Castle in the Sky

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Issue:

03/2014

Legacy Builder: Fred Seely put his mark on Asheville with the Grove Park Inn, his mountainside castle, and other landmarks.

First Family: The Seelys, gathered next to a fittingly grand Christmas tree in one of Overlook’s great rooms, lived at the castle until the early 1940s.

From its perch on Sunset Mountain, the castle offers stunning vistas in several directions.

Overlook’s expansive great room features a 32-foot ceiling.

Stone Sentinel: Seely began construction of the 20,000-squre-foot castle in 1914, and it took nearly a decade to complete.

Reading & Relaxation: The sunlit library featured additional bookshelves on an upper balcony. Curiously, a door is rumored to be hidden behind the fireplace in this room.

Seely welcomed many notables to Overlook. In this photo, taken in 1918 at the Grove Park Inn, he was joined by (from left) Harvey Firestone Sr., Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone Jr., Horatio Seymour, and Henry Ford.

Higher education: From 1949 to 1961, Overlook served as the campus for Asheville-Biltmore College, predecessor to the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

RESOURCES:

Grovewood Gallery; (aerial view) E. M. Ball Photographic Collection (1918 -1969), D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804; (window) The Biltmore Industries Collection (1901-1980), D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804, (men) E. M. Ball Photographic Collection (1918-1969), D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804; (castle) Historic Resources Commission of Asheville & Buncombe County; (college) the Biltmore Industries Inc., 111 Grovewood Road, Asheville NC 28804

ISSUE DATE:

March 2014

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Castle in the Sky

Castle in the Sky

Castle in the Sky