<P> In an attempt to bolster the estate 's financial situation during the Great Depression , Cornelia and her husband opened Biltmore to the public in March 1930 at the request of the City of Asheville , which hoped the attraction would revitalize the area with tourism . Biltmore closed during World War II and in 1942 , 62 paintings and 17 sculptures were moved to the estate by train from the National Gallery of Art in Washington , D.C. to protect them in the event of an attack on the United States . The Music Room on the first floor was never finished , so it was used for storage until 1944 , when the possibility of an attack became more remote . Among the works stored were the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington and works by Rembrandt , Raphael , and Anthony van Dyck . David Finley , the gallery director , was a friend of Edith Vanderbilt and had stayed at the estate . </P>
when was the biltmore house opened to the public
March 1930