A large panel of white marble stood erect. It was 30 feet wide and 7 feet high. There were levered switches of many sizes and shapes. Condensers, gauges and gizmos were scattered across the electrical landscape. If you looked behind the upright panel, you would see hundreds of cables exiting the panel. Each wire disappearing into slots carved in the rock walls, carrying power for use in as particular room in the castle.
The guide said the panel was wired for AC and DC electricity. Imagine more than 100 years ago the flow of electricity was controlled from this very spot here in the basement of America’s largest home. I wonder if George Vanderbilt understood how all of this worked. Was he only a user of new technology and the recipient of its many wonders? Could he possibly have understood how it was all put together and even have repaired the system if the need arose?
I consulted noted librarian and curator, Horace Teameister at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island for his take on this question. Professor Teameister has spent the last 35 years studying the science behind the construction of The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.
“Professor Teameister, do you believe that Mr. Vanderbilt was the engineer behind the many technological advances that were incorporated into the systems of the Biltmore castle?”
“Yes, I do believe that. Preconstruction drawings of the electrical systems have hand written notes penned by Mr. Vanderbilt throughout the hundreds of drawings we have cataloged here at Brown University. Some of these notes offer mathematical formulae in his hand that suggest he was much more than just a rich man wanting a castle full of modern devices.”
“Are there any notations that lead the observer to believe that Mr. Vanderbilt required the installation of both AC and DC electrical systems from the inception of the systems design?”
“Yes. On two of the preliminary drawings, there are notations mentioning Nikolai Tesla, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Mr. Vanderbilt stated that genius has no peer. Then he states that he prefers to error on the side of caution. The installation of an alternating current and a direct current system would allow the home to be used in part as a fully operating laboratory. Therefore neither scientist would be neglected for his part in this wondrous technology.”
“Is it possible to tell if Mr. Vanderbilt leaned toward Tesla’s method or toward the Westinghouse method of providing electricity for the home?”
“Without question using alternating current was his method of choice. He spoke of Tesla as if he were a personal friend. He would make straight pencil lines across access areas for wire crossings. Some of these marks are penciled further by Mr. Vanderbilt which said, “Nikolai, please double check the radiation levels at these crossings. If needed the wiring should be shielded from all combustible areas by using conduit.”
“He signed all of these notes simply George. It was easy to tell that Nikolai would be looking at these notations at a later date and possibly at a different location than where Mr. Vanderbilt was scribbling these notes. The most interesting exchange is this one with the reference to conduit. Tesla had written underneath Mr. Vanderbilt’s notation, what is conduit? Now one could assume that this was a joke on Tesla’s part, or could they? Maybe Mr. Vanderbilt had a much larger part in the electrical design than previously believed? Maybe Mr. Vanderbilt gave Nikolai a little help in alternating current electrical plant design? Maybe some of that design is still in use today in modern electrical stations?”
“Are you saying that you believe that George Vanderbilt was more than just a dreamer with a design for a huge modern castle in the North Carolina Mountains?”
“I’m saying that George was the architect. He not only had an idea. He put most of it on paper before the experts were called in to make it all official. Maybe I should say to make it all look official. When one is able to peruse all of these papers we have in the collection, one begins to believe that George Vanderbilt needed very few people in his life to design anything for him. He already had it in his head. It was only a matter of drawing or describing what it was that he wanted. He worked fast with his hands and with his ideas. Sometimes he would draw with one hand and flamboyantly jester with his other in order to get another idea understood by what ever expert might be on hand at any given time.”
“Have you ever mentioned this to any one before today?”
“I have mentioned it to one or two interested parties. Electrical engineering was not part of their background. You find this intriguing, don’t you Mr. Goldsmith?”
“Intriguing is close. Awe struck would be more appropriate. It is now my belief that Mr. Vanderbilt changed the face of history forever with his apparent endorsement for AC electricity. His endorsement, it seems would have prevented Nikolai Tesla from becoming the secondary figure in history we know he became?"
(and so it begins.....
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