmore House and other structures on the estate.
“Two beautiful examples of Richard Sharp Smith’s residential style—the Annie West House at 189 Chestnut Street in Chestnut Hill and the Charles Jordan House at 296 Montford Avenue—include pebbledash stucco, archways, and rooflines, much like his buildings in Biltmore Village,” said Leslie Klingner, Biltmore’s Curator of Interpretation.
In downtown Asheville, Smith was the architect for the E.W. Grove Office at 324 Charlotte Street, the Elks Home—also known as Hotel Asheville—at 55 Haywood Street, and the Young Men’s Institute on Eagle Street. Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church on Charlotte Street, Grace Episcopal on Merrimon Avenue, and All Souls’ Church in Biltmore Village are also his creations.
Smith’s work is evident throughout Western North Carolina, including homes in Flat Rock and courthouses for Henderson, Jackson, and Madison counties.
“Many of the buildings that define Asheville today were designed by Richard Sharp Smith,” said Leslie. “It’s enjoyable to see these structures and worth taking the time to notice the arches, tile work, pebbledash, and architectural features that relate to Biltmore House.”
The Pergola once served as a resting place overlooking a lawn tennis court popular with Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt and their friends. In 1919, Edith asked Chauncey Beadle, estate superintendent, to convert the original “lawn” court to a clay court; the court was later removed.
The Pergola itself dates back to the construction of Biltmore House. Grading and construction began in 1891 under the direction of architect Richard Sharp Smith and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. This archival photo shows the walking paths from the Pergola through the Shrub Garden and Walled Garden completed, with the Pergola underway and, in the distance, the Conservatory under construction.
Limestone columns and massive wooden rafters form the structure that was originally crowned with ivy. According to Bill Alexander, retired Biltmore landscape and forest historian, Olmsted specified English ivy to be planted at the base of the columns in 1892. “This look of being ‘festooned’ with ivy was typical of Olmsted’s design intent,” Bill said. 
By 1895, wisteria was planted on the South Terrace and trained to grow out over the Pergola through gaps in the limestone wall created for this purpose. Nearly a century later, Biltmore’s landscape team removed the vines from the top to protect the walls from damage caused by roots, resulting in the leafy and peaceful setting enjoyed today. 
