Overlook Park on Sunset Mountain was a popular 19th century retreat for Asheville residents and tourists. The views were magnificent, especially on the overlook tower, and a boardwalk and paths made for pleasurable walks. A pavilion at the park provided space for a cafe, orchestral performances, dances, a theater, a beer garden and a casino. Few photographs exist of the pavilion.
HUNGRY FOR HISTORY Brown Bag Lunch Series Continues: Bring a bagged lunch and join us. Wednesday September 30, 2015 12 noon to 1 pm: Kevan Frazier: “Asheville and The Roaring 20’s” We inadvertently left off the time of this program in last week’s blog post, so are putting the word out again. Kevan Frazier is
The Appalachians have long been noted for the rugged individualism of their inhabitants. The terrain was and is difficult, limiting its occupants’ employment. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the area was conducive to small farms, cottage industries and the lone artisan. With rhododendron, mountain laurel, chestnut, hickory, willow and oak prevalent in
The end of June marked the end of a year-long $68,000 Digitization Grant awarded to the North Carolina Room, Pack Memorial Library, by the State Library of North Carolina, made possible through funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The main part of the grant enabled us to begin the scanning of our
Please join us for this very special event! Tim will discuss how his 5 year effort of photographing and researching these vistas culminated into his beautiful and insightful new book. “It’s a human characteristic to want to know where we are in time and place. Mr. Barnwell’s book satisfies this natural curiosity and brilliantly connects us
Long, long ago (in the 1960’s) Western North Carolina was not known for its culinary landscape. The Jarrett House in Dillsboro and the The NuWray Inn in Burnsville were about as close as one could find “fancy food”. And truly, their country hams and family style meals were wonderful. Even the big city of Asheville was not
The Asheville Times reported on November 19, 1950 that “Ruth and Latrobe Carroll, artist and author, respectively, of children’s books…moved to Asheville…and are making their home in the Edgewood Knoll Apartments.” Ruth Carroll graduated from Vassar and studied at the Arts Students League in New York City. Latrobe Carroll was a Harvard graduate and writer for
There is a prominent sign made of an oak plank with brass letters on one of the columns on the main floor of Pack Memorial Library. The sign reads “Sondley Reference Library.” It is one of the few remaining visible markers of the library’s long association with the legacy of one of Asheville’s most noteworthy
A year ago last July, when the staff in the North Carolina Room first started the blog HeardTell, we posted about a new collection donated to us by Asheville residents Lynne and Jim Wilson. The collection is a gold mine containing seventeen 8 x 10 prints of houses that had been recently constructed in Asheville,