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Description - The Manor |
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Front Cover |
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[Cover] The Manor - Albermarle Park -
Asheville, N.C. - Owned and Operated by Albermarle Park Co. |
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Back Cover |
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[Back cover] "For All Seasons" -
Asheville, N.C.
The Manor - "For a Year or a Day" |
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Asheville, located in the mountains of
North Carolina, with an altitude of 2,200 feet, is so happily
situated and so lavishly endowed with the beauties of Nature and the
comforts of civilization that she is able to draw visitors from both
the North and the South, and to delight all comers, from whatever
section.
The growth and development of Asheville is directly due to its
climate and the natural beauties of the country. Even in the days of
slow stage-coach travel, tourists were attracted to the place, and
found themselves amply repaid for the journey by the wonderful
beauty and healthfulness of the "Land of the Sky."
The Climate is fine the year round, which is evidenced by the number
of visitors from |
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different sections who are to be found
here at any season. The Summer is ideal, with its beautiful, bright
days, continually cooled by the mountain breezes, and its
delightful, refreshing nights. The Winter climate is cool and clear,
the altitude giving a bracing and exhilarating effect to the air
which is not to be found elsewhere.
Four lines of the Southern Railway, with convenient schedules and
comfortable trains, operate from Asheville as a center, itself a
prosperous town of 18,000 regular inhabitants. It is thus kept very
closely in touch with all the principal cities east of the
Mississippi. Asheville is well governed by a progressive
administration which is ever on the alert to promote the health and
pleasure of the "stranger within the gates."
The Asheville School and the Bingham School are among the many
public and private educational institutions of the city. There are
churches of all denominations; a splendid new auditorium which is on
the circuit of all the leading theatrical attractions; several
clubs; many modern stores at which shoppers will find any desired
article; several parks; electric street-car and suburban lines; an
excellent system of electric and gas lighting and sewerage.
Asheville's water supply, brought by gravity through seventeen miles
of iron pipe from the slopes of Mount Mitchell, is the particular
pride of the city and the greatest safeguard that can be offered to
residents, insuring as it does the absolute purity and unfailing
supply of this greatest necessity.
Biltmore, the palatial home of Mr. George W. Vanderbilt, is just
beyond the edge of the city, and on three days of each week visitors
are allowed the privilege of driving at will through the enormous
estate which surrounds Biltmore House. |
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Albemarle Park is situated in the
northern part of Asheville, on the western slope of Sunset Mountain.
It is on the line of the Charlotte Street trolley cars which operate
a regular fifteen minute schedule. It is one mile from the center of
the city, about two and a half miles from the depot of the Southern
Railway, and only 250 yards from the golf links of the Swannanoa
Country Club. The trolley cars reach the city in ten minutes and
continuing without transfer arrive at the railway station in fifteen
minutes more.
The Park comprises thirty-five acres of the best residence property
in Asheville. It is far enough away from the town to be free of the
noise, dust and smoke, and yet is accessible by trolley or carriage,
and is within easy walking distance over well-paved sidewalks.
From the beginning ever care has been taken to insure the
healthfulness, safety, and beauty of the Park. An elaborate system
of sewers and drains has been installed under the supervision of the
firm of Waring, Chapman & Farquhar, according to the designs of the
late George E. Waring. The landscape gardening was carried out by
Mr. Samuel Parsons, Jr., ex-Superintendent of Central Park, New
York, and the architectural work of The Manor and most of the
cottages was done by Mr. Bradford L. Gilbert, of New York.
Besides The Manor and auxiliary cottages there are several cottages
equipped for house-keeping which are leased independently of The
Manor. Others will be built from time to time in the future for
lease to desirable tenants--the aim of the Company being to
establish at Albemarle Park a sort of Country Club such as those to
be found at various places in the North, where patrons may always be
assured of finding a refined and congenial gathering of friends. |
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The Manor, open the year round, has
many original and distinctive features which make it widely
different from the regular hotels found in most resorts. It provides
a perfectly comfortable place to live for a long or short time;
attractive in its surroundings, complete but modest in its
appointments, having that air of refinement essential to the comfort
of cultivated people. Every effort is made to have the place as
nearly like a home as a public house can well be made, and in
carrying out this idea, all the conventional hotel features which
are not essential to a proper service are eliminated.
The dining room is commodious and well ventilated, the large windows
commanding splendid views of woods and mountains on either side. The
table is good, supplied with the best fare, attractively served.
Here the difference from the regular hotel is marked by the absence
of the usual fancy French dishes, the table being very much like
that of a well-conducted private house. The dining-room service is
performed by quiet and efficient waitresses.
All rooms are front rooms. Those on the west and south open upon a
fine view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance, while from
the eastern side may be seen Albemarle Park, with its wooded slopes
and serpentine macadam roads, and Sunset Mountain in the background.
The rooms are well furnished and have beds which are not surpassed
by the finest hotels in the large cities. The building is lighted
throughout by electricity and thoroughly heated by stream. A number
of the rooms have open fire-places in addition to the other means of
heating.
The public rooms are numerous and of ample size, and there are
several porches on the south, east and west, which add greatly to
the comfort of the house.
The management has found it necessary to exclude persons with
tuberculosis from The Manor, and as this rule is rigidly enforced,
it will be useless for anyone so affected to apply. |
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[A front view of The Manor.] |
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Varied amusements are provided for
guests. The large and well-arranged ball-room, which was completed
in 1903, is an attractive places for entertainments of any kind and
especially for dances, which are given at intervals throughout the
season. There is also a good stage for use in amateur theatrical
performances.
The Albemarle Club, which is within the Park, with its bowling
alleys, tennis court, pool and billiard tables, and frequent
tournaments, furnishes a constant source of amusement. The large and
well-kept lawns are admirably adapted for croquet and clock-golf.
Riding and driving are in high favor, and excellent teams and
saddle-horses may be secured from The Manor liverymen at reasonable
rates. Splendid macadam roads lead out from Asheville for eight or
ten miles in all directions, while the many woodland ways can not be
exhausted in weeks of riding and riving.
The golf links of the Swannanoa Country Club practically adjoin the
Park, and as they are kept in the best of condition, they offer
great inducement to golfers who are invariably pleased with the
variety of play which the course affords.
Good quail shooting may be found all around Asheville in season, and
guides who know the country and can secure the required permits can
be hired at small expense, together with well-trained dogs. There is
also fairly good trout fishing within a radius of forty or fifty
miles.
The Asheville Gun Club holds frequent meetings, and gives good sport
to those fond of clay-pigeon shooting.
Clustered about The Manor is a group of cottages in which most
attractive accommodations for parties may be had. Two of these
cottages (Clover and Columbus), are rented complete to single
parties, which arrangement has always proved very satisfactory,
especially to those making a lengthy stay. In this way guests may
have all the privacy of their own homes, with sitting rooms,
piazzas, etc., and yet be relieved of the cares of housekeeping, as
all this is attended to by |
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the hotel servants, the occupants
taking their meals at The Manor. The other three cottages (Clio,
Clematis and Cherokee), are arranged in suites of two, three, four
or more rooms, with or without private baths.
A more detailed description of these cottages is as follows:
Clover Cottage.--33 yards from the Manor; lighted by electricity;
heated by hot air and hot water; six bed-rooms; two sitting rooms
with open fire-place; one bath-room with hot and cold water; two
porches; telephone. Rented to one party.
Columbus Cottage.--40 yards from The Manor; lighted by electricity;
heated by hot air; five bed-rooms; two sitting rooms with open
fire-place; one bath-room with hot and cold water; two porches;
telephone. Rented to one party.
Clio Cottage.--88 yards from The Manor; lighted by electricity;
heated by hot air; eight bed-rooms; two bath-rooms with hot and cold
water; two porches; telephone. Rooms let singly or in suites of two,
three, or four rooms. Four rooms gives a party the
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exclusive use of one floor of the
cottage with its bath-room and porch.
Clematis Cottage.--83 yards from The Manor; lighted by electricity;
heated by hot air and open fire-places; nine bed-rooms; three
bath-rooms with hot and cold water; two porches; telephone. This
cottage is let in suites of two, three of our rooms with private
bath.
Cherokee Cottage.--127 yards from The Manor; lighted by electricity;
heated by hot water and open fire-places; fourteen bed-rooms; four
bath-rooms with hot and cold water; five porches (four private and
one public); two telephones. This cottage contains single rooms, or
suites of two, three, or more rooms with private baths and private
porches. |
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The Albemarle Club was organized and
the club-house built in 1902 for the purpose of supplying a
convenient and roomy places of amusement for the residents of
Albemarle Park and their friends.
The club-house is an artistic and comfortable building, ornamented
with Mexican pottery and bright-colored serapes. The large
fire-place built of rough clinker brick is a most attractive center
for the frequent gatherings in Winter, while the wide piazzas are
irresistible in Summer.
Bowling tournaments are held regularly every month for both men and
women, and as these are handicap affairs, the expert and the
beginner have an equal chance in the sport.
In Summer the tennis court is the scene of many tournaments, and as
the Club is known as principal patron of athletics in this section,
many fine players are always ready to participate in the matches.
The sloping, shady lawns that surround the court, with their
numerous rustic benches, give the spectators an excellent
opportunity of witnessing the games and make the pleasure of looking
on second only to the pleasure of playing.
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The Swannanoa Country Club is located
just beyond The Manor, at the Charlotte Street terminus of the
trolley line of the Asheville Electric Company. The Club has 130
acres at the foot of Sunset Mountain, on which has been laid out a
nine-hole golf course of 3047 yards. The Club has occupied its
present location about four years, which time has spent in improving
the course, so that the links are now coming to be known as among
the best in the country for turf, location, and scenery.
There are but few artificial hazards except on three or four holes
where the greens must be protected to add to the sport of the game;
neither are there any impossible holes, yet the length and natural
lay of the ground is such that only two players have ever made the
bogey score of 41, and only one has ever beaten that, he having made
the splendid record of 40 in tournament play for the Southern
Championship.
Visiting golfers are welcomed by the Club, the rates for play being
$2.00 per week or $5.00 per month.
Many who have played throughout the country claim that they rarely
find, outside of the golf centers of the large cities, any links
which surpass those of the Swannanoa Country Club. |
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Map of Golf Links of the Swannanoa
Country Club - Asheville, N.C. |
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To persons desiring furnished cottages
for housekeeping, those at Albemarle Park offer superior advantages,
and the fact that they are usually engaged months in advance is
evidence that they are appreciated. All the conveniences of city
life are available: water, electricity, sewer connections, paved
roads, street-car service, telephones, etc., and yet all the
discomforts are lacking. A location on the paved streets of a city
usually means annoyance from the noise and dust of a busy
thoroughfare; in Albemarle Park the smooth macadam roads attract a
moderate amount of pleasure driving, but there is not heavy business
traffic. The tenants of the cottages are relieved of the expense of
a gardener, as the Company employs a force of men to mow the lawns,
water and care for the plants and maintain the Park in the highest
degree of cultivation.
Another great advantage, especially to families of women and
children, is the protection of the Park against all outside
disturbances at night. The entrance is through the Lodge, where
anyone coming in falls under the eye of the night watchman, who is
continually making his rounds.
The Golf Club and the Albemarle Club add to the attractions of the
cottages, as well as the proximity of The Manor where entertainments
of different kinds are frequent, and |
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where the occasional or regular meals
may be obtained, freeing the housekeeper from the dangers of the
"servant question."
The markets are exceptionally good: deliveries are made twice a day,
and as all the stores have telephones, marketing is greatly
simplified. Servants are easily secured and are quite
satisfactory--about on a par with the colored servants usually
encountered.
Local and long distance telephone service may be had from the Bell
Telephone Company at a reasonable rental. The service of an
experienced fireman to tend the furnaces may be obtained from the
Company at a small cost.
A brief description of the four cottages which have already been
built is as follows:
Galax Cottage.--Four bed-rooms and bath on second floor; large
sitting room, study, dining room, kitchen and pantry on ground
floor; two servants' rooms, servants' bath-room, laundry, furnace
and fuel room in basement. Also large and attractive south and east
porch.
Orchard Cottage.--Four bed-rooms and bath on second floor; reception
hall, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and pantry on ground floor;
two servants' rooms, servants' bath room, furnace and fuel room in
basement. Also a large porch, partially enclosed with removable
sash.
Milfoil Cottage.--Two bed-rooms on second floor; two bed-rooms,
bath-room, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and pantry on ground
floor; servants' room, furnace and fuel room, laundry, in basement.
One porch on east and one on west, partly enclosed with removable
sash.
Shamrock Cottage.--Three bed-rooms and bath on second floor;
reception hall, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and pantry on
ground floor; servants' room, furnace and fuel room in basement.
Also a western porch. |
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As the water supply of any city is the
most important factor in the health of its residents it seems not
amiss to direct attention to the pure water which is offered in
inexhaustible quantities to the inhabitants and visitors of
Asheville. Until a few years ago the supply was derived from the
Swannanoa River at a point five miles above the city, and for many
years it was clear and pure. However, as occupation of the lands
extended further into the mountains, forests were destroyed and
fields opened until the water of the Swannanoa was no longer pure.
To meet the new conditions, Asheville's progressive administration
appropriated a large sum of money for the purpose of securing a new
supply and suitable system for its distribution.
In searching for the best possible watershed, the intelligent
officials determined to stop nowhere short of Mount Mitchell, the
highest peak east of the Rockies, and accordingly a vast tract
containing sixteen thousand acres was purchased outright by the
city, thus guaranteeing for all time a water supply safe from any
possible pollution. Water from countless mountain springs and
streams, icy cold and clear as crystal, which has never come in
contact with any but natural woodland soil, is collected in a
reservoir at the foot of Mount Mitchell, and from there is conveyed
by gravity through seventeen miles of iron pipe into Asheville.
No city in the world has, or ever can have, finer water than is
drawn from every hydrant in this City of the Hills, and as it now is
it will always be. |
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[Floor Plan of the second floor of The
Manor.] |
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[Map of the Western End of Albemarle
Park.] |
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