Architectural Tidbits

By Dale Wayne Slusser Architect “A. L. Melton”, a little-known architect from Morganton, NC, moved to Asheville in 1886 to participate in the building boom which followed the 1880 arrival of the railroad. For the ensuing three decades, Melton was responsible for the...

by Dale Wayne Slusser February is the month for Lovers! Here in Asheville we think of it as the month for lovers of bungalows, and of all things Arts & Crafts, Mission-Style, and Craftsman, as hundreds of bungalow lovers descend upon Asheville to attend the National...

by Dale Wayne Slusser A substantial part of Asheville’s historic districts and neighborhoods are made up of houses and buildings built during the period from the 1880’s through to the 1920’s.  The arrival of the railroad in 1880 caused a rapid and sizeable increase in...

by Dale Wayne Slusser “The work of prominent and prolific architect George F. Barber (1854–1915) can be found across North America. Virtually every major town has a residence designed by the Knoxville-based architect, who created and sold house plans through his...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Asheville has, since the coming of the railroad in the 1880’s, attracted both the most wealthy and talented citizens from all parts of the U. S.  However, I was recently reminded that among those attracted to Asheville also were numerous...

by Dale Wayne Slusser When I’m asked to research the history of a house, the foremost question I’m asked is: “Who built my house?”  Of course, implicit in that question are really three questions, “Who commissioned my house to be built?”, “Who designed my house?”, and...

by Dale Wayne Slusser The majority of Asheville’s four local designated Historic Districts and its fourteen National Register Historic Districts consists of houses/structures from the late-nineteenth-century and early twentieth century.  Many of these structures were...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Before HGTV and DIY television, architectural design trends were influenced, popularized, and in fact, most often initiated by what we librarians used to call “print-media”: books, newspapers, and magazines. Author Daniel D. Reiff, in his...

by Dale Wayne Slusser If I hear one more person on HGTV moan because the house they’re looking to buy doesn’t have granite countertops or an open concept, I think I’ll just scream!! -Or if I hear of another person who longs to live in a “tiny house” on 12 acres (where...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Possum Trot Cottage in Asheville’s Albemarle Park was built as a speculation home by the park’s developer, Thomas Wadley Raoul. Following the death of Thomas’ father, William G. Raoul (who had bank-rolled the Albemarle Park project since 1896),...