The Asheville History Center, located in the Smith-McDowell House Museum, will open an exhibit about the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway on Tuesday, May 17th.
The exhibit is a touring exhibit originally created by David E. Hill and Richard T. Johnson of the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
With historic photographs and documents and architectural plans, the exhibit traces the history of the parkway’s construction from route selection in the early 1930s to the construction of the Linn Cove Viaduct in 1987. It also presents information about the political complications, construction difficulties and the environmental impact that its construction created.
While in Asheville, the exhibit will also include domestic items and furniture from homes that were “displaced” due to the construction of the parkway, as well as paintings by Asheville artist Jeff Pittman that were inspired by and that celebrate the beauty and lure of the mountains surrounding the parkway. Local historian John Turk is the exhibit’s curator.
For further information, please contact the Asheville History Center at the Smith-McDowell House, (828) 253-9231 or www.wnchistory.org.
Museum Hours: Wednesday through Saturday – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm/Sunday – 12:00 – 4:00