The Bon Marché Building of Asheville, North Carolina was built in 1923 by E.W. Grove for the store's owner, Solomon Lipinsky.[1] This was several years before Grove began construction on nearby Grove Arcade, one of Asheville’s most famous architectural landmarks.[2] The Bon Marché building was designed by W.L. Stoddart, a hotel architect who also designed the Battery Park Hotel and Vanderbilt Hotel.[3]It is an example of the Classical Revival architecture style.[4]
This new building served as a larger location for the Bon Marché, originally called Lipinsky and Ellick, which was founded in downtown Asheville in the 1890’s.[5] The owner, Solomon Lipinsky, was a prominent Jewish businessman and community leader in Asheville. [6] from the 1890’s to 1978, nearly 90 years, the Bon Marché became the longest running department store in Asheville’s history.[7] The name Bon Marché, meaning “the good deal” or “the good market” in French, came from Le Bon Marché, one of the world’s first department stores located in Paris.[8]
In a 1938 letter to Solomon Lipinsky’s son, Lewis Lipinsky, in preparation for the store’s 50th anniversary, Asheville author Thomas Wolfe says “…Bon Marché is such a landmark in Asheville life that if I ever heard anything had happened to it I think I should feel almost as if Beaucatcher Mountain had been violently removed from the landscape by some force of nature. I know that as long as I can remember, at any rate, it has always stood with the women folk at home for the best in merchandise and fashion…”[7]
After The Bon Marché Store moved across the street in 1937, Ivey’s Department Store took over the Bon Marché building.[4] Ivey’s Department Store became a staple in downtown Asheville during the mid- 20th century.
1985 saw the renovation of the Bon Marché building, which restored it to a more historically accurate condition.[4] This renovation removed some changes made during the 1950s and 1960s, such as a semi-circular awning, which was incompatible with the building’s original style. In that same year, the Bon Marché building became the Haywood Park Hotel.
References
edit- ^ "E.W. Grove Investments", Live and Invest in the Land of the Sky, Frank Coxe Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNCA: The Inland Press at Asheville, NC, p. 14, archived from the original on 2003-02-26
- ^ "E.W. Grove & Grove Arcade: A Brief History" (PDF). Grove Arcade. 2006.
- ^ "Stoddart, William Lee (1868 - 1940)". North Carolina Architects & Builders: A Biographical Dictionary. NCSU Library. 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Argintar, Sybil H. (November 30, 2009), Local Historic Property Designation Report for Bon Marché Building, Southeastern Preservation Services
- ^ The Lipinsky Family Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNCA in collaboration with History @ Hand Partnership, 2005-07-08, retrieved April 18, 2011
- ^ "WNC's 50 Most Influential People, Past & Present", WNC Magazine, January 2008, retrieved April 18, 2011
- ^ a b The Family Store: A History of Jewish Businesses in Downtown Asheville, 1880-1990. Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNC Asheville. 2006. ISBN 097464241X.
{{cite book}}: External link in|authorlink=|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Souvenir of the Bon Marché, founded by Aristide Boucicaut, Lipinsky Family Papers, Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNC Asheville, 1896, archived from the original on 2006-11-14
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
