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What do the New York Public Library and Grand Central Station have in common with famed Biltmore Estate and the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, NC?
The answer is two words: Rafael Guastavino.
"Who?" you ask?
A Spanish-born designer and contractor, Guastavino had his hand on myriad American buildings, and came to Asheville at the behest of Richard Morris Hunt to work on George Vanderbilt's estate, Biltmore, a 250-room art-filled Chateauesque "hunting lodge" surrounded by exquisite gardens. Falling in love with these splendid Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, Guastavino moved to Asheville, which sits on a plateau between those two ranges, and is buried in the Basilica he designed but did not live to see completed.
But like his client, George Vanderbilt, Guastavino represents that unique nexus that from the late 19th century brought Asheville, NC, to the attention of the nation. Vanderbilt invited his wealthy friends to this exquisite retreat that now is as much as symbol of the City as anything Asheville possesses. In its days of glory, the estate included 100,000 acres, a large share of which today is Pisgah National Forest. The 8,000 acres that remain attached to the estate harbor a winery that grows its own grapes and has been instrumental in jumpstarting North Carolina's rapidly growing viticultural industry.
Biltmore and the Basilica of St. Lawrence are but two of the distinguished buildings that mark Asheville, NC, founded in 1794 as Morristown and renamed for Samual Ashe, a North Carolina governor in 1797. Sleepy and unnoticed until the railroad was constructed in the mid 1880s, Asheville began to boom in the 1920s with residential subdivisions and commercial building taking off until the Great Depression put the brakes on. The Grove Arcade, restored and on the National Register of Historic Places, is a Gothic Revival building from that era that, now restored, houses both commercial and residential spaces. Its restoration reflects the kind of energy and commitment the city has made to its magnificent downtown.
And if the name Grove rings a bell, it should. The same Dr. Edwin W. Grove who gave it life also was the inspiration for the Grove Park Inn, another of Asheville's iconic structures. Among its famous guests were F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed, U.S. presidents and numerous other luminaries.
Speaking of the literati, Asheville also was home to Thomas Wolfe, early 20th-century playwright and novelist who also connects Asheville to New York City as that is where he lived and worked in his productive years. But his birth home is preserved in Asheville, and now is restored after a disastrous fire.
Today a city of about 70,000, the largest in Western Carolina, Asheville continues to attract visitors and residents alike, making tourism one of its main economic engines. Healthcare and manufacturing still are strong economic components. It's still a crossroads town, with I-26 and I-40 intersecting
What draws contemporary residents to Asheville is much the same sort of appeal that brought George Vandervilt and Rafael Guastavino to this mountain city. The splendor of the mountains themselves and the sense of a slower pace of life, a place of graciousness and leisure draw scores of youthful retirees looking for a relaxed way of life that still has top flight medical services. Asheville remains appealing as a location for second homes, and it draws young families seeking good schools and a vital cultural life without the traffic hassles of the big city. With of Atlanta just 3 1/2 hours southeast via I-26 and 85, they have the best of two worlds.
Downtown Asheville hums with nightlife, with restaurants, art galleries, bookstores and coffee houses. A film festival is an annual event. Wall Street, with a pedestrian focus, invites exploration of its restaurants, boutiques and art galleries.
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