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A By-The-Numbers Look at American Real Estate

An index to houses great and small over the centuries

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  • By T.A. Frail
  • Photographs by Scott S. Warren
  • Smithsonian magazine, May 2012, Subscribe
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$Alt
(Scott S. Warren)

1,000: Approximate age, in years, of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the United States: pueblos in Acoma and Taos, New Mexico, and the village of Oraibi, Arizona

375: Approximate age, in years, of Fairbanks House, in Dedham, Mass., believed to be the nation’s oldest timber-frame house

1,297: Square footage of Fairbanks House when new

1,740: Square footage of average new house in the U.S., 1980

2,392: Square footage of average new house, 2010

175,000: Square footage of Biltmore, in Asheville, North Carolina, the largest privately owned U.S. residence

3: Number of people in the immediate family of original Biltmore owner George Washington Vanderbilt III

1.1 million: Visitors to Biltmore, the nation’s most popular house, 2011

1.06 million: Visitors to Mount Vernon, Virginia home of George Washington, 2011

1: Number of times Washington said he would “rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world”

2: U.S. municipalities named Hometown


1,000: Approximate age, in years, of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the United States: pueblos in Acoma and Taos, New Mexico, and the village of Oraibi, Arizona

375: Approximate age, in years, of Fairbanks House, in Dedham, Mass., believed to be the nation’s oldest timber-frame house

1,297: Square footage of Fairbanks House when new

1,740: Square footage of average new house in the U.S., 1980

2,392: Square footage of average new house, 2010

175,000: Square footage of Biltmore, in Asheville, North Carolina, the largest privately owned U.S. residence

3: Number of people in the immediate family of original Biltmore owner George Washington Vanderbilt III

1.1 million: Visitors to Biltmore, the nation’s most popular house, 2011

1.06 million: Visitors to Mount Vernon, Virginia home of George Washington, 2011

1: Number of times Washington said he would “rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world”

2: U.S. municipalities named Hometown

    Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.


Related topics: USA Houses


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Comments (2)

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Posted by Turnkey rentals on August 14,2012 | 10:32 AM

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Posted by Matt Hock on May 18,2012 | 06:02 PM



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