FULL OF ENERGY

In artistic Asheville, a creative community is bouncing back. What the city needs now are travelers to share the love

- GEORGE STONE

The manor at Biltmore Estate

IN 1889, when George Washington Vanderbilt, an art aficionado and a scion of the industrialist Vanderbilt family, had a 250-room Gilded Age house built in Buncombe County, North Carolina, it is said that he pressed quartz into its foundations. His intent, per local lore, was to channel the ground's "pure energies" into his château-esque mansion. Today his Biltmore Estate sits at the edge of Asheville, an artsy mountain town known for its creative, if eccentrically inclined, scene. Many visit for the beer, hiking, crafts, and riverine landscapes. Others come for the crystal bowls, chakra balancing, and mica-rich soil. Maybe Vanderbilt was onto something.

But in September 2024, Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern United States, including this corner of the Appalachian Mountains, leveling forests and turning rivers into torrents. Asheville's artists were among the hardest hit. The French Broad River rose to about 25 feet, decimating the surrounding River Arts District, where some 750 creatives worked and exhibited. In the year since, Asheville locals have found innovative and true-to-them ways to regain their footing.