Battery Park Hotel
Also known as: See Also:79001676
Why it's listed
Rising fourteen stories from the top of a hill in central Asheville, this brick hotel was completed in 1924 to designs by New York hotel architect W. L. Stoddart. Developer E. W. Grove bought the earlier Battery Park Hotel in 1920, had it torn down, and removed much of its hill to create a new commercial district that included an arcade, office buildings and this replacement hotel. The building has a T-shaped plan, brick quoins, a carved cornice, ornate iron balconies, a green tile roof and a penthouse with roof terraces. Inside, the lobby, mezzanine, ballroom and a ceramic fountain mosaic of the original 1884 hotel survive in part. The hotel stayed open through the Depression, hosted film casts in the 1950s, and closed in 1972. At the time of listing it stood vacant and vandalized. It was valued as a landmark of Asheville's 1920s boom and as a little-altered hotel design of the period.
Significance in brief: The form presents the hotel as one of Asheville's most prominent landmarks and a vivid expression of the city's rapid development in the 1920s. It was the centerpiece of Grove's complex built after the old hotel and its hill were removed. It is also a representative, little-changed example of eclectic 1920s hotel architecture by a prolific hotel architect.
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 77000990, listed July 14, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Battle Sq., Asheville |
|---|---|
| County | Buncombe County |
| Listed | July 14, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77000990 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific date 1924) |
| Architect / builder | W. L. Stoddart |
| Architectural style | Eclectic 1920s hotel architecture, with Neo-Classical and Spanish-influenced details |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as structurally sound but vacant, vandalized and boarded up; closed since October 31, 1972, with a HUD-backed renovation for senior apartments under review. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 35.59701, -82.53854 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 77000990.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4869873
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.