Asheville: Resilience through Leadership, Partnerships and Diversity

Asheville’s ability to rebuild itself and to foster a vibrant downtown in the second half of the 20th century owes much to its early history. Asheville was a booming town in 1900, an urban center for the mountain area with numerous trading-related businesses. The completion of the railway line to Asheville in 1880 had ushered in a period of increased tourism and development. By the turn of the century, the area hosted a number of health sanitariums that attracted people from far and wide. It was marketed as a beautiful place where people could rest, renew, relax, and recover from illnesses. Ever since this time, tourism has played an important and growing role in Asheville’s economy