Still, some folks prefer a more urban getaway, or a little variety after fishing, golfing, hiking, kayaking, mountain climbing, wildlife watching or zip-lining. That’s helped the region’s largest city, Asheville (population 84,458 as of 2011), once again become a popular Southern destination.
“Once again” comes into play because the city had that status from the latter years of the 19th century through the Roaring Twenties.
The construction of George Vanderbilt’s enormous, ornate Biltmore Estate (which remains Asheville’s and North Carolina’s No. 1 tourist attraction) helped trigger an economic boom in the city that made it a “place to be,” whether to live or visit and play, for the nation’s elite.
Downtown construction was done in a unique Art Deco look. Housing developments flourished and luxury resorts were built to accommodate visitors such as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, President Calvin Coolidge and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Zelda died in Asheville).
However, the Great Depression ravaged Asheville and its economy. The city had the highest per capita debt in the U.S. and spent more than four decades paying it off. Because of that, it had no resources to commit to urban renewal — tearing down old buildings to put up new — and today’s tourists
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