Letter writer: Green Man Brewery sets a new standard for Asheville architecture

AN 'ARCHITECTURAL GEM': Green Man Brewery opened its nearly $6 million expansion, the Greenmansion, in the South Slope on March 17. Photo by Cindy Kunst

Why, oh why, can’t we attract more aspiring people to Asheville like Dennis and Wendy Thies, who have given the city the gorgeous Greenmansion on Buxton Avenue, an architectural gem that demonstrates what can be accomplished by investors with taste, not just money? [See “Greener Pastures: Green Man Brewery Invests in Its Future While Celebrating Its Past With Multimillion-dollar Expansion,” March 23, Xpress.]

Look closely, Asheville decision-makers. This is your new standard.

— Richard Pigossi
Asheville

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11 thoughts on “Letter writer: Green Man Brewery sets a new standard for Asheville architecture

  1. luther blissett

    The Greenmansion’s a weird building right now, in its ‘open for beer tourists’ phase. The exterior’s definitely fitting with South Slope architecture, and the balcony will be a fun place during the summer months, but the interior is still pretty sterile, and the ground floor arrangement feels like a strange hotel lobby with a bar and souvenir stand. Eventually, the edges will get roughened up; for now, it’ll draw away the weekend visitors from Dirty Jack’s, which is great for the regulars.

    • henry

      We went there recently and you have it right. The interior seems like an empty vessel and lacks atmosphere. The second floor is all restrooms. Somehow its got to grow some cool factor. But it does have a large parking lot across the street. Unfortunately, the 3rd floor balcony faces the wrong direction, away from downtown.

  2. Hauntedheadnc

    That building looks like a suburban dentist’s office. How is that blandly unattractive hodgepodge any kind of “new standard”? We already have a thousand buildings all over town just like it.

  3. boatrocker

    T is for time might improve the whole going there experience
    O is for outta towners, welcome to the thin veneer of Asheville- hand over your money now!
    U is for under used canvas, so much could be done there to make it not like Charlotte in its’ overall feel
    R is for required website with picture perfect female bartenders and male staff who washed out from NorthFaceGear.com
    I is for I don’t see any Frank Lloyd Wright like architectural genius behind the building design- it does the job
    S is for South Slope is now Portlandia, season II
    T is for take home a growler or 12 pack, but entertain at home

    T is for T shirt logo still is a rip off of 1982’s “Swamp Thing”
    R is for recycle, re use and bring bottles back reagardless
    A is for ask how many tasting rooms a town full of underpaid workers really needs
    P is for politely inform ‘beer tourists’ that downing a pint or 2 is not going to guarantee any local brewery is still here next vacation

    But much like most things ‘local’ now, you can’t blame them. yes, Green Man is one of the senior local breweries around town, but…
    Decisions are always handed down from the ones who don’t struggle with living on local beer-slinger wages.

  4. Jenny

    I find this to be a very boring building. Nothing interesting about it. The interior as well, big and cold.
    I don’t see what you see.

  5. Jane

    My first impression was that it looks like a Barnes and Noble, but at least they used real brick?

  6. bsummers

    T shirt logo still is a rip off of 1982’s “Swamp Thing”

    You do know that the ‘Green Man’ imagery dates back to the 5th century, right?

    Other than that, good poem.

    • boatrocker

      Yes, I’m aware of that and figured that might come up in a discussion here. However, I had seen the movie in the theater as a younger poster and the image stuck with me all these years.

      The same way that a bottle of Franjelico liquor on a shelf somewhere still reminds me of the design of the bottle for Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, though I know which one is older.

  7. Yep

    ‘architectural gem’ ? huh ? by whose guage ? the fact that it’s brick helps it’s real estate VALUE but the box design is
    rather boring for a wannabe tourist trap…. did they get any county money to offset the brick costs ? (remember wicked weed
    got $75K plus a heavily discounted bldg ‘through’ the county while owned by a mega millionaire Rick Guthy)

    • boatrocker

      If there ever was a poster I’d recommend getting out of the house, sipping a cold one and talking to a female in real life- Heck, you could even rant about private property rights with her!

      Because that’s exactly what this thread is about- nothing to do with a normal looking building touted as something amazing like the Taj Mahal for newer buildings looking like a Charlotte styled LEGO village.

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