Alexander, Mrs. Minnie, Cottage
Why it's listed
A two-story house with a full basement stands on a raised corner lot at Patton Avenue and Pearl Street in Asheville, built around 1905 for Minnie Alexander, wife of a jeweler. Richard Sharp Smith, supervising architect for the Biltmore Estate, drew the plans in June 1904. The walls are finished in pebbledash over split lath, with half-timbered and carved details, a hip roof with deep eaves, and a single-story porch with carved spandrels and brackets reflecting English influence. Smith's surviving drawings allowed the building to be compared closely with its original design. The house is regarded as a robust example of the vernacular style he developed while working in the Biltmore Village area. It is also the only early twentieth-century single-family residence left on Patton Avenue, now lined with commercial buildings. Its listing rests on its architecture, as an intact representative of Smith's residential work in Asheville.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the cottage is an intact, mature example of Smith's English-influenced "Old English" vernacular residential style, with pebbledash walls and heavy timber embellishments. It is described as the only early 20th century single-family house remaining on Patton Avenue, and as a dignified elaboration of Smith's Biltmore Village rental cottages.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 89002135, listed December 21, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 218 Patton Ave., Asheville |
|---|---|
| County | Buncombe County |
| Listed | December 21, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89002135 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | Ca. 1905 |
| Architect / builder | Richard Sharp Smith (architect) |
| Architectural style | "Old English" vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used for professional offices after a 1988 renovation that converted the interior and basement to office space. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 35.59293, -82.56087 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89002135.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17985473
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.