The Urban Trail - Asheville, North Carolina's Remembrance of Things Past
By Jeffrey DeCristofaro
22 Oct 2009
In his article "36 Hours in Asheville, NC" for the "Travel" column of the September 2007 issue of THE NEW YORK TIMES, author Chris Dixon started with the following paragraph:
"Asheville is an Appalachian Shangri-La. This year-round resort town, tucked between the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, draws a funky mix of New Agers, fleece-clad mountain bikers, antiques lovers and old-time farmers. And what's there not to like? Charming yet surprisingly cosmopolitan for a town of about 73,000, Asheville has a Southern appeal all of its own. There are lazy cafes and buzzing bistros, Art Deco skyscrapers and arcades reminiscent of Paris, kayaking and biodiesal cooperatives and one of the world's largest private homes, the Biltmore Estate, a French Renaissance-style mansion with 250 rooms. No wonder so many locals first started out as tourists."
And it's no wonder that Asheville still remains one of the best tourist traps in the United States. With its cultural diversity, various architectural designs, unique range of dining and shopping opportunities, and surrounding mountainous beauty, the "Appalachian Shangri-La" has plenty to please both local resident and tourist alike. But like every other city, in the U.S. or internationally, Asheville offers something just as rich which is responsible for forming and enhancing all those aforementioned factors, and which is far more powerful: a history all of its own that matches, and in some cases surpasses, other cities with its mixture of simplicity and style.
Asheville's history, and the regional individuality that stems from it, happens to be preserved in a series of 30 monuments or "stations" remembered affectionately by local residents as the "Urban Trail" - as one person referred to it, a "museum without walls." This 1.7 mile-long ring of plaques, statues and other artistic masterpieces starts and loops back to Pack Square, the heart of Asheville. This specific section of the city is identified in the main photo for the article, which presents from the ground up a view of the city section as distinguished by the Vance Monument (the obelisk, left), the Jackson Building (the Neo-Gothic skyscraper, right), and a background display of City Hall (the red-topped "birthday cake" building just behind and next to the Jackson Building is the Asheville-Buncombe County Courthouse).
The Urban Trail began in 1991 as an attempt by the City of Asheville to refine the city's public look by forging and exhibiting the work of local artists. Designed by various volunteers and funded by a handful of devoted individuals, groups and communities, this walk explores in small but significant detail how Asheville came into being over the course of five particular periods stretching from the past to the present - and therefore the future - with each station marked by a distinct symbol/marker engraved on pink granite bricks. They are, in the order that they are presented on the Urban Trail:
- The Frontier Period (symbol: horseshoe)
- The Gilded Age (symbol: feather)
- The Era of Civic Pride (symbol: courthouse)
- The Times of Thomas Wolfe (symbol: angel)
- The Age of Diversity (symbol: eagle)
Ironically, out of all the symbols marking the trail, only one has an actual station included in the Trail: the Eagle, the statue of which stands perched on a pole on the corner of a parking garage attached to the Asheville Art Museum. The feather and horseshoe are not featured as stations, and the other two symbols - the courthouse and the angel - are not actual components of the Trail, but rather "sideshow attractions" accompanying it. The Trail's stations are all listed in the following order, as they appear to people taking guided tours:
1. "Walk into History": George Willis Pack (a series of bricks with the engraved names of the main individuals responsible for the Trail's foundation, laid out in a semi-circular pattern)
2. "Crossroads": Turkeys & Pigs (more specifically, a couple of turkeys behind a pig and piglet)
3. "Stepping Out": Bronze Top Hat (on a bench with bronze gloves and walking cane included)
4. "O. Henry": Plaque in sidewalk (with bas relief structures of the items from "The Gift of the Magi")
5. "Immortal Image": Dr. Humor Building (a marble bas relief featuring faces of several people accompanied by cherubs)
6. "Elizabeth Blackwell, MD": Iron bench with a bower of medicinal herbs and the copper face of Blackwell
7. "Art Deco Masterpiece": S&W Building (built in 1929 distinguished by arch-shaped doorways, blue-tile roofs, zigzag patterns blending blue-cream chevrons and metal bands)
8. "Flat Iron Architecture": Giant flat iron sculpture (sitting on the intersection of Haywood Rd. and Wall Street)
9. "Cat Walk": Cat on wall (also known as the "Cat Walk": three cats, one on a lamp post, one walking on a brick wall, and one stretching out against the wall)
10. "Grove's Vision": Grove Arcade (an indoor two-floor plaza of various shopping departments, with statues and bas reliefs of lions decorating the outside and a revolving door facing Grove St.)
11. "Historic Hilltop": Battery Park Hotel (erected in 1924, 14 stories tall, consisting of 220 rooms)
12. "Guastavino's Monument": Basilica of St. Lawrence (sitting next to Haywood St., one of Asheville's oldest churches)
13. "Appalachian Stage": Bronze fiddle and quilt on bench and five bronze figures of dancers and musicians in front of Civic Center
14. "Shopping Daze": Abstract, metal statue representation of three ladies shopping
15. "Marketplace": Bronze bonnet and basket of apples on bench
16. "Legacy of Design": Bench and young boy, designed by Richard Sharp Smith
17. "Woodfin House": Ceramic replica (found at YMCA)
18. "Wolfe's Neighborhood": Metal sculpture (town-period diorama with Thomas Wolfe's figure)
19. "Dixieland": Bronze replica of Thomas Wolfe's shoes in front of Thomas Wolfe Memorial
20. "Curtain Calls": Abstract metal sculptures mounted on building
21. "On the Move": Art in motion sculpture with history of transportation (turn wheel to hear 11 different sounds)
22. "Civic Pride": Historic bell from City Hall.
23. "Past and Promise": Little girl drinks at a horse-head fountain (removed temporarily for Pack Square renovations)
24. "Man and Mountain": Plaque of mountaineer (removed temporarily for Pack Square renovations)
25. "Ellington's Dream: Granite etching of city-county buildings by Douglas Ellington
26. "Time Remembered": Plaque covers bicentennial time capsule
27. "Monument Corner": Bronze carving tools and carving
28. "Brick Artisan": James Vester Miller, cornucopia over the doorway
29. "The Block": Bronze wall sculpture for historic African-American community
30. "Hotel District": Bronze eagle overlooks early hotel district from a pole
It is more specifically to the right of the main photo, at the Asheville Art Museum next to the Jackson Building, where the Urban Trail really begins. Those who come to participate in this travel through both Asheville's time and space receive a brief introduction to Asheville's beginnings as a backwoods settlement that was hard to enter as it was hard to leave, in terms of its geographical settings and conditions.
Asheville started in the late 18th century, with a population of more than 1,000. Originally christened Morristown (no relation to the one in NC's neighboring state of Tennessee), the town was retitled Asheville in honor of North Carolina's popular governor Samuel Ashe, shortly following the signing of a petition by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1792 to form their own county, eventually named Buncombe after the state's Revolutionary War hero Edward Buncombe. So the Era of Civic Pride had gotten off to a great start.
After the county's foundation, its citizens began working together to locate a suitable spot for the county seat. A log cabin was built close to the actual spot where the County Courthouse stands today, mostly because at the time it had been standing on a hill adjacent to an old Indian foot trail leading from the French Broad River to the Swannanoa River, a path leading out of the mountains. From this spot on the hill next to the Indian trail, the courthouse could be easily observed by anyone coming through the mountains into Asheville. It is here that the Asheville Art Museum now stands, where the Urban Trail starts... and where the Frontier Period began, coinciding with the Era of Civic Pride.
Both periods ended when Asheville's dirt paths - ancient, frequently muddy and inadequate for travelers throughout each and every season - were replaced by the Buncombe Turnpike, itself replaced by rail travel in the 1880's that was immediately surpassed by the arrival of the railroad. It was with the railroad that Asheville's development skyrocketed to a level that its previous founders had not predicted. In less than a decade, the population quadrupled and Asheville officially became a city in 1883. This development was further stimulated by the introduction of, and growing dependence on, electricity: electric streetlights emerged in 1888, and electric streetcars were introduced the following year, making Asheville the second U.S. city after Richmond, Virginia to possess these vehicles. The Gilded Age was born.
Aside from improved transportation and the emergence of electricity, Asheville had much more to offer naturally. During the 1880's, and continuing through the 1930's, the climate was understood to be extremely beneficial for those suffering from various illnesses, most notably tuberculosis. It was on this basis that many U.S. citizens from the eastern half, particularly those of great wealth, came to Asheville to obtain said benefits. In the process, many of them ended up being responsible for the construction of several architectural achievements, many of which lie along the Urban Trail and include the Vance Monument (built in 1905) and Jackson Building (built in 1923).
Among those who were responsible for Asheville's architectural maturity were Art Deco master architect Douglas Ellington, who is credited for his work on the City Building in 1928, the S&W Building in 1929 (when the Great Depression began), and the First Baptist Church. Edwin W. Grove, whose legendary Grove Park Inn sits overlooking Asheville, followed that monumental accomplishment with America's first indoor mall, the Grove Arcade. He was also responsible for the Battery Park Hotel, a blend of Neoclassicism and Spanish romanticism whose apartments have been recently converted to use as rental space for senior citizens.
Interestingly, some buildings were constructed in tribute to architects; for example, on Broadway, one structure was built for, and still stands in tribute to, English architect Richard Sharp Smith, who supervised the creation of the Biltmore House. During the construction, he fell in love with Asheville, and made it his home for many years after the Biltmore House was finished.
Many other legendary figures existed during the Gilded Age of Asheville, a number of whom worked in science. One such person is Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman ever awarded a medical degree in the United States and a pioneer in medicine for women and children; she started her study of medicine in Asheville while teaching several courses. Adjacent to the Wachovia Bank Building on Patton Avenue is Trail Station #6: a metal bower of medicinal herbs that houses a bench and bas relief head of Blackwell, sculpted by Jim Barnhill.
Perhaps the most famous residents of Asheville were two authors who have special monuments dedicated to them that lie on the Urban Trail. One of them was William Sydney Potter, aka O' Henry, whose most famous stories include "The Gift of the Magi"; bronze caricatures of the items from this classic tale surround the plaque sitting on Patton Ave., across from the tribute to Blackwell - Trail Station #4 - and his various portrayals of the West. He rented an office near where the plaque stands, and worked from 1909 to 1910, during which he also wrote "Let Me Feel Your Pulse", a story inspired by his appointment with an Asheville physician. He was buried in Asheville's Riverside Cemetery, which lies within good distance of the Montford district (across Interstate 40 from the Asheville Civic Center).
The other author was Thomas Wolfe, a "favorite son" of Asheville whose work includes the influential classic Look Homeward, Angel. During his early years, he walked the city streets, trekking across Pack Square to the Public Library (standing where the original city courthouse once stood, later the Asheville Art Museum of today). In front of his mother's boarding house (called "Old Kentucky Home" in life and later incorporated into his novel under the divine name "Dixieland") lies a bronze replica of his size 13 shoes, and there is a plaque in front of the YMCA on Woodfin Street where his father W.O. Wolfe's house was once built (and where Thomas was born).
But more impressive, and presented in this display, is Trail Station # 18, a horizontal copper diorama arc distinguished by replicas of streetlights and featuring Asheville as depicted by Thomas, with a cut-out of Thomas in the center of the art piece. Aptly titled "Wolfe's Neighborhood", the display sits near the corner of Woodfin Street and North Market Street, some distance from the YMCA on its left. It is not only a fantastic piece of art, but also a triumph of the human spirit to capture a vital piece of Asheville's past and a man whose life composed one of its chapters.
Perhaps one of the trail's greatest strengths lies in its depiction of Asheville as a place where art and culture is embraced, sometimes in a sense that is nostalgic. On Patton Ave. is Trail Station #3, titled "Stepping Out" composed of a bronze top hat, cane, and gloves resting on a bench. This specific monument brings back historic memories of the Grand Opera House that once stood in downtown Asheville. And on Haywood Road, in front of the Asheville Civic Center, a group of five life-size dancers and musicians engage in a moment of frozen joy called "Appalachian Stage" (Train Station #13), hurls us back into a time when Asheville's culture was starting to take root and spread, in time helping to influence the city's status as a place of abounding artistic pleasures.
Technological progress in Asheville, as it occurred following the start of the Gilded Era, is also celebrated, as exemplified by Trail Station #21, called "On the Move." This is the only station capable of movement: a image-cut steel wheel depicting different modes of transport (horse-drawn carriage, train, car, plane, etc.) mounted on a silver-plated fin structure. When spun downward, the monument's movement sets off a bush-concealed stereo system that plays a recording of different sounds from the mediums of transportation presented on the wheel. Families and couples have fun with this particular monument, usually posing in front of it for a picture as it spins.
The Urban Trail is not a particularly long walk, but for those who need a short walk when time constraints and erratic weather patterns are an daily problem, it provides plenty during a short time span, results in very little physical stress (especially if you walk .2 miles of the trail per day), and is therefore more enjoyable than tours in other cities where you might find it hard to put up with factors such as intense heat, rain, cold or traffic. In fact, because the trail is so short and those factors are rare, some who start walking the Trail feel compelled to finish it in one day.
As with most other monuments, the Trail has been altered by various causes, although the primary reason has been construction and whatever changes have occurred are nothing more than temporary. This happened to be the case with two statues on Pack Square in 2008. Trail Station #2 - a parade of statues featuring a pig with piglet and a couple of turkeys that once stood in front of the Vance Monument, simply titled "Crossroads" - was removed due to expansion of the Square. This was followed shortly afterward by the bronze statue of a girl sipping from a horse-head fountain, Trail Station # 23: "Past and Promise."
Yet, despite these changes, the Urban Trail still remains one of the most vitally important landmarks of this mountain haven. The lushly-textured background of Asheville's birth and maturing phases is not only of America's past, but also its present and quite possibly its future.
Today, the Urban Trail remains under the maintenance of the City of Asheville's Parks and Recreation Department, with tours, educational activities and other events arranged by the Asheville Arts City Council. Maps for this landmark of Asheville are available everywhere, most particularly Pack Place Museum, the downtown stores, and local information centers. Guided tours (current rate: $5/adult and $2/child) and the guides who give them include local historians who share their vast knowledge about the city's origin and progress, and can be contacted in the event that you want to reserve a special date and time for them to give you a special tour of the Trail. For more information, those wanting to tour the trail should call 828.258.0710 x108, approximately 10 days to two weeks in advance.
My personal recommendation would be to call three or four weeks in advance. If you need to change something, such as postponing a guided tour or reserving tickets for one or more family members or friends, that will give you plenty of time, so that you can pick the right time and date for a guided tour. If however, you feel that you want to simply go out for a stroll and occasionally glance at the stations in random order, feel free to do so. Any way is a perfect way to enjoy the Urban Trail for what it is - a tribute to the everlasting spirit and glory of North Carolina's beautifully (and aptly) titled "Appalachian Shangri-La."
Article & Photos © Jeffrey Douglas DeCristofaro
Special references and thanks to Chris Dixon, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
