The Banquet Hall, whose 70-foot-high barrel-vaulted ceiling evokes medieval grandeur, is among the most astonishing spaces.

WSJ: Biltmore Estate | King of the Castles | Masterpiece by Julia M. Klein

In the living room, he found 16-foot walls supporting a barrel-vaulted ceiling.

WSJ: The Height of Charm | Anatomy Lesson

The living room's 30-foot-tall barrel-vault ceiling resembles the interior of a hull.

WSJ: Jim Ferraro's Larger-Than-Life Estate in Martha's Vineyard

The beams spanned the barrel-vaulted brick ceiling of the Great Hall where Abraham Lincoln would give his famous New York address.

WSJ: Cooper Union's New Building, at 41 Cooper Square | By WSJ Architecture Critic Ada Louis Huxtable