{"nrhp_refnum":"79003324","name":"Building at 134-136 1/2 Biltmore Avenue","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"134--136 1/2 Biltmore Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Asheville","county":"Buncombe County","state":"NC","lat":35.590447496000024,"lon":-82.55088953499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story granite apartment building at 134-136½ Biltmore Avenue in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, built around 1905 as \"flats\" according to Sanborn maps.","why_significant":"It is one of a row of granite apartment buildings on the lower end of Biltmore Avenue, an unusual form for North Carolina with massing and detailing reminiscent of European or English models. It may have been influenced by, or designed by, English emigre architect R. S. Smith. Its early use as flats was also unusual for Asheville, where multi-unit housing was usually provided by large hotels or subdivided houses.","narrative":"Built around 1905, this two-story apartment building at 134-136½ Biltmore Avenue in Asheville is faced with rock-faced, coursed granite on the front and uncoursed rubble granite elsewhere. A low hipped roof with boldly projecting mock rafters and tall brick chimneys covers the building. The four-bay front has a central pavilion with a Tuscan-colonnaded portico, flanked by Tuscan-colonnaded porches that lead to the upstairs and downstairs apartments. Windows have lattice-patterned transoms. The building belongs to a row of granite apartment buildings at the lower end of Biltmore Avenue, a form unusual in North Carolina. Its massing and detailing recall European or English models more than the Queen Anne or Colonial Revival houses typical of the period. The form suggests possible influence from, or design by, English emigre architect R. S. Smith, and it resembles his earlier Halthenon Building. Sanborn maps show it was erected as flats, rare in Asheville at the time.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate revival with Tuscan detailing, as described in the form; no formal style classification is given.","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.734393-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7172/47717298/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/79003324.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003324/afb74ee566-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003324/afb74ee566-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Farragutful","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_134-136%C2%BD_Biltmore_Avenue.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Farragutful</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_134-136%C2%BD_Biltmore_Avenue.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717298","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_at_134%E2%80%93136%C2%BD_Biltmore_Avenue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17986147"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/buncombe-county/building-at-134-136-1-2-biltmore-avenue-79003324/"}