West Asheville--Aycock School Historic District (Boundary Increase)

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The West Asheville--Aycock School Historic District (Boundary Increase) is a historic district with one contributing building at 444 Haywood Rd. in Asheville, Buncombe County. That building is a two-story textured-brick structure built in 1925 in the Commercial Style.

Why it's listed

It was listed under criteria A and C, with local significance in commerce and architecture. The nomination gives its period of significance as about 1915 to 1956, spanning the building's 1925 construction.

Physical character

The building has a U-shaped plan around a central light well, a brick foundation, and an asphalt-and-rubber roof, with a corbelled cornice and metal parapet coping. Its window openings show soldier-course lintels and six-over-six sash, and a brick chimney and metal fire stair remain above four storefronts. Storefronts were enclosed in brick or remodeled in the 1970s, when the exterior gained a veneer and a plywood facade; in 2013 these were stripped and the unsympathetic replacement storefronts were removed and replaced.

Historical context

In 1923, J. Garrett and Lottie Anderson bought the lot from S. F. and L. A. Hall, and the Mardis Building rose in 1925 with storefronts, offices, and residential units; J. S. Mardis ran a shoe store and real estate office through the 1920s. Frank Austin bought the building around 1942, and his company ran a commercial space there through 1957. The Smith family bought it in 1974, when Ace Appliance Company opened showrooms there that closed in 2008.