For this week’s edition of 52 Weeks, 52 Communities we’re reaching back into the HeardTell archives for two posts about Grace, a community in North Asheville. These posts were originally authored by NC Room Staff Zoe Rhine and Ione Whitlock. Grace, A Community that got absorbed by an avenue A View of Grace, Then and
Last month’s post on “Grace: A Community That Got Absorbed by an Avenue” featured a photograph of the Grace Supply Company. According to Miller’s City Directory, the location was numbered 637-641 Merrimon Avenue in 1931. In 1932 the avenue underwent a new numbering system which gave the building its present address of 853-855 Merrimon Avenue.
The loaded question is when did Grace begin, what area did it include, and where did the community get its name? Where was Grace? My best guess is, if you are driving north on Merrimon Avenue, after you top the hill at the intersection of Gracelyn Road at the Avenue M restaurant, from that point and looking out at the beautiful