I love checking out places here in the city even more during the holidays because of how festive they look. Last week, the husband and I braved the cold temp (40’s with a wind chill) to check out this historic building in downtown Asheville which I’ve been wanting to visit for a long time now. Can you believe that it was my first time to visit the place after being here in Asheville for seven years now? But guess what? Hubby was born and raised here yet it was also his first time to visit the place. Ha! He had drove by it a thousand if not a million times though, but never got to see the inside until last week.

He’d never been inside because it was once a federal building. Opened in 1929, it was the vision of E.W. Grove, a self-made millionaire, the creator of the grand Asheville hotel the Grove Park Inn. But he also felt that the city needed to be enlivened so he conceived of the Arcade, hoping to create “the most elegant building in America.” Unfortunately, he died in 1927, two years before the building was completed. But upon completion, it was (and still is) the largest building in the city of Asheville. And for 13 years the Arcade was the hub and leader of commercial and civic life in Western North Carolina. But it was closed to the public in 1942. Because it was in such a safe and remote location, the Federal Government took it over as part of the war effort. After the war, the government retained ownership and it eventually became the home of the National Climatic Data Center. But the Data Center moved out in 1995 and the Arcade returned to its original use, reopening to the public in 2002. Since that time the Arcade has offered shopping and dining of an eclectic range to suit everyone’s tastes.

THE FACADE

The Grove Arcade is considered a historic site in downtown Asheville. You can tell from the facade of the building alone that this building was built decades if not centuries ago. We drove by this place several times before and even got to enjoy a night with a good friend before at one of the establishments there, Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar. Hubby’s good friend who is a bookworm like him introduced us to the place and Hubby actually blogged about it here before.

Currently, the Grove Arcade is having an event called Winter Wonderland which they celebrate annually until January 4.

DECKED OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS

And the event that they celebrate entails an elaborate use of seasonal decorations to deck it out in like a winter wonderland. That’s exactly why I chose to visit the place this holiday season because without a doubt, the Christmas decor makes the place prettier than it already is.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DISPLAY

All these gingerbread house displays were part of the the Omni Grove Park Inn’s National Gingerbread House competition, a yearly event. These are only some of the entries for this year’s competition. The rest of the gingerbread houses are displayed at the Omni Grove Park Inn. We’ve checked it twice in the past and it was amazing. The talent and creativity shown on those gingerbread houses is fascinating.

ART DECO STYLING

I can’t help but notice the details in and around the building. It makes me feel like I was in a different era. Asheville is blessed with many old and historic buildings which used art deco in their design.

The building has five floors;  the second is used for offices and the third through fifth floor are apartments. This elevator is used exclusively by them.

Isn’t the Grove Arcade pretty? So make sure the next time you visit Asheville to check this place out!