Trolleys and the Changing face of Asheville

Over the past five years of living in Ashville North Carolina I have experienced the change in the look and feel of the City. One of my favorite ways to see the city is to take the trolly tour around the city. It only takes a little over an hour and the amount of sightseeing during that time gives one a good over all impression of what’s happening throughout the city.

I like to take a ride around downtown ever now and then to get a new look at my town and I find it quite relaxing and educational. The are different places you can catch the trolly but I usually get on the one that just goes the down town loop I like to hear the driver tell the history of the buildings and what inspired their development.

As I have be one my leisurely trolly tours around town I have seen new building come up and more and more of the skyline has been filled in with high rises and condos. One of my favorite changes that I have seen happening downtown is locates between Pack Place and the local courthouse, which by the way is an amazing example of art-deco architecture, there is a large green way park and amphitheater being built. I have been watching it happen from the window of my trolly rides for the past two years. The project is scheduled to take another year but when it’s done I think it will be a wonderful asset to the city’s downtown environment.

Another interesting development occurring is a potential project going on just down the street from the Haywood Road Hotel at the Groove Arcade. The trolley tour stops at the spot all the time because it is a wonderful example of the diverse architecture in Asheville. The proposed project is the completion of the Groove Arcade. When it was designed the architect had originally planned for a high rise to build in the center of the mall. But as the building was being erected situations arose and the construction of the high rise never occurred as can be observed by its present state. However, there are now plans to build the high-rise using a modified version of the original plans. I think this is another good development for the look and economy of the area.

One of my favorite stops the trolly tour makes is to the river arts district. Talk about seeing the look and feel of a place change, wow, this area of town has gone from being a collection of empty beat down warehouses to a hoping creative center. In the early days of my trolly rides, the tour didn’t go down to the river district. For that matter, nobody really went down there. Now away days, the arts river district is filled with several kinds of art studios and galleries. And, during the summer there are art walks were all the studios and galleries open up for tours during the evening. This has to be one of my favorite parts of my sightseeing tour of my home town. Every time I go down there is new art on the streets in front of the studios and galleries have new art up on their walls all the time.

Over the years the Face of my town has changed a lot. I feel most of it is for the better and has really added to the over all environment has enrichened. And, it is always a nice enjoyable way to see it through the window of the trolly.