Discover and Celebrate the Bliss of Asheville Architecture
Historic Preservation Society
Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County
"... Through preserving and promoting the unique historic resources of our region, we work to sustain the heritage and the sense of place that is Asheville and Buncombe County..."
Below are just a few of PSABC's many treatises on Asheville's heritage and architecture. CLICK HERE for more.
Douglas Ellington:
Asheville's Art Deco Master
"... Frank Thompson, museum curator, explains his interest in Ellington. "We get a lot of visitors who drive down Patton Avenue and see the S&W Cafeteria. 'Wow! That's a wonderful building,' they say. 'Who did that?' 'Douglas Ellington,' I say. Then they see the City Hall. 'Who di that?' they ask. 'Douglas Ellington.' Later on, they catch sight of the First Baptist Church. 'That's incredible, Who designed that?' It's like the punchline of some Zen koan: Douglas Ellington.'..."
The Pack Family Legacy
"...Asheville has been fortunate in having a number of benefactors who moved here after becoming successful and then shared their wealth with the city. None was more generous than George Willis Pack, a wealthy lumberman who moved here in the early 1880's. He supported Mission hospital and the YMCA, and gave land for Aston and Montford parks. He supported a kindergarten and was the primary backer for the Vance Monument. But his name lives on mostly in association wtih his two greatest gifts to the city, Pack Memorial Library and Pack Square..."
The Era of the Grand Hotels
and Boarding Houses
"April 15th, 1908 was a sad day. At 2:30 in the morning, a fire broke out at the Kenilworth Inn. By the end of the day, the only things left standing were a few stone arches and turrets. The inn, towering over Biltmore Village on a knoll in Kenilworth, competed with the Battery Park Hotel to be Asheville's most elegant resort during the early years of the city's first boom period, 1880 - 95...."
Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County
"... a private, non-profit membership organization whose purpose is to promote and support the preservation of the historic, architectural, and cultural resources of Asheville and Buncombe County.... a strong advocate of comprehensive preservation techniques to protect and revitalize local historic resources. Early efforts focused on the work of documenting the historic resources of the community through historic resource surveys and National Register nominations, the important first step in promoting a broader awareness of the community's assets and engendering local preservation action. The Society played a crucial role in the establishment of the Historic Resources Commission of Asheville & Buncombe County and the adoption of local preservation ordinances creating the Montford Historic District, the Biltmore Village Historic District, and the Albemarle Park - Manor Grounds Historic District. We were also instrumental in the creation of a western regional office of the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, which provides preservation expertise and access to state and federal programs across a 25 county region...."
Superb
Asheville Architecture
by Douglas Ellington
Asheville City Hall
"... is a colorful, massive and eclectic Art Deco masterpiece. Douglas D. Ellington, an architect who came to Asheville in the mid-1920s, designed the eight-story building, which was completed in 1928.... "
First Baptist Church
Discover Asheville's Richly
Diverse and Humble History
Historic Asheville: Jewel of the Mountains, 1792-1930 "... Asheville, North Carolina was once a frontier town as tough as Tombstone or Dodge City. It had Indian fights, scalpings, shootouts, street brawls, hangings, cattle drives, wagon trains, saloons, and brothels...."
Asheville, North Carolina, grew from humble beginnings as a hamlet for local livestock handlers to become one of the most culturally and artistically diverse cities in the South. The city experienced a quick rise to prosperity in the late 19th century under the influence of wealthy benefactors including George W. Vanderbilt and E.W. Grove. A devastating downturn during the Great Depression was followed by slow economic revitalization up until the late 1970s. In the 1990s, however Asheville entered boom time, a period that reestablished the city as a popular retreat for tourists, artists, and retirees.
Here in this book is all the fascinating history of Asheville, complete with a rich array of photographs. Multiple appendices reveal details concerning many lesser-known aspects of Asheville's unique history, including city buildings designed by architects Richard Sharp Smith and Douglas D. Ellington, and city projects funded by philanthropist Julian Price.
Click on each of the dozens of categories to the left to uncover what makes the Asheville area so vital, so intriguing and so, well, UTTERLY BLISSFUL!
".... The Biltmore's original owner, George Washington Vanderbilt, can also claim credit, at least indirectly, for much of the accomplished turn-of-the-century architecture downtown, because many of the hundreds of European artisans and craftsmen imported to work on the Biltmore stayed on in the region afterwards...." Business Week article
"Imagine St. Lawrence Park"
Video shows a building that was standing in front of the Historic St. Lawrence Basilica being razed... and a plea for a park to be erected in its place... so that visitors to Pack Library.. and the Civic Center... would have a wonderful place from which to enjoy an unimpeded view of the whole Battery Park/ Grove Arcade area. Some quick shots of Art Deco embellishments on S&W cafeteria building.
Discover the Bliss of Asheville and Western North Carolina Architecture
This portable field guide to the historic architecture of western North Carolina covers 1,200 historic buildings in 25 counties in the foothills and mountains. It introduces readers to the region's rich and diverse architectural heritage—from the log farmstead to the opulent mountain retreat, and from ancient earthen mounds of the Cherokee to twentieth-century hydroelectric dams and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Featuring more than 370 photographs and 36 maps, the guide is written for travelers and residents alike. It offers concise entries on notable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities, emphasizing buildings that are visible from the road and indicating sites that are open to the public.
"Wonderfully Informative... This is a book of wonder and revelation, illuminating the history and
splendor of one of America's most magical regions. It will make you
want to learn more and more and then drive the Blue Ridge Parkway...."
Asheville "Native American tribes, including Cherokee, Creek, and Shawano, passed through Asheville and Western North Carolina, building towns and villages along the banks of the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers vor more than 1,000 years. The first white settlers arrrived in the Swannanoa Valley in October of 1784. After the Civil War, Asheville became a haven for the wealthy elite of Charleston and Philadelphia; as the resort era blosomed, so too did Asheville. Second only to Miami in its treasure trove of Art Deco landmarks, Asheville is an architectural and historical time capsule of national significance.
It is a community with a rich heritage and history in the arts, including textiles, pottery, and modernist art. Today Asheville is at a crossroads; attempting to balance the environmental and natural attractions of the area with commercial development is and will be one of Asheville's greatest challenges..."
America's Castles: The Biltmore Estate "...the grandest of all American homes... Biltmore dwarfs all the mansions built by his illustrious forefathers... . a remarkable top-to-bottom tour of the largest home ever built in America. With its 255 rooms, the Biltmore is a monument to the extravagance and eccentricity of its owner. See footage of its construction, and go behind the scenes with the men and women who work there to learn the secrets of this incredible mansion. Get a privileged tour of rooms that are off-limits to the public, and marvel at the magnificent treasures that Vanderbilt collected....."
Biltmore Estate: The Most Distinguished Private Place "... Few people realize what effort it took to design and construct the largest private residence in the United States, but this book details it all from the breaking of the ground to the designing of the curtain rods. This book is one of the best written and most appealing architectural history books ever. The photographs and drawings in it are also to be commended. Many of the pictures offer breathtaking views of the mansion and its grounds as well as showing many vintage photographs taken at various times throughout its construction and times of residence...."
The Vanderbilts ".... If you are interested in turn of the century architecture, this book is for you. If you are interested in the social mores of the day, this book is for you. If you are interested in the Vanderbilt familiy in particular, and America's aristocracy in general, this book is for you. With hundreds of wonderful photos and illustrations, and an objective account of the history of one of America's richest families, "The Vanderbilts" takes the reader back to an era of nonchalant decadence...."
