Downtown Asheville, N.C., has a striking landscape that consists of numerous historic structures, quite notably the Asheville City Building. With repair work that began in early 2021, the massive, colorful Art Deco-style building is currently undergoing a facelift of sorts — meticulous repairs on the ornamental top of the octagonal-roofed building. The nearly 100-year-old belfry is constructed of terra cotta red tiles and pink Georgia marble piers, a visual masterpiece of architect Douglas D. Ellington, who came to Asheville and designed the landmark in the 1920s.
The eight-story city building was completed in 1928 and was created from natural materials Ellington thought would represent a “transition in color paralleling the natural clay-pink shades of the local Asheville soil.” Other Art Deco design elements include angular pink Georgia marble piers between the tiles, which also feature precise vertical rows of ornamental green and gold feather motifs.
The city hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Originally proposed as part of a joint City-County Plaza development, the building represents the progressive aspirations of the city during the 1920s. City officials proceeded with Ellington’s design for the city hall, and Ellington went on to later design other Asheville landmarks, including the First Baptist Church, Asheville High School and the S & W Cafeteria. According to the National Park Service’s website, Ellington stated the design of the city building was “an evolution of the desire that the contours of the building should reflect the mountain background,” referring to the amazing scenery that surrounds Asheville and serves as the backdrop for the city.
The interior of the building is designed in a manner typical of 1920s office buildings, with a central core containing public elevators and an enclosed staircase, while offices lie along the perimeter of each floor.
“The second floor houses the distinctive City Manager’s Office and City Council Chambers, both decorated in Neo-Georgian fashion. The interior of the council chambers features murals by New York artist Clifford Addams that portray the story of the American Indians and early white settlers in the area. City Hall has changed little since the 1920s and still captivates residents and visitors alike with its bold and colorful style,” states the NPS website.
Engineer Walter Ear, building construction program manager for the city of Asheville, said the aging structure of the building’s ornamental belfry recently showed obvious signs of deterioration, and it became clear to the city that repairs would be necessary. There were visible cracks in the stairwell plaster, peeling paint, leaks in the elevator, as well as water bubble pockets in the roofing itself. Because of the inaccessibility of the roof slopes, Ear said the city employed an engineering firm to utilize drones with high-powered cameras to capture footage of the structure and conduct necessary investigations into the repair project.
Because the city hall building is such an historic landmark with delicate design elements, it was necessary for the city to coordinate efforts to preserve the history of the ornamental belfry while maintaining its structural integrity.
“A lot of effort went into ensuring that we did maintenance work in a historically appropriate way,” said Ear. “We are also doing an elevator modernization project in city hall, where our old manual elevators will be converted to automated ones — again, historically appropriate.”
Ear and his team also worked with masonry experts to ensure the plaster, paint and grout would match the original materials as closely as possible.
“Doing a project on an old building like this is almost an archaeological dig,” he said. “At some point, the interior columns had been painted for some reason. When color-matching, it’s a puzzle to figure out if that color of paint was the original from 1928 or perhaps a glazing on top applied years later. Our contractors almost become on-site craftsmen to ensure a cohesive finished product.”
Undergoing a project of this scope, given its historical importance, required adequate funding that would ensure a top-quality engineering firm and construction company while still being affordable for the city of Asheville.
“We originally estimated the cost of the project to be about $550,000, then added a few necessary items (like fall protection), which brought the final cost to around $880,000,” Ear said. “With that unexpected overage, we had to find additional funds from other projects around the city, which were thereby delayed.” Indeed, there are several other buildings in downtown Asheville in need of repair. For example, the county building will be undergoing a repair project similar to the one being done at city hall. The repair work on the city building belfry is expected to be completed in May 2021, weather permitting. According to an Asheville press release, the Deagan chimes atop city hall will not ring during construction. Normally, the 10 tubular bells are programmed to alternate between two songs at noon daily: “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” and “God Bless America.”