As you get closer to Asheville, NC, coming south on I-26 from Tennessee, the first thing that strikes you is the similarity in terrain to West Virginia. It feels like you are still driving on the West Virginia Turnpike or similar highway through our own hills.

But as you pull into town, stop by the visitor center and wander through downtown, you notice a difference. It begins to dawn on you that this is what Appalachian culture looks like when it is well-funded, well-preserved and a bit more open-minded.

As the official Asheville.com web site states:

Taking a short evening stroll through modern downtown Asheville, NC, it is impossible not to get a sense of the city’s history. Soaring buildings in Neoclassical, Romanesque Revival, Art Deco, and many other styles attest to the depth and diversity of Asheville’s past. These surroundings coupled of the city’s extensive nightlife have granted Asheville the title “Paris of the Southeast.”

Of course, Asheville has a different history than say, Charleston or Huntington. From early on it was a luxurious resort town. Soon after, it became the site of The Biltmore Estate, America’s largest home built by George Vanderbilt. The author Thomas Wolfe grew up in Asheville, and the poet and writer Carl Sandburg spent his last 20 years on a farm outside of town (now a National Historic site). With a pedigree like that, it’s no wonder there is a different feel than the rest of Appalachia.

Still, you can’t help but wonder if West Virginia’s community and state leaders couldn’t learn from Asheville. Like many cities in the 1980’s, there was a critical turning point where leaders had to decide which direction to take downtown. Asheville, like many cities with visions of renewal that builds upon its rich past, turned to artists and developers and began the work of appreciating and preserving what makes it special. It’s a model all of us in West Virginia should seriously evaluate and consider embracing.