Kenilworth Inn
Encyclopedia
Kenilworth Inn, located in Asheville, North Carolina
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It is a towering example of large-scale Gothic Tudor architecture overlooking downtown Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains
and serves as tribute to American architecture
over the past 125 years.
of Philadelphia.
Described in various accounts as magnificent, handsome and luxurious, the inn was built atop the second-highest vantage point in Asheville, overlooking the junction of South Main Street and the Swannanoa River
Road.
Visitors to the inn were treated to idyllic views of the Swannanoa during a five-minute ride via carriage or on horseback up Macadam Drive on their way from the train depot to the top of the knoll. Upon arrival they passed through the inn's imposing stone porte cochere
and into an expansive lobby.
Inside the entryway to Kenilworth's main floor, guests found contemporary amenities and services at their disposal, including a newsstand, telephones, telegraph offices, pharmacy, music hall, billiard room
, various parlors and drawing rooms, and dining facilities. Extensive porches along the front were a perfect area for socializing.
The inn's many guest rooms commanded splendid views of the surrounding Craggy and Black Mountain, North Carolina
ranges, including distant glimpses of Mt. Mitchell
and Mt. Pisgah
. Along the valley floor to the south stretched the private park of George W. Vanderbilt, a 7000 acres (28.3 km²) tract that would eventually become Biltmore Forest and Biltmore Village
. The hotel and its environs boasted sumptuous appointment, 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of lawn, tennis grounds, and a golf course
. The lengths to which Kenilworth Inn went to pamper visitors became part of its renown. One personal account seems almost to have been taken from a hotel brochure:
“Each room has an entirely separate flue, and the air is changed in every room each five minutes throughout the entire twenty-four hours. The inside finish is in native hard wood. Kenilworth Inn has all of the modern conveniences, with everything for comfort, pleasure and luxury. A superior cuisine, the purest water, no back rooms, rare views from every room, electric lights, elevator, billiards, bowling, tennis, laundry and livery. Particular attention has been given to plumbing and drainage.”
The property included an additional 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) of woodland drives and walkways, providing the perfect environment for guests to take in the crisp morning air. One visitor practically gushed with wonderment at Kenilworth’s peaceful grounds:
“A superbly wooded tract of the most varied forest growths, containing grand old Spanish and stately white oak
s, health-giving pines, delicate dogwoods, spice-wood, luxuriant rhododendrons, azaleas, sweet shrubs, larkspurs, and small flora too numerous to mention. The native birds, gray squirrels, partridges, and wild rabbits are here protected, and afford unlimited entertainment.”
This original inn remained in operation into the early 1900s. The structure was destroyed by fire in April 1909, ending Kenilworth's grand first era.
Chiles may well have been early Asheville's most avid developer and the site of the original Kenilworth Inn held an attraction for him. His aunt had filled his head with ideas about Kenilworth Castle
in England, made famous by Sir Walter Scott's novel, Kenilworth, which included a picturesque lake and a decaying castle.
In 1919, those same romantic notions also led Chiles to declare his determination to rebuild another inn on the original Kenilworth Inn foundation. For Chiles, it would be like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Funding was provided initially through a company that Chiles incorporated in 1911, The Carolina Nova Cola Company. The following year, Chiles sold Carolina Nova and purchased a 151 acre (0.61107586 km²) tract from Joseph M. Gazzam, a former Pennsylvania State Senator
and the owner of the original Kenilworth Inn.
In 1913, Chiles formed Kenilworth Development Company to bring resources together to construct the new Kenilworth Inn. By September everything was in place and work began in earnest on the old Kenilworth Inn foundation. Chiles also formed Kenilworth Park Company – created especially to facilitate the incorporation of the town of Kenilworth. Under Chiles' vision a small suburb named Kenilworth was established with its own fire, police and sewer services. Chiles became mayor of the community – one that was considered experimental at the time.
Within this large property, work on the new Kenilworth Inn, (partially funded by Canadian investors), continued over the next five years. It was during this period that Asheville began experiencing a second period of growth in tourism, fueled by the increasing railroad commerce from the South and East.
During 1916, the year of the great area flood, Asheville was proud of its reputation as a city where fresh mountain air could relieve various pulmonary diseases
, primarily tuberculosis. The city's established hotels were experiencing a combined 250,000 visitors a year. Chiles, in the midst of constructing a 500 guest per day resort hotel, felt his new inn would be able to hold its own and could hardly wait for opening day.
The new construction got a shot in the arm during 1917 with help from newly established Asheville architect Richard Greene
, and the inn was completed by Carolina Wood Products Company the following year, along with the addition of a separate Boiler House to provide utility services.
The primary architecture of the newly constructed resort hotel was Tudor Revival
, including rough stone masonry
and a re-worked porte-cochere entranceway. Masonry contrasted nicely with stucco and a half timbered
exterior, while the half hipped and gabled dormers created a dramatic roof line.
Terraces and verandas were built to flow into open porches on all sides, allowing guests to take in the mountain air from all sides of the inn. Furnishings were modern and elegant, recreational facilities were varied, and the social atmosphere of the main floor and lobby, including a ballroom, solariums, tea rooms, billiard lounges, and fireplaces ensured that guests were satisfied all around.
Unfortunately, before Chiles could capitalize on his dream of a new Kenilworth Inn, the Army saw the new construction as the perfect place for a wartime convalescence hospital.
U. S. Army General Hospital No. 12
James Chiles leased Kenilworth Inn to the U.S. Army in February 1918, just one month after the building's construction was completed. The Army had been expressing their interest in Kenilworth since 1917, when they announced their plans for a hospital to be built in Azalea, NC. But the hospital would not be completed until September 1919.
The Army's decision to lease Kenilworth Inn while their new hospital was being built in Azalea stemmed primarily from the emergent need for a facility that could house sick and wounded soldiers, primarily those suffering from tuberculosis. So Chiles leased Kenilworth to the Army and the building became US. General Hospital No. 12, alternately referred to as U.S. Army Convalescence Hospital No. 12, or more plainly: Biltmore Hospital.
Chiles, through circumstances brought about by the needs of a wartime military commitment, found himself unable to provide the Asheville community with a luxury hotel. He would have to wait to re-acquire the building once the military's lease expired in September 1919.
Meanwhile, the Army began making significant interior renovations that would convert the luxurious building into a hospital. This work included extensive changes to the building's electrical and plumbing systems to allow for autopsy rooms, dark rooms, various examination rooms, x-ray
rooms, surgical rooms, as well as changes to some administrative offices and storage spaces.
Of primary significance to Kenilworth Inn's history during the period of its occupation by the Army is the admission of sick German aliens from the Hot Springs, North Carolina
internment camp
during the summer of 1918. These prisoners were described by the Army as “civilians under governmental but nonmilitary control.”
Hot Springs had long been nationally renowned as a resort and spa area. It was conveniently located on the main railroad line and the Mountain Park Hotel was a major tourist attraction
for the area. In 1917, the Army saw Hot Springs as a suitable area for their internment camp and leased the hotel for $1,500 a month. They began holding prisoners at the newly constructed camp in June. Nearly 3,000 Germans were held at Hot Springs until August 1918, when the Army transferred them to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
.
A typhoid outbreak among the internees resulted in 180 of them being transferred 50 miles (80.5 km) to the Inn. The cases of typhoid were so severe that 18 of the patients transferred to Kenilworth eventually died.
According to Army records, “The epidemic was directly traceable to accidental contamination of the water supply
of one section of the camp, which was connected, for fire-prevention purposes only, with an intake from the French Broad River
, afterward found to be contaminated.”
While it may be speculated by some that those prisoners who acquired typhoid may have deliberately drank contaminated water
to avoid being transferred from Hot Springs to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, there is no record extant that reveals this to be true. In fact the Asheville newspaper account at the time clearly states that, “no suicidal evidence is disclosed…even though the alien enemies expressed bitter disinclination to being transferred.”
Kenilworth Inn, 1923–1929
After resuming control over Kenilworth Inn in 1923, Chiles operated the resort hotel with great success until the stock market crash
of 1929. Hotel services offered at Kenilworth were contemporary with other Asheville resorts, such as the Grove Park Inn
. Both hotels provided rooms that were replete with modern conveniences for the well-paying guest.
Throughout the inn's successful six-year run, it was the setting for social activities and events that maintained a strong tie with the communities of Asheville and surrounding Kenilworth. Luxury accommodations at Kenilworth Inn in the twenties provided sterling views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and guests were encouraged to participate in tennis, golf, horseback riding
, Easter egg
hunts, fireworks displays, and billiards.
Kenilworth Inn brochures and pamphlets invited and encouraged the general public to visit the inn “any day or night of the week for dance, music and family fun” including picnics on the front lawn and lavish holiday celebrations.
The Chiles family strongly advocated this sense of community
through music concerts, radio broadcasts and other noteworthy performances, including a performance by the escape artist, Houdini.
Kenilworth Radio Concerts were broadcast from Kenilworth on local Asheville station WFAJ. These concerts featured the Kenilworth Inn Orchestra, the Spenser Orchestra of New York, and the famous Jan Garber Orchestra. Garber (billed as “The Idol Of The Airwaves”) led a big band
that was the epitome of that era's “sweet” music).
Kenilworth guests were encouraged to “get out and see the Asheville area” through complimentary passes to Biltmore Forest and Asheville Country Clubs. Kenilworth Inn hosted the first annual Kenilworth and Biltmore Forest Horse Show
in August 1923, as well as several art exhibits – most importantly the 1928 exhibit by Kenilworth Galleries.
The 1928 exhibit at Kenilworth was the largest showcase of paintings in the South to be held at the time. More than 100 artists from 12 states and three foreign countries presented their works, including Norman Rockwell
, A.C. Wyatt, and Mrs. R. P. Royer. Noted Italian and German artists exhibited their works in the U.S. for the first time during this event. In the fall of that year a lavish art show was held on Armistice Day
and included guests of honor from the American Legion
.
The Annexation of Kenilworth
In 1929, the onset of the Great Depression
caused many banks to close and others to severely curtail business. This financial belt tightening brought the heady era of luxury resort living and notable community events at Kenilworth Inn to a halt.
With many of its own banks closing, the city of Asheville sought to protect itself financially by annexing area suburbs, including Kenilworth. Kenilworth Mayor Leah Chiles agreed with the city's plan for stability, but she fought any annexation unless the people of the Kenilworth community were allowed to vote on the issue.
After many public meetings and much debate, Kenilworth residents were granted the right to a vote and the results were nearly unanimous in favor of annexation. On June 30, 1929, Mayor Leah Chiles surrendered the town of Kenilworth to the “bigger, better, and wealthier” city of Asheville.
Soon after annexation of Kenilworth, bank closings in Asheville caused the Kenilworth Inn Company to default on its payments to Carolina WoodProducts Company. The assets of the Kenilworth Realty Co, including Kenilworth Inn, were sold on the Court House
steps for $1200. The Chiles' holdings were essentially wiped out.
Appalachian Hall, 1931–1943
After being sold, Kenilworth Inn sat empty for one year before reopening as a sanatorium. The old structure, with its spacious interior, drew the attention of two local doctors, William Ray Griffin, Sr., and his brother, Mark Griffin, who purchased and then converted the inn into a mental health facility
in October 1931.
With an increasing number of patients in need of treatment during the depression, the two doctors were challenged. Their burgeoning practice had outgrown Appalachian Hall, the facility which had operated on French Broad Avenue in Asheville from 1916 until 1931.
The Griffin brothers quickly found that Kenilworth Inn, with its generous use of space, quiet halls, and impressive exterior grounds, suited their method of treatment for mental disorders
. The building was renamed Appalachian Hall to maintain the connection with their previous facility.
In order to preserve the layout of the original construction as much as possible, little was changed beyond the name and the addition of examination and treatment rooms. The Griffins also resisted changing the surrounding property so that patients not needing to be placed in isolation might be encouraged to participate in the same outdoor activities as guests of Kenilworth Inn had enjoyed in previous years.
In an era when many of their contemporaries were still providing treatments solely upon physical ailments, the Griffins approach to psychiatry went beyond the standard treatments of hydrotherapy, thermo therapy and electro therapy. The facilities at Appalachian Hall provided a means for treatments that were varied according to the individual and usually included a mixture of approved recreational, occupational, and physical therapies.
There were other privately owned mental health
facilities in Asheville, but Appalachian Hall, under the supervision of the Griffin brothers, fostered a more forward thinking approach to treatment of psychiatric disorders.
U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park
During the Second World War
, the United States government again found it necessary to seek locations for battle-weary and wounded soldiers to convalesce. In February 1943, Kenilworth's Appalachian Hall was pressed into service as “U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park,” and the Griffin brothers' treatment center was temporarily moved into two Asheville area hotels, the Princess Anne Hotel on Furman Street and the Forest Hill Inn in Kenilworth.
The Navy's previously maintained convalescent center had been located at Grove Park Inn Asheville and while both Grove Park and Appalachian Hall facilities shared a common practice of treating convalescing soldiers and sailors with rest and relaxation, the Kenilworth Park hospital added recreation to the program. Patients were sent to Kenilworth Park Hospital after reaching the convalescent stages of recuperation from injuries or illness contracted during duty and enjoyed the same amenities as Kenilworth Inn guests and Appalachian Hall patients had in previous years, in addition to new recreational fixtures added by the Navy.
Significant changes made to Appalachian Hall by the Navy were construction of a stage in the building's ballroom so patients could watch motion pictures and a bowling alley
in the basement. The building once again became a social center
for dances, picnics, motion pictures and stage shows, all hosted by the U.S. Navy
. In addition, the dining hall was opened to the public to support the idea that public interaction with convalescing soldiers and sailors would boost patient morale and promote a quicker recovery.
According to accounts printed in the Asheville Times, as many as 7,000 patients of all nationalities were treated at the Navy's Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park during the government's tenure.
Appalachian Hall
In 1946, the Navy vacated Appalachian Hall and the hospital there was deactivated. The building was then reoccupied by Dr. William Griffin and his brother, Dr. Mark Griffin, and reopened as Appalachian Hall.
In the early 1950s, the Griffins helped to incorporate the latest medical advances and treatments at Appalachian Hall, including the use of tranquilizers, application of newly developed diagnostic methods, and labs set up for neurological science and diagnosis.
From the 1950s through the early 1970s, the Griffins made Appalachian Hall a leading light in the Asheville community as a place where patients were provided the latest diagnostic and treatment methods, as well as a relatively secluded and relaxing atmosphere where recreation was as significant to recovery as psychiatric method.
Recent Kenilworth history
Economics again played a role in Kenilworth's history when, in the 1980s, the Griffins sold Appalachian Hall to Magellan Enterprises, a real estate
holdings company
. The sale of Appalachian Hall can be attributed to increasing costs of maintaining such a large structure as a viable hospital, as well as increasing pressure from major insurance companies
looking for shorter treatments and faster results, which naturally went against the grain of the Griffin brothers' long-standing treatment philosophy.
Charter Behavioral Health
System purchased Kenilworth Inn in 1994 and the building became known as Charter Asheville. Charter Asheville operated as a 139 bed psychiatric hospital employing 175 people until it closed in 1999.
The Kenilworth Inn Apartments
E. F. Howington, the building's current owner, purchased Kenilworth Inn and the surrounding 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) from Charter in October 2000 and was successful in his bid to place the building on the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places
. Located in the historic suburb of Kenilworth, the property at Kenilworth Inn still impresses visitors with views of deep green magnolias, shady oaks, evergreen trees and a panoramic view of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains
.
For 117 years, from its first construction in 1890, to its rebirth on the original building's foundation in 1923; from its use by both the Army
and Navy
as convalescent facility during both World Wars
; from its various uses as a psychiatric hospital and through its current configuration as a collection of 93 unique apartments – the many names and functions applied to Kenilworth Inn have continued to preserve both property and building as one of Asheville's lasting treasures.
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is a towering example of large-scale Gothic Tudor architecture overlooking downtown Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
and serves as tribute to American architecture
Architecture of the United States
The architecture of the United States demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over four centuries....
over the past 125 years.
The original Kenilworth Inn
The original Tudor-styled Kenilworth Inn was a multi-gabled structure that catered to wealthy travelers visiting the Asheville region to seek rest and improved health in the mountain air. The eight-story hotel was built during the city's railroad-driven boom period and opened for business in 1890. The architect was William L. PriceWill Price
William Lightfoot Price was an influential American architect, a pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete, and a founder of the utopian communities of Arden, Delaware and Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.-Career:...
of Philadelphia.
Described in various accounts as magnificent, handsome and luxurious, the inn was built atop the second-highest vantage point in Asheville, overlooking the junction of South Main Street and the Swannanoa River
Swannanoa River
The Swannanoa River flows through the Swannanoa Valley of western North Carolina, and is a major tributary to the French Broad River. It begins at its headwaters in Black Mountain, NC, however, it also has a major tributary near its headwaters: Flat Creek, which begins on the slopes of Mount...
Road.
Visitors to the inn were treated to idyllic views of the Swannanoa during a five-minute ride via carriage or on horseback up Macadam Drive on their way from the train depot to the top of the knoll. Upon arrival they passed through the inn's imposing stone porte cochere
Porte-cochere
A porte-cochère is the architectural term for a porch- or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which a horse and carriage can pass in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather.The porte-cochère was a feature of many late 18th...
and into an expansive lobby.
Inside the entryway to Kenilworth's main floor, guests found contemporary amenities and services at their disposal, including a newsstand, telephones, telegraph offices, pharmacy, music hall, billiard room
Billiard room
A billiard room is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table...
, various parlors and drawing rooms, and dining facilities. Extensive porches along the front were a perfect area for socializing.
The inn's many guest rooms commanded splendid views of the surrounding Craggy and Black Mountain, North Carolina
Black Mountain, North Carolina
Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,511 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge range in the Southern Appalachians.-History:Black...
ranges, including distant glimpses of Mt. Mitchell
Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell can refer to:* Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States* Mount Mitchell , in Jasper National Park of Canada* Mount Mitchell * Mount Mitchell , in Queensland...
and Mt. Pisgah
Mount Pisgah (North Carolina)
Mount Pisgah is a mountain in the Appalachian Mountain Range and part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, United States. The mountain's height is 5,721 feet and it sits approximately 15 miles southwest of Asheville near the crossing of the boundaries of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson...
. Along the valley floor to the south stretched the private park of George W. Vanderbilt, a 7000 acres (28.3 km²) tract that would eventually become Biltmore Forest and Biltmore Village
Biltmore Village
Biltmore Village, formerly Best, is a small village that is now entirely in the city limits of Asheville, North Carolina. It is adjacent to the main entrance of the Biltmore Estate, built by George W. Vanderbilt, one of the heirs to the Vanderbilt family fortune. Once known as the town of Best,...
. The hotel and its environs boasted sumptuous appointment, 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of lawn, tennis grounds, and a golf course
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. The lengths to which Kenilworth Inn went to pamper visitors became part of its renown. One personal account seems almost to have been taken from a hotel brochure:
“Each room has an entirely separate flue, and the air is changed in every room each five minutes throughout the entire twenty-four hours. The inside finish is in native hard wood. Kenilworth Inn has all of the modern conveniences, with everything for comfort, pleasure and luxury. A superior cuisine, the purest water, no back rooms, rare views from every room, electric lights, elevator, billiards, bowling, tennis, laundry and livery. Particular attention has been given to plumbing and drainage.”
The property included an additional 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) of woodland drives and walkways, providing the perfect environment for guests to take in the crisp morning air. One visitor practically gushed with wonderment at Kenilworth’s peaceful grounds:
“A superbly wooded tract of the most varied forest growths, containing grand old Spanish and stately white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
s, health-giving pines, delicate dogwoods, spice-wood, luxuriant rhododendrons, azaleas, sweet shrubs, larkspurs, and small flora too numerous to mention. The native birds, gray squirrels, partridges, and wild rabbits are here protected, and afford unlimited entertainment.”
This original inn remained in operation into the early 1900s. The structure was destroyed by fire in April 1909, ending Kenilworth's grand first era.
A New Kenilworth Inn, From the Ashes
At the time of the Kenilworth Inn fire in 1909, James “Jake” Madison Chiles had been living in Asheville for a year. He had come to Asheville to establish himself in the furniture business and purchased the property known as the old Patton Farm, where he settled and began buying up land.Chiles may well have been early Asheville's most avid developer and the site of the original Kenilworth Inn held an attraction for him. His aunt had filled his head with ideas about Kenilworth Castle
Kenilworth Castle
Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of the same name in Warwickshire, England. Constructed from Norman through to Tudor times, the castle has been described by architectural historian Anthony Emery as "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant...
in England, made famous by Sir Walter Scott's novel, Kenilworth, which included a picturesque lake and a decaying castle.
In 1919, those same romantic notions also led Chiles to declare his determination to rebuild another inn on the original Kenilworth Inn foundation. For Chiles, it would be like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Funding was provided initially through a company that Chiles incorporated in 1911, The Carolina Nova Cola Company. The following year, Chiles sold Carolina Nova and purchased a 151 acre (0.61107586 km²) tract from Joseph M. Gazzam, a former Pennsylvania State Senator
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one house State Legislature.There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house...
and the owner of the original Kenilworth Inn.
In 1913, Chiles formed Kenilworth Development Company to bring resources together to construct the new Kenilworth Inn. By September everything was in place and work began in earnest on the old Kenilworth Inn foundation. Chiles also formed Kenilworth Park Company – created especially to facilitate the incorporation of the town of Kenilworth. Under Chiles' vision a small suburb named Kenilworth was established with its own fire, police and sewer services. Chiles became mayor of the community – one that was considered experimental at the time.
Within this large property, work on the new Kenilworth Inn, (partially funded by Canadian investors), continued over the next five years. It was during this period that Asheville began experiencing a second period of growth in tourism, fueled by the increasing railroad commerce from the South and East.
During 1916, the year of the great area flood, Asheville was proud of its reputation as a city where fresh mountain air could relieve various pulmonary diseases
Pulmonology
In medicine, pulmonology is the specialty that deals with diseases of the respiratory tract and respiratory disease. It is called chest medicine and respiratory medicine in some countries and areas...
, primarily tuberculosis. The city's established hotels were experiencing a combined 250,000 visitors a year. Chiles, in the midst of constructing a 500 guest per day resort hotel, felt his new inn would be able to hold its own and could hardly wait for opening day.
The new construction got a shot in the arm during 1917 with help from newly established Asheville architect Richard Greene
Richard Greene
Richard Marius Joseph Greene was a noted English film and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.It has been...
, and the inn was completed by Carolina Wood Products Company the following year, along with the addition of a separate Boiler House to provide utility services.
The primary architecture of the newly constructed resort hotel was Tudor Revival
Tudorbethan architecture
The Tudor Revival architecture of the 20th century , first manifested itself in domestic architecture beginning in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 19th century based on a revival of aspects of Tudor style. It later became an influence in some other countries, especially the British colonies...
, including rough stone masonry
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
and a re-worked porte-cochere entranceway. Masonry contrasted nicely with stucco and a half timbered
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
exterior, while the half hipped and gabled dormers created a dramatic roof line.
Terraces and verandas were built to flow into open porches on all sides, allowing guests to take in the mountain air from all sides of the inn. Furnishings were modern and elegant, recreational facilities were varied, and the social atmosphere of the main floor and lobby, including a ballroom, solariums, tea rooms, billiard lounges, and fireplaces ensured that guests were satisfied all around.
Unfortunately, before Chiles could capitalize on his dream of a new Kenilworth Inn, the Army saw the new construction as the perfect place for a wartime convalescence hospital.
U. S. Army General Hospital No. 12
James Chiles leased Kenilworth Inn to the U.S. Army in February 1918, just one month after the building's construction was completed. The Army had been expressing their interest in Kenilworth since 1917, when they announced their plans for a hospital to be built in Azalea, NC. But the hospital would not be completed until September 1919.
The Army's decision to lease Kenilworth Inn while their new hospital was being built in Azalea stemmed primarily from the emergent need for a facility that could house sick and wounded soldiers, primarily those suffering from tuberculosis. So Chiles leased Kenilworth to the Army and the building became US. General Hospital No. 12, alternately referred to as U.S. Army Convalescence Hospital No. 12, or more plainly: Biltmore Hospital.
Chiles, through circumstances brought about by the needs of a wartime military commitment, found himself unable to provide the Asheville community with a luxury hotel. He would have to wait to re-acquire the building once the military's lease expired in September 1919.
Meanwhile, the Army began making significant interior renovations that would convert the luxurious building into a hospital. This work included extensive changes to the building's electrical and plumbing systems to allow for autopsy rooms, dark rooms, various examination rooms, x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
rooms, surgical rooms, as well as changes to some administrative offices and storage spaces.
Of primary significance to Kenilworth Inn's history during the period of its occupation by the Army is the admission of sick German aliens from the Hot Springs, North Carolina
Hot Springs, North Carolina
Hot Springs is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 645 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Hot Springs is located at ....
internment camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
during the summer of 1918. These prisoners were described by the Army as “civilians under governmental but nonmilitary control.”
Hot Springs had long been nationally renowned as a resort and spa area. It was conveniently located on the main railroad line and the Mountain Park Hotel was a major tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
for the area. In 1917, the Army saw Hot Springs as a suitable area for their internment camp and leased the hotel for $1,500 a month. They began holding prisoners at the newly constructed camp in June. Nearly 3,000 Germans were held at Hot Springs until August 1918, when the Army transferred them to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
Fort Oglethorpe is a city in Catoosa County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,263. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
A typhoid outbreak among the internees resulted in 180 of them being transferred 50 miles (80.5 km) to the Inn. The cases of typhoid were so severe that 18 of the patients transferred to Kenilworth eventually died.
According to Army records, “The epidemic was directly traceable to accidental contamination of the water supply
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
of one section of the camp, which was connected, for fire-prevention purposes only, with an intake from the French Broad River
French Broad River
The French Broad River flows from near the village of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into the state of Tennessee. Its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville is the beginning of the Tennessee River....
, afterward found to be contaminated.”
While it may be speculated by some that those prisoners who acquired typhoid may have deliberately drank contaminated water
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
to avoid being transferred from Hot Springs to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, there is no record extant that reveals this to be true. In fact the Asheville newspaper account at the time clearly states that, “no suicidal evidence is disclosed…even though the alien enemies expressed bitter disinclination to being transferred.”
Kenilworth Inn, 1923–1929
After resuming control over Kenilworth Inn in 1923, Chiles operated the resort hotel with great success until the stock market crash
Stock market crash
A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic as much as by underlying economic factors...
of 1929. Hotel services offered at Kenilworth were contemporary with other Asheville resorts, such as the Grove Park Inn
Grove Park Inn
The Grove Park Inn is a historic resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style...
. Both hotels provided rooms that were replete with modern conveniences for the well-paying guest.
Throughout the inn's successful six-year run, it was the setting for social activities and events that maintained a strong tie with the communities of Asheville and surrounding Kenilworth. Luxury accommodations at Kenilworth Inn in the twenties provided sterling views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and guests were encouraged to participate in tennis, golf, horseback riding
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, Easter egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
hunts, fireworks displays, and billiards.
Kenilworth Inn brochures and pamphlets invited and encouraged the general public to visit the inn “any day or night of the week for dance, music and family fun” including picnics on the front lawn and lavish holiday celebrations.
The Chiles family strongly advocated this sense of community
Sense of community
Sense of community is a concept in community psychology and social psychology, as well as in several other research disciplines, such as urban sociology, which focuses on the experience of community rather than its structure, formation, setting, or other features...
through music concerts, radio broadcasts and other noteworthy performances, including a performance by the escape artist, Houdini.
Kenilworth Radio Concerts were broadcast from Kenilworth on local Asheville station WFAJ. These concerts featured the Kenilworth Inn Orchestra, the Spenser Orchestra of New York, and the famous Jan Garber Orchestra. Garber (billed as “The Idol Of The Airwaves”) led a big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
that was the epitome of that era's “sweet” music).
Kenilworth guests were encouraged to “get out and see the Asheville area” through complimentary passes to Biltmore Forest and Asheville Country Clubs. Kenilworth Inn hosted the first annual Kenilworth and Biltmore Forest Horse Show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
in August 1923, as well as several art exhibits – most importantly the 1928 exhibit by Kenilworth Galleries.
The 1928 exhibit at Kenilworth was the largest showcase of paintings in the South to be held at the time. More than 100 artists from 12 states and three foreign countries presented their works, including Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
, A.C. Wyatt, and Mrs. R. P. Royer. Noted Italian and German artists exhibited their works in the U.S. for the first time during this event. In the fall of that year a lavish art show was held on Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
and included guests of honor from the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
.
The Annexation of Kenilworth
In 1929, the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
caused many banks to close and others to severely curtail business. This financial belt tightening brought the heady era of luxury resort living and notable community events at Kenilworth Inn to a halt.
With many of its own banks closing, the city of Asheville sought to protect itself financially by annexing area suburbs, including Kenilworth. Kenilworth Mayor Leah Chiles agreed with the city's plan for stability, but she fought any annexation unless the people of the Kenilworth community were allowed to vote on the issue.
After many public meetings and much debate, Kenilworth residents were granted the right to a vote and the results were nearly unanimous in favor of annexation. On June 30, 1929, Mayor Leah Chiles surrendered the town of Kenilworth to the “bigger, better, and wealthier” city of Asheville.
Soon after annexation of Kenilworth, bank closings in Asheville caused the Kenilworth Inn Company to default on its payments to Carolina WoodProducts Company. The assets of the Kenilworth Realty Co, including Kenilworth Inn, were sold on the Court House
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
steps for $1200. The Chiles' holdings were essentially wiped out.
Appalachian Hall, 1931–1943
After being sold, Kenilworth Inn sat empty for one year before reopening as a sanatorium. The old structure, with its spacious interior, drew the attention of two local doctors, William Ray Griffin, Sr., and his brother, Mark Griffin, who purchased and then converted the inn into a mental health facility
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
in October 1931.
With an increasing number of patients in need of treatment during the depression, the two doctors were challenged. Their burgeoning practice had outgrown Appalachian Hall, the facility which had operated on French Broad Avenue in Asheville from 1916 until 1931.
The Griffin brothers quickly found that Kenilworth Inn, with its generous use of space, quiet halls, and impressive exterior grounds, suited their method of treatment for mental disorders
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
. The building was renamed Appalachian Hall to maintain the connection with their previous facility.
In order to preserve the layout of the original construction as much as possible, little was changed beyond the name and the addition of examination and treatment rooms. The Griffins also resisted changing the surrounding property so that patients not needing to be placed in isolation might be encouraged to participate in the same outdoor activities as guests of Kenilworth Inn had enjoyed in previous years.
In an era when many of their contemporaries were still providing treatments solely upon physical ailments, the Griffins approach to psychiatry went beyond the standard treatments of hydrotherapy, thermo therapy and electro therapy. The facilities at Appalachian Hall provided a means for treatments that were varied according to the individual and usually included a mixture of approved recreational, occupational, and physical therapies.
There were other privately owned mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
facilities in Asheville, but Appalachian Hall, under the supervision of the Griffin brothers, fostered a more forward thinking approach to treatment of psychiatric disorders.
U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the United States government again found it necessary to seek locations for battle-weary and wounded soldiers to convalesce. In February 1943, Kenilworth's Appalachian Hall was pressed into service as “U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park,” and the Griffin brothers' treatment center was temporarily moved into two Asheville area hotels, the Princess Anne Hotel on Furman Street and the Forest Hill Inn in Kenilworth.
The Navy's previously maintained convalescent center had been located at Grove Park Inn Asheville and while both Grove Park and Appalachian Hall facilities shared a common practice of treating convalescing soldiers and sailors with rest and relaxation, the Kenilworth Park hospital added recreation to the program. Patients were sent to Kenilworth Park Hospital after reaching the convalescent stages of recuperation from injuries or illness contracted during duty and enjoyed the same amenities as Kenilworth Inn guests and Appalachian Hall patients had in previous years, in addition to new recreational fixtures added by the Navy.
Significant changes made to Appalachian Hall by the Navy were construction of a stage in the building's ballroom so patients could watch motion pictures and a bowling alley
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
in the basement. The building once again became a social center
Social center
Social centers are community spaces. They are buildings which are used for a range of disparate activities, which can be linked only by virtue of being not-for-profit. They might be organizing centers for local activities or they might provide support networks for minority groups such as prisoners...
for dances, picnics, motion pictures and stage shows, all hosted by the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. In addition, the dining hall was opened to the public to support the idea that public interaction with convalescing soldiers and sailors would boost patient morale and promote a quicker recovery.
According to accounts printed in the Asheville Times, as many as 7,000 patients of all nationalities were treated at the Navy's Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park during the government's tenure.
Appalachian Hall
In 1946, the Navy vacated Appalachian Hall and the hospital there was deactivated. The building was then reoccupied by Dr. William Griffin and his brother, Dr. Mark Griffin, and reopened as Appalachian Hall.
In the early 1950s, the Griffins helped to incorporate the latest medical advances and treatments at Appalachian Hall, including the use of tranquilizers, application of newly developed diagnostic methods, and labs set up for neurological science and diagnosis.
From the 1950s through the early 1970s, the Griffins made Appalachian Hall a leading light in the Asheville community as a place where patients were provided the latest diagnostic and treatment methods, as well as a relatively secluded and relaxing atmosphere where recreation was as significant to recovery as psychiatric method.
Recent Kenilworth history
Economics again played a role in Kenilworth's history when, in the 1980s, the Griffins sold Appalachian Hall to Magellan Enterprises, a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
holdings company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
. The sale of Appalachian Hall can be attributed to increasing costs of maintaining such a large structure as a viable hospital, as well as increasing pressure from major insurance companies
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
looking for shorter treatments and faster results, which naturally went against the grain of the Griffin brothers' long-standing treatment philosophy.
Charter Behavioral Health
Behavioral health
In psychology behavioral health, as a general concept, refers to the reciprocal relationship between human behavior, individually or socially, and the well-being of the body, mind, and spirit, whether the latter are considered individually or as an integrated whole...
System purchased Kenilworth Inn in 1994 and the building became known as Charter Asheville. Charter Asheville operated as a 139 bed psychiatric hospital employing 175 people until it closed in 1999.
The Kenilworth Inn Apartments
E. F. Howington, the building's current owner, purchased Kenilworth Inn and the surrounding 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) from Charter in October 2000 and was successful in his bid to place the building on the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Located in the historic suburb of Kenilworth, the property at Kenilworth Inn still impresses visitors with views of deep green magnolias, shady oaks, evergreen trees and a panoramic view of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
.
For 117 years, from its first construction in 1890, to its rebirth on the original building's foundation in 1923; from its use by both the Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
and Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
as convalescent facility during both World Wars
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
; from its various uses as a psychiatric hospital and through its current configuration as a collection of 93 unique apartments – the many names and functions applied to Kenilworth Inn have continued to preserve both property and building as one of Asheville's lasting treasures.
External links
- Historic Kenilworth website