Manuscript Register
for

Julian Price Papers
(1941-2001)

M2004.3.1-6, AV2004.3.1

"City Watch newsletter, 1992" Julian Price Papers, 
D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNC Asheville 28804

        
Julian Price

This collection contains the personal papers, business items, newspaper clippings, publications, and photographs by and about Julian Price, a visionary businessman, philanthropist and civic investor who lived in Asheville, North Carolina between 1990 and 2001 and who contributed generously to that city. Also included are records for the Dogwood Fund, the Asheville Public Interest Advertising Project and other creative initiatives. As publisher of the City Watch Magazine and contributor to the Mountain Xpress and Green Line, Julian documented many of the formative events in the re-shaping of Asheville, NC in the 1990's. The papers also document his early life and his career as producer and radio interviewer and civic leader in locations other than Asheville.  

Julian Price: Visionary Business and Civic Investor

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Julian Price grew up in the Irving Park neighborhood attending public schools, then went to Woodbury Forest (VA) private high school, and Guilford College. Julian spent the next 20 years in Oregon and California. While there, he generously gave seed money for environmental causes too risky for most while he worked for $3.50 an hour at a photo lab. He built two houses, the first one with the help of his then - wife Barbara Stanley and their neighbor. He grew and sold organic vegetables and marketed English seaweed fertilizer. He produced and distributed cutting-edge public radio interviews, with people such as  a former Grand Dragon of the KKK who helped integrate Durham, NC schools and a man who helped "unskilled" people in an economically depressed part of NC to begin and run a successful shitake mushroom business. 

When Julian decided to return to North Carolina, he thought he was going to move to New Bern, and had put down a deposit on a house there. But when in Asheville, as he walked down Walnut  Street, between two big empty buildings, he was overcome with emotion and knew that Asheville would be his new home. Those two buildings would later become crown jewels of his firm, Public Interest Projects: the Malaprops Bookstore with apartments above it and the Smith-Carrier Condominiums. Two months after moving to town, Julian went to the French Broad Food Coop's Open House and there met his soon-to-be-sweetheart and wife Meg MacLeod. 

From his apartment home in the heart of downtown Asheville, Julian used his experience and distinct perspective to invest time and resources in local businesses and nonprofit organizations and the people who run them. Here is a partial list of his countless contributions between 1990 and 2001: 

Founder of Public Interest Projects [PIP]
Julian invested about $9 million via Public Interest Projects since 1990 in downtown Asheville buildings, businesses, marketing, training, and the people who make it happen. 

PIP Awards
International Downtown Association - 1999 Winner Achievement Award, Placemaking International Making Cities Livable Conference - 2000 Community Award Winner.

PIP [Public Interest Projects]  Business Investments

• Malaprops' Bookstore and Cafe expansion on Haywood Avenue 

• New Era high-speed internet expansion

• Laughing Seed Cafe and Jack of the Wood Brew Pub - launching the dream of Joe and Joan Eckerd

• Salsa Mexican Caribbean Restaurant and Zambra Wine Tapas Bar - investing in the "delectable genius" chef Hector Diaz

PIP [Public Interest Projects] Development Projects

• 29 Page Avenue - Home of Public Interest Projects, Captain's Bookshelf, Quality Forward, Mountain Microenterprise Fund, Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation, Clean Water Fund

• 65-69 Biltmore - new space for Laurey's Catering, Asheville Wine Market, Vertu Home

• Old JC Penneys - commercial and residential condominiums

• Hotel Asheville - commercial and residential rentals

• Vanderbilt Apartments - exterior rehab of low-income elderly housing

Creator of the Dogwood Fund [Community Foundation]
Dogwood Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina - In 1991, Julian established this permanent philanthropic fund that has since provided more than 200 grants totaling over $2 million to nonprofits focusing on social justice, downtown revitalization, affordable housing and health care, the environment, transportation alternatives,  and economic hope for youth. At the time of its inception, the Dogwood Fund was the largest endowment at the Community Foundation, and became a prototype for the regional Foundation's grant-making practices. Julian's early leadership and example significantly influenced the growth of the Community Foundation, which has since received hundreds of other donor gifts that have increased the organization's assets from less than $10 million in 1991 to almost $100 million today. 

Over 125 nonprofit organizations in Asheville and Western North Carolina used Dogwood Fund resources for good works. Selected recipients are listed below. 

• Asheville-Buncombe Affordable Housing Coalition*=

• City of Asheville -Community Image Survey; Junior Golf Program; Pritchard Park

• Eagle/Market Development Corporation

• Grove Arcade Public Market

• Memory Assessment Clinic and Eldercare Center

• Mountain Housing Opportunities*+

• Pack Square Conservancy*

• Pisgah Legal Services+

• Project STEAM*+ - Provides academic support and personal development skills to help youth succeed.

• WCQS Public Radio+

• Western Carolinians for Criminal Justice*+

• YWCA of Asheville+

(*=start-up funding; += recipient of multiple Dogwood grants)

Other Wonderful Investments

• Self-Help Credit Union - Support to open Asheville office, purchase Public Service Building (which now houses about 20 nonprofits and businesses), plus guaranteed initial loans for start-up of Mountain Microenterprise Fund; ABC Recycling; Cafe on the Square, the French Broad Coop's Biltmore Avenue location, as well as the Blue Moon Bakery. 

• Mountain Microenterprises -[Mountain BizWorks] "This nice man named Julian Price called one day and said he'd heard good things about us, and asked if we could use any financial help. I told him that actually, we were beginning a $50,000 fund-raising drive, and would welcome any amount from $5 up. He asked some questions and we had a nice chat. Before hanging up, he asked if it would be all right if he sent us a check for $50,000."

• Investigative Reporting Fund (IRP)- funded articles investigating... (you could get this info from the IRP file)

• Green Line to Mountain Xpress - Funded the transformation from a small, struggling mostly environmental monthly into a vibrant, financially viable weekly newspaper with diverse viewpoints and the human side of local news and the arts. 

• Pack Place Education, Arts and Science Center - Start-up funding for this cultural center that houses four museums and a theater in downtown Asheville. 

• RiverLink - Julian "gave $50,000 when we were about to close our doors and later lent us money when no bank would touch us. We paid you back with interest and now every bank wants to finance us. You believed in us when no one else would."

• Asheville Urban Trail - Walking route with public art noting historical sites and events.

• Citizens for Media Literacy/Mountain Area Information Network - Community internet access and public access television.

• Coalition for Scenic Beauty and Scenic North Carolina - "His $2,000 seed money, plus help in producing and distributing our little magazine, resulted in $35,000 total donations" and tremendous public support toward the goal of banning billboards. 

• Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County - Funded hiring of first-time staff and expanded the revolving fund for purchase of historic properties. 

• Quality Forward - Trees, plantings, and pedestrian friendly improvements all around town.

• Radio Reading Service - For several years, Julian read news stories weekly over this public radio service for the visually handicapped. 

And many, many personal gifts that helped individuals and groups succeed, for example:

• Julian sponsored the AAU Jr.  Olympic Basketball Team, which won 9th in the nation. "Thanks to Julian, my daughter received a full athletic scholarship to college."

• Julian also sponsored a college tour for African-American Asheville High students to visit black institutions of higher education.

Initiatives:

• Public Interest Advertising Project (PIAP) - Print ads in the Asheville Citizen-Times, Raleigh News and Observer, and Hendersonville Times-News, on such diverse topics as the Monte Vista Hotel (benefits of their water saving devices); the Eliminator (stopped DOT from using this ruthless tree cutting machine in NC); Traffic signal timing (to make them more friendly to pedestrians); and Lowe's (against cutting down trees on new store site).

• City Watch Magazine - Quirky, photo-filled magazine on what it takes to create a people-friendly community. Articles were about issues that appealed to regular folks - barking dogs ("Nice Doggie, Bad Owner"), trash pick-up, pedestrian safety, trees in parking lots, community gardening, graffiti and more. 

• Alternative Reading Room - Collection of alternative publications, open to the public. Started one in Asheville and also funded one at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C..

• Pedestrian Action League (PAL)- Advocated for sidewalks, landscaping, handicapped ramps and safer timing of stoplights and intersections with slide shows produced by Julian, letters to city staff and city officials, and "Dysfunction Junction," a Mountain Xpress photo feature of places unsafe for pedestrians, contributed by people all around the area.

• TreeWatch - advocated for trees thru a better tree ordinance, creating a position of city tree arborist, posting signs and writing articles against tree topping. Julian also raised a big stink (was on TV news) when trees were damaged or destroyed, such as Lowes (see Public Interest Advertising Project) and when former Public Works Director Jim Ewing allowed tree roots on Griffing Blvd. to be cut in order to repair city sidewalks. Julian served on and was Chair of the Asheville Tree Commission briefly.

• Noise Abatement Project (NAP) - Advocated for a quieter city environment by working for a better noise ordinance

[Other stories were contributed on cards by those who attended this memorial service. Those cards are included in the collected papers.]

Change is always accompanied by controversy and by energy that some read as tumult and other read as positive energy. The period of the 1990's in Asheville has been a model of how energetic individuals can shape community and can turn the lethargy of tradition into a vibrant and thriving cultural milieu. Julian Price was a central figure in re-shaping Asheville. His numerous initiatives stand at the center of many of the significant cultural shifts the city has seen in the last two decades.

Change can not be effected without capital. The 1990's was a period when considerable capital flowed into Asheville's cultural re-birth. The generous philanthropic and civic contributions of individuals like Julian Price and others came at a time in our nation's history that allowed for great freedom of creative expression and development. Asheville's reputation as a counter-culture stimulated individual creativity and many of the cities finest galleries, art museums, theaters, music and civic projects grew out of this youthful creative well-spring and the growing and generous retirement community. This diverse in-flux of people contributed money and civic involvement to shape "their" community. Julian Price is among those vibrant and visionary individuals whose contributions have left a lasting legacy. Julian's legacy is Asheville's  reconstruction in the 1990's and it continues today. His gentle vision and kind generosity helped to give Asheville an aura that is unique and comfortable. Julian Price wanted to "come home again" and he helped to make Asheville the kind of place that many would want to call home.

The Julian Price papers are a record of Asheville's evolution during the 1990's and Julian's contributions to that evolution. Collectively, the papers are a comprehensive record for anyone  wishing to document and study the rebirth and revitalization of a small city in the American southeast and the role of individual advocacy and philanthropy. It is a record for the public who may be interested in specific civic projects in Asheville, in Julian Price, and in the process of community advocacy, creativity and community building.  HW

• M2004.06.28.1    Correspondence 
• M2004.06.28.2    Dogwood Fund
• M2004.06.28.3    Initiatives
• M2004.06.28.4    Investments
• M2004.06.28.5    Articles, Pamphlets, Programs, Books, Recordings
• M2004.06.28.6    Newspaper clippings, journal articles (about)
• M2004.06.28.7    Publications
• M2004.06.28.8    Journals, Scrapbooks, Day Logs
• M2004.06.28.9    Memorabilia, misc.
• M2004.06.28.10  Family
• M2004.06.28.11  Selected Photographs (c. 2200 items in complete collection)
• M2004.06.28.12  Misc.
• AV2004.06.1       Recordings and interviews