Places - Western North Carolina

How Waynesville Was Won

In the opening scene of Ron Rash’s acclaimed novel Serena, a steam train pulls into the Waynesville station in 1929, depositing Boston timber baroness Serena Pemberton onto the platform from which she’ll launch an all-out assault — on anyone or anything that gets in her way.

by Joanne O’Sullivan

A Model Village

While you’d never know it from his other building project—the Biltmore Estate—it turns out that millionaire industrialist George Vanderbilt was something of an early New Urbanist.

by Joanne O’Sullivan

Flat Rock

In the 20th century, Flat Rock became home to summer camps, second homes, and religious retreat centers, allowing a broader spectrum of people to take part in the good life that the village has to offer.

by Joanne O'Sullivan

Down by the River

You don’t get to Marshall by accident. It’s a deliberate journey, winding down narrow sinuous roads. And once you reach Main Street, you might be inclined to dismiss it. Small town. Old town. No upscale boutiques or big-box stores. Can’t be much going on here, right? Wrong.

By Kate O’Connor

West Side Story

“West Asheville was not a cool place to live when we bought here,” says Keith Wright, a photographer who, with his wife and business partner Wendy, has lived in the neighborhood for a decade.

By Joanne O'Sullivan

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Archive »neighborhood watch

How Waynesville Was Won

A Model Village

Flat Rock

Down by the River

West Side Story

Archive »public spaces

"Lovely As a Tree"

Endless Summer - The Biltmore Conservatory

	How Waynesville Was Won In the opening scene of Ron Rash’s acclaimed novel Serena, a steam train pulls into the Waynesville station in 1929, depositing Boston timber baroness Serena Pemberton onto the platform from which she’ll launch an all-out assault — on anyone or anything that gets in her way. by Joanne O’Sullivan
	A Model Village While you’d never know it from his other building project—the Biltmore Estate—it turns out that millionaire industrialist George Vanderbilt was something of an early New Urbanist. by Joanne O’Sullivan
	Flat Rock In the 20th century, Flat Rock became home to summer camps, second homes, and religious retreat centers, allowing a broader spectrum of people to take part in the good life that the village has to offer. by Joanne O'Sullivan
	Down by the River You don’t get to Marshall by accident. It’s a deliberate journey, winding down narrow sinuous roads. And once you reach Main Street, you might be inclined to dismiss it. Small town. Old town. No upscale boutiques or big-box stores. Can’t be much going on here, right? Wrong. By Kate O’Connor
	West Side Story “West Asheville was not a cool place to live when we bought here,” says Keith Wright, a photographer who, with his wife and business partner Wendy, has lived in the neighborhood for a decade. By Joanne O'Sullivan