In 1918, as cases of influenza increased, local Asheville businesses sought ways to use the pandemic to increase sales.

In 1918, as cases of influenza increased, local Asheville businesses sought ways to use the pandemic to increase sales.
Billed as America’s first planned community, Grovemont-on-Swannanoa was depicted as a place to escape the crowded city in order to live among lakes, parks and floral gardens.
See what historical events captured readers’ attention throughout 2018.
In the fall of 1923, a demolition crew began tearing down the original Battery Park. Later that year, flames would consume parts of the remaining property.
In the final months of 1922, news spread that E.W. Grove had plans to raze the original Battery Park Hotel and demolish the hill it stood atop. Not everyone was on board with the plan.
Bon Marche’s first storefront opened in 1889. The department store’s co-founder, Solomon Lipinsky, continued to grow the business until his death in 1925.
Anticipation for Col. Franklin Coxe’s Battery Park Hotel was evident in early newspaper reports.
“Dr. Battle was more than a citizen of Asheville; he was an institution,” wrote Asheville Times reporter James B. Caine in 1938. “He came here while this community was yet in its infancy; he watched, and materially aided in its growth with pleasure and pride.”
On Wednesday, June 28, Bruce Johnson will offer a talk titled “Family Feud: The Bitter Battle Between E.W. Grove and Fred Seely For the Grove Park Inn.” It will take place at the Lord Auditorium, on the lower level of Pack Memorial Library.