#1 - Walk Into History
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This "jump off" station recognizes, via plaque, the original unfolding of Pack Square where the first log courthouse of the city stood in 1893.
Urban Trail Audio Tour
#1 - Can Vault
A building façade adorned in mid-century patterning with abstracted, geometric representations of pint glasses.
#3 - Stepping Out
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A top hat, cane and gloves, cast in bronze, recall the theaters and the Grand Opera House that once flourished along Patton Avenue.
#4 - O. Henry
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Former resident Sydney Porter is celebrated with visual cues from his short masterpiece The Gift of the Magi.
#5 - Immortal Image
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The plaque at Station #5 draws attention to the Victorian frieze work along the front of the Drhumor Building (1895).
#6 - Elizabeth Blackwell
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A bench with a bower of medicinal herbs (created by Joe Miller) honors Asheville resident Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman M.D. in the U.S.
#8 - Flat Iron Architecture
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Turn the corner and you'll discover a fabulously large iron, a replica of one used by a local laundry (artist: Reed Todd).
#9 - Cat Walk
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Bronze cats mark the site of an original retaining wall for a hill later removed by E.W. Grove to develop that part of downtown Asheville.
#10 - Grove’s Vision
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A glass etching (temporarily unavailable) shows the original plans for the Grove Arcade, including a full-fledged tower that was never built.
#11 - Historic Hilltop
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This "signature" station celebrates both “old” and “new” Battery Park Hotels, the first destroyed by fire, but both known for their guest lists.
#12 - Guastavino’s Monument
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The Basilica of St. Lawrence features North America's largest self-supporting elliptical dome.
#13 - Appalachian Stage
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Five bronze figures seemingly float to the rhythms of Appalachian music, a tribute to the songs of the mountains.
#14 - Shopping Daze
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This forged-metal representation of three well-heeled and hatted ladies with a small dog in tow commemorates an era when Haywood Street was the epicenter of fashionable shopping.
#15 - Marketplace
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A basket of apples balanced over wagon wheels recalls a time when produce markets and livery stables lined Lexington Avenue.
#16 - Legacy of Design
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The unbridled imagination of a boy on stilts captures the spirit of architect Richard Sharp Smith who left a lasting impact on the city's architecture.
#17 - Woodfin House
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A ceramic replica of the Woodfin House honors Nicholas Woodfin, prominent lawyer and farmer.
#18 - Wolfe’s Neighborhood
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You can vault time zones by standing in the indicated footsteps, large enough for Thomas Wolfe's large shoes.
#19 - Dixieland
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A bronze version of Wolfe’s shoes draws attention to his mother’s boarding house, Old Kentucky Home.
#20 - Curtain Calls
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Abstract metal sculptures wrangle to earth the myriad of emotions portrayed on stage in the long history of Asheville Community Theatre.
#21 - On the Move
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A silvery, art-in-motion sculpture, detailed with Art Deco stampings, honors the evolution of transportation in Asheville.
#22 - Civic Pride
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A bell very close in shape to this one once rung out at important times in Asheville's original City Hall.
#23 - Man and Mountain
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A bronze plaque pays homage to the mountains with a nod towards Beaucatcher Road.
#24 - Time Remembered
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This grass-surrounded marker reveals that there’s a time capsule buried underneath.
#25 - Ellington’s Dream
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This granite etching renders Douglas Ellington’s original working concept of two art deco buildings of government.
#27 - Monument Corner
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Carving tools and a work in progress represent W.O. Wolfe’s tombstone shop.
#28 - Brick Artisan
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A plaque honors James Vester Miller, a son of slaves and master brick mason and artisan for the Municipal Building.
#29 - The Block
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Artist Winston Wingo's bronze relief celebrates the spirit of Asheville's African-American community.
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