Asheville’s big iron survives a big hit

It no doubt came as a shock to many a passerby to see the iconic Flat Iron sculpture, which sits at the intersection of Wall Street and Battery Park Avenue in downtown Asheville, torn six feet off its base on Feb. 28.

Just a bit of a wrinkle: The famous Flat Iron sculpture at the intersection of Battery Park Avenue and Wall Street, after being struck off its base by a car during a Feb. 28 police chase. Photo by Jason Sandford

On that Saturday, around 8:20 p.m., Asheville resident Cortez Lamont Anderson allegedly failed to stop for Asheville Police Department officers, who were trying to pull him over on suspicion of driving drunk.

Near the end of his run, Anderson roared up Wall Street, where his white Pontiac G6 ultimately collided with the sculpture, knocking over a planter and causing the iron to slide six feet off its base but not tip over. At press time, yellow “Caution” tape still covered the scene and the iron remained displaced.

According to the APD’s incident report, there were no injuries, and damage to property was minimal. Police apprehended Anderson on foot just after the crash.

Anderson was charged with resisting arrest, driving drunk, driving with his license revoked and fleeing arrest in a motor vehicle. He is currently being held in the Buncombe County Detention Facility on an $18,000 bond.

The 8-foot-tall sculpture, designed by Asheville sculptor Reed Todd, was modeled after the irons used at the turn-of-the-century Asheville Laundry.

The city hopes to get the famous iron back on its base soon.

“We hope to have it repaired this week,” Diane Ruggeiro, the city’s cultural arts superintendent, told Xpress on March 9. “The artist has been out of town and we wanted to involve them in the repair. But we’ve got everything ready to go from our end.”

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.