Buncombe County Courthouse
Why it's listed
Completed in 1928 on Pack Square in Asheville, the Buncombe County Courthouse is a seventeen-story steel-frame building faced in brick and ashlar. It was designed by Milburn and Heister and Company of Washington, D.C., and was Frank P. Milburn's last North Carolina courthouse, finished a year after his death. The building cost about $1,000,000 and was erected on a lot bought in 1924 for $215,000. Its tiers are set back and decorated with Ionic pilasters, Corinthian half-columns, and a Doric pavilion at the entrance. The interior lobby features a marble stair, bronze and glass screens, a coffered ceiling with polychrome plaster, and a mosaic tile floor. The building is regarded as one of the most individual courthouses of the 1920s, when most courthouses used simple massing and conservative classical ornament. It is valued for its craftsmanship and its early highrise design.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is one of the most sumptuously finished public buildings in North Carolina and the last courthouse designed by Frank P. Milburn. Its lobby is described as one of the most well preserved and elegant Neo-Classical interiors in the state. Its height and setbacks are presented as an unusual solution to early highrise design, set against conservative courthouse designs of the 1920s.
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 79001674, listed May 10, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | College and Davidson Sts., Asheville |
|---|---|
| County | Buncombe County |
| Listed | May 10, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001674 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1928 |
| Architect / builder | Frank P. Milburn (architect); Milburn and Heister and Company of Washington, D.C. (architects) |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The document states the courthouse is in need of repair. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Downtown Asheville Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.59607, -82.54835 (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.
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 79001674.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17986157
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.