a corner of a building with tables and chairs on the side of the street

History

Discover Haywood Park Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection which was once the Bon Marché, the first high-end department store in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

Haywood Park Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection was constructed during the “Roaring Twenties,” in which flappers, the radio, and the Art Deco movement defined the age.

The city of Asheville, North Carolina began in 1784 as an outpost. Notable frontiersmen Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett traveled through Asheville in the early days when Asheville was mostly Native American trails and a plateau surrounded by mountains and rivers on all sides. The construction of a railroad transformed Asheville into a resort town and a therapeutic health center, and probably laid the foundation for the neo-60s “New Age Mecca” it has transformed into today.

In the 1910s and 1920s, the city prospered financially. Downtown, the Bon Marché, a high-end department store, was built. The store, which was established in the 1890s at a different location, moved into this larger building and operated out of it until 1937, when it moved across the street. Another high-end department store by the name of Ivey’s moved into the building vacated by Bon Marché, and operated there until 1975. After significant renovations and attention to detail, the classic-revival style hotel, the Haywood Park, opened its doors in 1985.

The iconic heritage of the city of Asheville’s first department store, combined with the conversion of the building into a modern, boutique hotel encompasses the 90-plus years this location has been a destination for those seeking fine quality and top-notch service. Bon Marché was known for attracting dignitaries and celebrities throughout the world when it opened in the 1920s. They ventured to Asheville to seek roaring good times, as it was economically prosperous during the Jazz Age. Downtown was flush with flappers, speakeasies, Prohibition, and the popular dance of the time, the Charleston. The Bon Marché played its role by offering high-end fashion options to the good people and visitors of Asheville. The iconic Asheville store ushered in the Golden Age of style and fashion.

Doctors were also known to send people with ailments, especially respiratory ailments, to Asheville to inhale the fresh mountain air and take in the incredible beauty of the natural surroundings. Today, the Haywood Park Hotel honors it’s rich heritage by offering luxurious amenities and unbeatable guest services. Its stylish past is honored through displays of mannequins donning fashions and accoutrements of the past.

a car parked in a building

Hotel Timeline

Solomon Lipinsky founded an upscale department store in downtown Ashville called “Lipinsky and Ellick.” But Lipinsky eventually changed the name to “Bon Marché” after the Le Bon Marché in Paris. By the beginning of the 20th century, the department store rapidly grew in size to the point where it needed a much larger building.

Bon Marché relocated to another building, having occupied its location at the corner of Battery Park Avenue and Haywood Street for the better part of two decades. By this point, Lewis Lipinsky—Solomon’s son— had assumed control over the department store and desired a more modern home for his family’s business. But the vacated building would not stay empty for long, as another retailer—Ivey’s Department Store—moved into the structure shortly thereafter.

When the Bon Marché department store finally reopened, it was received with immense enthusiasm across Asheville. Renowned pharmacist Edwin Wiley Grove had constructed Bon Marché’s new building on Solomon Lipinsky’s behalf, hiring architect William Lee Stoddard to complete the project. Bon Marché subsequently ushered in a golden age of style and fashion throughout the city.

Ivey’s would occupy the old Bon Marché department store for many years thereafter, becoming a staple in downtown Asheville throughout most of the 20th century. Yet, in 1978, Ivey’s Department Store left the structure, leaving it abandoned for some time.

A group of aspiring hoteliers fortunately acquired the structure and initiated a series of renovations that transformed it into a boutique hotel called “Haywood Park.” It then became one of Asheville’s most luxurious holiday destinations, offering nothing less than the most memorable guest experience.

Haywood Park joined Historic Hotels of America. The official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization recognizes and celebrates the finest historic hotels, inns, and resorts across the United States.

1890s
1937
1923
1978
1985
2011
The Location

The city of Asheville, North Carolina began in 1784 as an outpost. Notable frontiersmen Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett traveled through Asheville in the early days when Asheville was mostly Native American trails and a plateau surrounded by mountains and rivers on all sides. The construction of a railroad transformed Asheville into a resort town and a therapeutic health center, and probably laid the foundation for the neo-60s “New Age Mecca” it has transformed into today.

In the 1910s and 1920s, the city prospered financially. Downtown, the Bon Marché, a high-end department store, was built. The store, which was established in the 1890s at a different location, moved into this larger building and operated out of it until 1937, when it moved across the street. Another high-end department store by the name of Ivey’s moved into the building vacated by Bon Marché, and operated there until 1975. After significant renovations and attention to detail, the classic-revival style hotel, the Haywood Park Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection, opened its doors in 1985.