We at this Asheville bed and breakfast are just ‘tickled pink’ that This Old House magazine has just named Asheville NC Montford Historic District as “Best Old-House Neighborhood” in North Carolina! The editors have created a list of 64 neighborhoods, one from each state plus one from Puerto Rico, and 12 Canadian cities. The list focuses on those neighborhoods with a promising future, strong communities and homes that deserve long-term commitment. Hooray!
Those of you who own an older home or want to own one or just really love classic homes may be very familiar with This Old House magazine. It is a treasure-trove of information, history and resources for renovating and maintaining old houses. It also highlights areas in the US and Canada where older-home neighborhoods are thriving. We are pleased to be part of that focus.
Our Asheville bed and breakfast is located in the Montford Historic District on a quiet street called Cumberland Circle. The district is a sizable area comprising more than 600 structures that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Both our house, designed by Biltmore Supervising Architect Richard Sharp Smith and our Carriage House, built in the 1920s, are on the National Register listing.
The Montford Historic District in Asheville NC is also home to eleven bed and breakfasts… and I am pleased to be the ‘longest surviving B&B Innkeeper’ in the area!. This is my 19th season here. I am also the last of the Innkeepers who actually converted an historic house into a bed and breakfast in the Montford Historic District here in Asheville!
Abbington Green Bed & Breakfast Inn was actually the 10th bed and breakfast to open in this lovely neighborhood. What that means is that by 1993, nine other B&Bs were already open. The ‘first generation’ of Innkeepers here in Montford were the brave folk who invested their life-savings in a dream of owning an historic home and starting their own business. And in doing so, they (we) lovingly brought back to life many run-down, neglected homes with an historic past…some of which were on the list for imminent demolition!
Today, all the bed and breakfasts here in Montford except Abbington Green Bed & Breakfast Inn have been sold several times over. Some of these Asheville bed and breakfasts have their 5th set of owners since I have been here. We are fortunate that with each new owner, the commitment to the preservation and improvement of this great neighborhood has remained strong.