#5- City Hall

#5- City Hall

   I never knew I had any interest in architecture until I moved to Asheville.  We are so fortunate to have so many beautiful, historic buildings preserved in our downtown area and my absolute favorite is City Hall. This gem was constructed between 1926-1928 by architect Douglas Ellington. It is this flamboyant Art Deco style which Ellington brought to Asheville that perhaps remains most typical of our city. A native North Carolinian, Ellington left his signature throughout the downtown area, combining his love of color and design with his European training. Other buildings that he graced our downtown with include the First Baptist Church, the S&W cafeteria and Asheville High School.

   City Hall is constructed out of Georgia Pink marble, brick, and terra cotta and the top resembles a beautiful wedding cake.  This roof is so incredible that it is actually the logo for the city of Asheville. In fact, this eight story building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. According to Ellington, the design was "an evolution of the desire that the contours of the building should reflect the mountain background," referring to the amazing scenery that surrounds Asheville and serves as the backdrop of City Hall. On a clear, Carolina blue sky day the sight really is amazing!

   Ellington chose building materials and colors that represented the natural clay-pink shades of the local Asheville soil. The unusual octagonal roof is covered in colors from bands of terra cotta red tiles, pink marble piers and ornamental green and gold feather motifs. The interior of the building is designed in a manner typical of 1920s office buildings--the central core contains public elevators and an enclosed staircase while offices lie along the perimeter of each floor. The second floor houses the distinctive City Manager's Office and City Council Chambers. The interior of the council chambers features murals by New York artist Clifford Addams that portray the story of the American Indians and early white settlers in the area. City Hall has changed little since the 1920s and still attracts residents and visitors alike with its bold and colorful style.

   Right next door is the less than beautiful County Courthouse.  The two structures surprisingly were completed in the same year, 1928, and were to have been both designed by Ellington. As work started on the city hall building, however, local officials decided its design was too extravagant and had someone else take over the county building project. What a mistake that turned out to be! When you look at them side by side you can understand why these two buildings are now known as Asheville’s Odd Couple.

“Good architecture is like a piece of beautifully composed music crystallized in space that elevates our spirits beyond the limitation of time.” – Tao Ho