Historic Downtown Asheville
It was fun to be living in the heart of Historic Downtown Asheville, just steps away from all the landmarks on our walking tour. Our guide Tebbe had some entertaining stories, along with some interesting theories.
Some highlights from our tour:
Pack Square - Western North Carolina was once part of the original Cherokee Nation, and this area was a rest stop for travelers on the long trail that stretched from Florida to Canada. So tourism has been important here since the beginning. This square has been the center of the city since Asheville was incorporated in the 1790s. It was renamed Pack Square in 1903 after local philanthropist George W. Pack. Today, Pack Square is bounded by the Asheville Art Museum and the Biltmore Building, designed by I. M. Pei. The latter is rather unremarkable, though the famous architect did follow instructions to “reflect the buildings around it.”
Jackson Building - We had a great view of this Neo-Gothic tower from our condo. Built 1923-24, it was the first skyscraper in Western North Carolina and (reportedly) holds the record for being the tallest building (140 feet, or 13 stories) on the smallest lot (27 feet by 60 feet). The 8-story Westall Building next door is too small for its own elevator, so the Jackson Building’s elevator serves the Westall Building as well. Tebbe believed that the two buildings were actually constructed as a single building with two different façades, a clever tactic devised by the prominent Westall family to launder the money they made from bootlegging during Prohibition.
Douglas Dobel Ellington - Ellington was an award-winning architect known for Art Deco style. He was born in North Carolina and educated in Philadelphia and Paris. He designed many buildings in Asheville during the 1920s, including City Hall, S&W Cafeteria, Asheville High School, and First Baptist Church. I especially liked the cafeteria, with its colorful decorative trim and gilt ceilings. In the mountains just outside of Asheville, Ellington built his summer home completely by hand, using materials left over from his municipal projects.
Thomas Wolfe House - Thomas Wolfe was born and raised in Asheville and is probably the most famous Southern author after William Faulkner. His first and most famous book, Look Homeward, Angel, was modeled on the town and people of Asheville. Wolfe grew up in this Queene Anne-style boarding house, which was owned and operated by his mother, Julia Westall. His father was a stone carver and had a gravestone business on the site of what is now the Jackson Building. His uncle James Westall was the biggest building contractor in town, and his uncle William Westall owned the lumber company that supplied Biltmore House. Talk about family connections!
Bon Marché Building - This historic department store from the 1890s had been transformed into a boutique hotel. The lobby was like a mini-museum, with vintage photographs of the building’s construction (it involved removing a large hill) and the department store in its heyday. It was interesting to see the original columns intact, and both ceiling and floor lowered. Also in the lobby was an original 1929 Ford Model A, in showroom condition and fully operational, with a distinctive touch: lace between two panes of glass in the rear window.
