Best Historic Attractions in Asheville—A Local’s Perspective
- Ian Wasserman
- Aug 25
- 5 min read
Seems just about every other week a new restaurant opens up downtown, or a new brewery on the South Slope. There’s always something fresh and exciting to do in Asheville. Keeps you on your toes, especially for those few of us lucky enough to get to write about it.
But today, I’d like to look backwards, into Asheville’s storied past. Rising from near anonymity in the late 18th century to North Carolina’s third largest city by 1900, my hometown has developed some truly signature features throughout the years, namely the abundance of genuine art-deco architecture, preserved in downtown since the ‘30s.
These monuments are some of the more obvious testaments to the history of Asheville. But if you're looking to take a deeper dive into the past, then read on and discover five of the best historic attractions in Asheville.
The story of the Grove Park Inn begins, as many stories do, with malaria. Back in ye olden days, malaria used to burn through the South like a wildfire, felling people left and right. Fatal sickness was just a fact of life.
Along comes Tennessee-born Edwin Wiley Grove, pharmaceutical entrepreneur, and pioneer of Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic, a malarial-prevention medicine which came to outsell Coca-Cola by the turn of the 20th century. Grove himself often suffered from respiratory illness, and through a combination of personal connections and doctor’s advice, he ended up visiting Asheville in search of that fresh mountain air.
We must imagine that our air did just the trick, because by 1913, Grove and his business partners had finished the construction of the Grove Park Inn, a monumental hotel built from the raw granite of the mountains.
More than a hundred years later, you can still come and visit, and experience the recuperating properties that led Edwin Grove to build on this site. Soak in a pool under the Blue Ridge sky. Visit the spa for some mineral-water-assisted relaxation.
And come winter-time, the Grove Park Inn is host to the National Gingerbread House competition, the perfect excuse to roam this unique hotel’s rambling halls, and enjoy some holiday cheer.
Up through downtown, nestled within the Montford Historic neighborhood, you’ll find Riverside Cemetery, serving our town as a place of rest and repose since 1885. From the outset, this site was envisioned not just as a place to bury the dead and forget about them, but as a combined cemetery and park, meant to allow the living to come, visit, and sit in peace and contemplation.
Riverside is open to the public, and visitors are encouraged to experience local history through a self-guided walking tour, taking you past the graves of Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry, two of Asheville’s most famous local writers. And if you think you might have a relative of your own resting here, their website’s interactive map makes it easy to look up exactly where they lie.
Come fall, amidst Asheville’s famous turning of the leaves, as well as winter, when the leaves are all gone, Riverside is particularly beautiful, perfect for sitting back with a sketchbook or some paints.
Once you’re finished wandering through the past, some of us local-favorite restaurants lie just a five minute walk away, namely Nine Mile and All Day Darling.
Speaking of Thomas Wolfe, venture on downtown and you’ll find the famous author’s boyhood home, preserved as a state historic site since the late 1940s. Once styled as the “Old Kentucky Home” (why it wasn’t the “Old Carolina Home” is beyond me), Wolfe grew up here with his mother while it served as a boarding house.
His early life forms the inspiration for much of his work, making a tour of this home not just walk through the past, but a walk through his fiction. Visitors are invited to explore the memorial’s exhibit hall, displaying artifacts from Wolfe's life, before taking a forty-five minute guided tour of the Old Kentucky Home itself. Call ahead to reserve your tour-slot, otherwise it's on a first-come first-serve basis.
A full visit to the memorial shouldn’t take more than an hour, maybe two hours at most. With the rest of your day, you’re in the perfect position to continue your exploration of Asheville’s past in historic downtown, which takes us on to the next entry in this list.
Double feature! Starting from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial it's about a ten-to-fifteen minute walk west to the Grove Arcade, which is not only the site of some of the best shopping downtown, but a genuine edifice of Late Gothic architecture, built in 1929.
As the name suggests, its construction was yet another venture by Edwin Grove of the Grove Park Inn, and on its completion it became one of the United State’s first indoor shopping malls.
With its wrought-iron railings, chiseled Venetian lions, and soaring skylights, it's one of the most picturesque buildings in downtown, perfect to spend some time window-shopping, real shopping, or simply sitting down to some coffee or lunch.
Just a further five minute walk north of the Arcade, you’ll find the Basilica of St. Lawrence, unmistakable with its twin spires and unique red-brick façade, completed in 1905.
As it is a functioning church, make sure you align your visit with their designated touring hours: Mondays from 11am to noon, and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11am to 1pm and 3pm to 5pm. Pick up their brochure for a fall breakdown of the basilica’s art, architecture, and history.
And finally, the one, the only, the Biltmore Estate, Asheville’s greatest claim-to-fame, and the largest privately-owned mansion in America. The construction of the Biltmore was a monumental undertaking unto itself, beginning with business magnate George Washington Vanderbilt’s dream of building a self-sustaining mountain estate, combining agriculture, forest-management, and some of the most prominent landscapers of the 19th century.
The estate was opened on Christmas of 1895, and ever since Biltmore has had an especially strong connection to the holiday season, marking each winter with a slew of special decorations and events.
For first-time visitors, I recommend taking a self-guided tour through the mansion, followed by a stroll through its vast idyllic grounds. But if you’re especially interested in the Biltmore’s history and construction, then I suggest looking at their Rooftop Tour, which offers an in-depth look at all the Estate’s hidden nooks and crannies, including, of course, the rooftop, which is typically closed to the public.
Businesses Mentioned
Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa
(800)-438-5800
290 Macon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804
Riverside Cemetery
Asheville, NC 28801
Thomas Wolfe Memorial
(828)-253-8304
52 N Market St, Asheville, NC 28801
Grove Arcade
(828)-252-7799
1 Page Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Basilica of St. Lawrence
(828)-252-6042
97 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801
Biltmore Estate
(800)-411-3812
Asheville, NC 28803
