Although I'm not actually in my house yet, still staying with a friend down the street, I'm already diving in to life in Asheville. Besides my initial steps joining Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, I'm been to my first Spanish Conversation group, my first Quilt Guild meeting, and my first Swing Dance since arriving here in July. I'm sure I'll have lots to say about all those topics as the weeks and months go on, but first, I want to start with my new neighborhood.
The Norwood Park Historic District was listed on the
National Register
of Historic Places in 2008. The following is adapted from the website
Living Places by The Gombach Group.
The
original online article can be found at:
http://www.livingplaces.com/NC/Buncombe_County/Asheville_City/Norwood_Park_Historic_District.html
The Norwood Park Historic District, located north of downtown, forms an
intact representation of Asheville's boom time in the first three decades of
the twentieth century, along with some additional building which took place in
the late 1930s through the 1950s. The Norwood Park Historic District has
retained a high degree of historic architectural integrity.
Topography varies widely. Some lots, such as
those along parts of Woodward and Woodley Avenues are nearly level, unlike the
steep hillsides and siting of houses high above the street on Murdock Street.
Most lots have gently sloping topography, dropping slightly to the rear, often
allowing for a full above-ground basement level. Lots are typically small, with
houses lining both sides of the streets built close together in a steady rhythm
of setback.
The District consists of 154 contributing buildings and outbuildings that
are at least fifty years old, and retain a high degree of architectural
integrity. The twenty-six acre residential district contains an intact
collection of Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Minimal Traditional, Tudor Revival,
and Dutch Colonial Revival style buildings dating from the late 1910s and
1920s.
While earlier neighborhoods such as Montford and Chestnut Hills were laid
out in a grid pattern, later neighborhoods such as Albemarle
Park, and later Grove Park,
designed by Biltmore Estate landscape architect Chauncey Beadle, utilized the
"suburb beautiful" concept. This movement consisted of a design
philosophy which included a curvilinear system of street design that paid close
attention to the natural topography and incorporated within its boundaries
amenities such as large lots, sidewalks, tree-lined streets, open spaces, and
elaborate high-style houses following the latest architectural trends of the
day.
The development of Norwood Park
was very much in keeping with the 1910s to 1920s trend in Asheville, and the nation, to develop more
suburban, park-like neighborhoods located farther from downtown. In contrast to
the neighborhoods mentioned above, however, Norwood Park was designed with
smaller lots, and a higher density of buildings and while incorporating many of
the concepts of the "suburb beautiful" movement in its curvilinear
street patterns, uniform setbacks, close attention to the natural topography,
sidewalks, and tree-lined streets, the District was smaller in land area and
was designed to appeal to the middle class homeowner.
Bungalows typically found
in Norwood Park were generally less elaborate,
typically in the Craftsman style, and no land was left undeveloped for a public
park.
Norwood Park
filled an important need in Asheville for more
middle class housing, meeting a continuing desire of the population of Asheville to move farther
from the center of town, made possible by the street car lines and the ease of
access by automobile. Norwood Park, in its heyday of development in the 1910s to
1920s, provided housing for the middle class and formed the northern edge of
residential communities available within the city limits of Asheville.
A May 1915 newspaper article noted that "choice lots" were for
sale in Norwood Park,
although they were generally smaller than those found in the adjoining Grove Park
neighborhood. Over $14,000 had been invested by the developers in improving the
Norwood Park property, however, including the grading of streets, concrete
sidewalks, city water, electric lights, telephones, and link-up to the city
sewage system. The article also pointed out the proximity to the existing
street car system, making the neighborhood "one of the most desirable
residential sections in or near Asheville."
The lots were all to be sold with a specified building line to give the
property a "uniform park-like appearance and not to obstruct the view from
any lot."
Residents of Norwood
Park historically were a
mix of socio-economic levels.
In
addition to residents who worked for Asheville businesses, there were many
business owners and other professionals who lived in the neighborhood,
including physicians, dentists, accountants, lawyers, traveling salesmen,
retired army personnel, insurance agents, postal workers, and U.S. and State
Forest Service workers.
The Craftsman style is the type most commonly found in Norwood Park Historic
District. Craftsman Bungalows, nationally popular from 1905 to 1930, typically
are one to one-and-one-half stories, with either front or side-gable roofs,
with porches often including details such as battered posts on piers, solid
balustrades, and an irregular floor plan. They make use of natural materials such
as brick and stone, and Norwood
Park is no exception to
this stylistic feature.
The second most popular style built in the neighborhood is the Colonial
Revival (1880-1955), including several examples of the
Foursquare
form, which typically is two rooms tall and two rooms deep in massing, with
either a gable or hip roof and a full-width porch.
The Colonial Revival covers
a wide range of building forms, but all typically include two stories,
symmetrical massing, and often side-gable roofs with end or central chimneys.
This popular style can also be seen at a larger scale with a central portico,
hip roofs and a full-width porch. The Dutch Colonial Revival has symmetrical
massing, central brick chimney, front entry stoop with a pedimented roof
supported by square posts, German siding and gambrel roof.
The Tudor Revival (1890-1940) house, of which there are a few examples in
Norwood Park Historic District, typically is asymmetrical in massing, is built
of masonry construction, with steeply pitched multi-gable roofs, casement
windows, and an entry stoop. It can include applied half-timbering on the walls
and there may be brick surrounds at doors and windows
As is the case with most historic neighborhoods, there have been some
architectural changes made since Norwood
Park was first laid out
in 1914. In most instances, these are minor alterations that do not
significantly interfere with the architectural integrity of the houses. These
include replacement doors and windows, artificial siding, and small additions
that do not overwhelm the original building in mass and scale. Some
architectural changes within the neighborhood that have changed building
integrity, include full porch enclosures, large additions, major changes to
entries, and complete re-designing of prominent front porches. However, despite
these changes, Norwood Park Historic District retains a high degree of
architectural integrity in its presentation of architectural styles, setback,
massing, materials, and street layout, retaining its sense of place and
setting.
