Jon Elliston will explore the bizarre odyssey of John R. Brinkley, one of Western North Carolina’s most infamous figures. From his humble mountain origins, Brinkley rose to national stature as a medical scam artist. He made a killing on sketchy goat gland implants and other oddball treatments, only to die pretty young and totally broke. At the
Throughout this past summer, the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial Public Library presented a six-month series exploring “Asheville in the 1980s.” The series delved into the impetus for, and lasting results of, the City’s transformation during that critical decade. The programs attracted large and sometimes overflow crowds to Lord Auditorium. Now the entire six-program
Be sure not to miss this last program of the series! Incredible panelists and an engaging topic, and extremely relevant today. When we were planning this series last winter, we all saw Peggy Gardner’s “The Wrap” as a metaphor for the series. This program hopes to encircle all of the topics of this series.
Asheville’s first parking garage was at 11 North Market Street. It was built in 1926 for the Western Carolina Auto Co. Except it was called an Auto Hotel. Historical research on the building for the Urban Trail marker for transportation, found that the building had an overhead bridge connecting the auto house to the Langren Hotel.
What do these have in common: The Asheville City Parks & Recreation Department, Quality Forward, Community Arts Council and the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, along with thousands and thousands of volunteers? FESTIVALS! They all worked together in the 1970s and 1980s to create a broad range of festivals that were created in part to bring people
David Mallett was a pioneer of the downtown Asheville revitalization, opening the Weinhaus at 86 Patton Avenue in 1977. It is Asheville’s oldest beer and wine store. In 1985, after 8 years of operating the Weinhaus, David Mallett spoke to the Pen & Plate Club of Asheville, of which he was a member, about the
The staff of the North Carolina Room are grateful to Kathy Hughes, Max Taintor and BCTV (Buncombe County Television) crew for filming all of the Asheville in the 1980s series. They have also provided the North Carolina Room with copies of each program on YouTube which we have on our HeardTell blog site (see tab
A packed house in Lord Auditorium was the scene for the fourth program in the library’s series on Asheville in the 1980s. Sponsored by the Friends of the North Carolina Room, the July 27 event was a lively retrospective on the vibrant art world in 1980s Asheville. Phyllis Lang, former editor of The Arts Journal,
But first some history. E. W. Grove built the new Bon Marche department store for Solomon Lipinsky; architect/designer was W. L. Stoddart, an architect from New York City. Lipinsky had founded the store in Asheville in 1889. The Bon Marche later moved into a new building across the street at 33 Haywood in 1936 (now the