Asheville’s Southside
A note attached to one photo of a home on Asheville’s southside in early 1960 calls it an “illegal gambling/whiskey house,” or illegal bar.
“We really have to get beyond the nostalgia to say what was there, what was life really like,” Mathews said.
Interconnected
Many, many more structures in Asheville’s southside housed legitimate businesses.
“Many people who grew up here remember (Southside) and being as vital, if not more vital, a commercial district than The Block,” Mathews said, referring to the historic African-American business district around the intersection of Eagle and South Market streets near City Hall.
Mathews shows photo after photo of Asheville’s southside auto repair shops, restaurants, service stations, beauty parlors and hotels, including one where James Brown and
Cover of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin once played in an upstairs auditorium.
Some homes were small, but many had distinctive architectural features people would treasure today.
“The preservationist in me is saying I could have done something with these buildings,” Mathews
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