West Asheville-Aycock School Historic District
Why it's listed
Along Haywood Road in West Asheville, a small cluster of brick commercial and civic buildings forms one of the few intact historic streetscapes on the corridor. The district's fourteen resources date mainly from about 1915 to 1936 and include the 1922 Mission Revival fire station, the ca. 1927 West Asheville Bank and Trust Company building with Neoclassical details, a ca. 1936 Art Deco filling station, and two-story commercial blocks that once housed groceries, a theater and shops. The Charles B. Aycock School, built in 1953 to designs by Six Associates, Inc., occupies the site of West Asheville's first public school and keeps its educational use. The area grew after the Western Turnpike route became Haywood Road, a streetcar line arrived in 1911, and West Asheville was annexed by Asheville in 1917. Nearby modern infill and heavily altered buildings separate this district from other historic resources along the road.
Significance in brief: The district is described as a rare concentration of historic commercial and civic buildings along Haywood Road, the main street of the West Asheville community. It includes the former fire station, bank, post office, filling station and the school, which reflect the area's growth after annexation by Asheville in 1917 and the streetcar era. The Aycock School site was home to West Asheville's first public school.
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 06000718, listed August 23, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 401-441 Haywood Rd., Asheville |
|---|---|
| County | Buncombe County |
| Listed | August 23, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000718 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Six Associates, Inc. (Charles B. Aycock School, 1953) |
| Architectural style | Commercial Style, Classical Revival, Mission, Art Deco, Modern Movement |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mixed uses: Aycock School continues in educational use as a preschool; some buildings are commercial or vacant/not in use; the filling station now operates as an alternative fuel station and convenience store. |
| Acreage | 10 |
| Coordinates | 35.57942, -82.58183 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 06000718.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18159208
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.