Only in Asheville Part One - Form & Function

It took awhile to get back on track post summer living of relaxed schedules and my alter Asheville ego. After returning from Asheville we jumped right into school activities, moved back into our bedroom/new bath, traveled to Canada, gained six new clients for me, and generally experienced post-Labor Day mayhem. The last two weeks I fantasized about a recap of Asheville and what makes it unique. This will be a two-parter, as part two deals specifically with a fashion show that is uber Ashevillian. Only in Asheville Part One reveals some of the things that make Asheville, well, Asheville.

First of all, the architecture varies from deco to Victorian and everything inbetween.

avarch — Montford neighborhood provides a mix of Victorians, Shingle style and Colonial Revival.

avarch2 — A stone beauty that now hosts private functions.

avarch3 — Even a few Sear’s kit homes exist.

avarch4 — The Baptists downtown church dome.

avarch5 — Quirky painting on buildings is not uncommon.

avarch7 — Great gargoyle detail on this deco masterpiece.

avarch13 — …an iron out front, of course.

avarch9 — Mr. Grove was pissed off during the building of his property when investors didn’t pay up.

avarch10 — He insisted that all their faces were permanently carved on the building.

avarch11 — Biltmore Village area blends in with the “mother ship”, Biltmore House.

avarch12 — More quaintness around Biltmore.

avarch14 — The old Woolworth repurposed into an art gallery.

avarch15 — My favorite deco example, the old s&w cafeteria, needs a buyer.

avarch16 — My favorite deco example, the old s&w cafeteria, needs a buyer.

The Vance monument “erected” to honor Governor Vance.

avweed — Weeds grow purposefully in Asheville and you often smell a particular weed downtown.

avhookah — In other buildings you can buy hookahs and other paraphernalia to aid in this endeavour.

The signage on buildings remind me of some of my favorite haunts and some just amuse me.

avsign — You won’t seethis on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh NC.

avsign2 — The “penny sale” rocks, buy one for sale price and the other for a penny.

avsign3 — In case you need both at the same time, conveniently located next door to each other.

avsign4 — After satisfying my shoe fetish, I head here.

avsign5 — I source my locally milled flour here and little man hits the candy barrels in the back.

avstarbucks — Some signs bring on the ire of fierce localistas,

Art and music command a big part of the scene.

There’s a first class art museum, the River Arts District and many local galleries, AND the Orange Peel, street musicians and several bars rockin’ it out with a great local music scene AND dance AND every imaginable art form.