Asheville-NC

Asheville, North Carolina

Tourism Information Center

Home

About

Cameras

Current Weather

Temp: ° F

Touch Screen

The History of the Grove Arcade

The History of the Grove Arcade is generally conceded that the Arcade Building would do justice to a city many times the size of Asheville. It is by far the finest structure in the South and there are few, if any, finer in the entire country.
E.W. Grove, 1929

     The Grove Arcade planned by E.W. Grove and designed by Charles N. Parker, was completed in 1929. The 269,000 square foot building housed one of the country �s first indoor public markets on the first floor with offices above. From the time of its opening until 1942, the Grove Arcade was the center of commercial and civic life in Asheville. The Arcade was closed when the Federal Government took over the building as part of the effort to win World War II.   Seventy-four shops and 127 offices were evicted with less than one month�s notice.

     Following the war, the public began to clamor for the return of the Grove Arcade to its original use. The Arcade continued under Federal ownership as headquarters for the National Climatic Data Center. In the 1980�s, the government announced plans to enlarge and remodel the Arcade Building.

     The Grove Arcade was placed on the National Register of Historical Places during this time. In response to public demand that the Arcade �s historic architecture remain intact and the building be returned to its original function, a Mayor�s Task Force was established in 1985.

     In the years that followed,more than a dozen private developers considered renovating the building. Both prospective developers and Task Force members discovered that the public spaced which made the Arcade so appealing rendered it impractical for a conventionally-financed private development.

     A group of community leaders and concerned citizens formed the Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation. This not-for-profit, 501(c)3 corporation has the mission of restoring the Grove Arcade to its original form and function. In 1992, the Executive Director, was hired by the Foundation bringing with him 15 years of experience as a director of Seattle�s Pike Place Market. Shortly thereafter, the Federal Government announced plans to build a new facility for the Climatic Data Center. The new Federal Building Complex was completed in 1995, and plans for the Arcade to become Asheville �s new Public Market were refined. In 1997, the City of Asheville acquired title to the building under the National Monument Act and signed a 198 year lease with the Foundation.

      Since then, the Foundation has been working to restore the Grove Arcade building and its spirit. The Arcade remains Western North Carolina �s largest commercial building.