Smith, Richard Sharp (1852-1924)
Variant Name(s):
R. S. Smith
Birthplace:
England
Residences:
- Asheville, North Carolina
Trades:
- Architect
Building Types:
Styles & Forms:
Classical Revival; Colonial Revival; Craftsman; Tudor Revival
Richard Sharp Smith (1852-1924), a talented and eclectic English-born architect, came to Asheville in 1889 as the supervising architect of Biltmore House, established a private practice in 1895, and became one of the city’s most prolific and influential architects during the first two decades of the 20th century. In his architectural practice—both individually and in partnership with Albert Carrier—Smith designed a variety of buildings from major public edifices to domestic additions and outbuildings, and he worked in a wide range of styles including Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, and Craftsman modes. In the period from 1900 to 1920, Smith was responsible for virtually every major structure in downtown Asheville. He helped to define the character of the city in his time, and he designed many houses in suburban Asheville neighborhoods such as Montford, Chestnut Hill, and Grove Park. Beyond Asheville, Smith and then Smith and Carrier became the first major regional architectural firm serving southwestern North Carolina, planning public and commercial buildings, churches, and residences in many mountain communities.
Born in Yorkshire, England, Richard Sharp Smith received his architectural training in the office of a cousin, George Smith. After working for various architects in Manchester, Smith immigrated to the United States in 1882, and took a position with the Reid Brothers, architects, in Evansville, Indiana. In 1883 Smith moved to New York City and joined Bradford L. Gilbert’s office, where he spent most of his time supervising design and construction of railroad stations. In 1886 Smith joined the office of Richard Morris Hunt, working on various projects for the firm until he was assigned to the Biltmore project in 1889. This proved to be a decisive turn in his career.
Hunt sent Smith to Asheville to supervise construction of Biltmore House and other buildings on George Vanderbilt’s palatial estate. Despite the distance between Asheville and Hunt’s office in New York, Smith’s work for Hunt was monitored through weekly reports and frequent letters between the two architects. Smith’s contributions to the overall design and conception of the estate were secondary to that of Vanderbilt, Hunt, and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. But as early as 1892, Vanderbilt began asking Smith to design additional buildings for him, providing a springboard for Smith’s private practice. According to his obituary, Smith lived at Biltmore during his work on the estate. While working at Biltmore, Smith met Isabella Cameron of Scotland, a member of the Vanderbilt’s household staff. They married and had four children—Emily, Sylvia, Hampden, and Richard Jr.
The strong English influence in Smith’s architecture was an extension of his personality. Though he never returned to England after moving to Asheville, Smith remained an English gentleman in his demeanor and appearance—tailored tweed suits, English walking caps, and cane. Smith was a devoted Episcopalian and a member of the vestry at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, for which he designed a church in 1914 in a highly Anglo-Catholic mode. He was an active member of the Scottish Rite Masonic order and the British American Club, and he advocated for the formation of the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The influence of Richard Sharp Smith’s architecture in Asheville and western North Carolina during the first quarter of the 20th century cannot be overstated. During the first five years of his private practice, from 1896 to 1901, Smith had more than sixty commissions, including several designs for, or supported by, George Vanderbilt. Drawing from his experience working at Biltmore, Smith was the man most responsible for introducing and popularizing English architectural models in Asheville. Smith designed more than two dozen buildings in Biltmore Village, including residences, offices, and an infirmary, that employed pebbledash stucco, brick accents, and half-timbered exteriors to invoke an English feeling. Smith designed the Young Men’s Institute, at the corner of Eagle and Market streets in downtown Asheville, utilizing an English cottage form for a civic building. Vanderbilt also asked Smith to design a series of rental villas or “model cottages” on Vernon Hill across the Swannanoa River from Biltmore. Of the five houses built, only Sunnicrest, the largest of the group, survives.
Among his early commissions independent of Vanderbilt, Smith designed a number of houses in the Montford and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods north of downtown Asheville. In particular the Annie West House, designed in 1900, on Chestnut Street features Smith’s continued used of pebbledash stucco, half timbering, and diamond-pane windows on a multi-gabled residence outside of his work in Biltmore. Several exemplary designs on Montford Avenue—including the Ottis Green House and Charles Jordan House, both ca. 1900—show Smith combining the pebbledash and half-timbered effects with other elements from the Craftsman and Colonial Revival styles.
Smith’s distinctive style of residential design garnered immediate acclaim as other architects and builders sought to imitate the character of his buildings. He occasionally struggled to keep his strong-willed personality in check as he dealt with colleagues and clients in his private practice. In 1897 Smith responded harshly to several cottages erected by builder J. M. Westall that reflected Smith’s personal style, claiming the similarities “a matter of piracy.” Smith accused Westall of unfairly borrowing elements from designs recently completed by Smith and executed by Westall. He later softened his tone and confided to Westall that he was frustrated, rather than flattered by the imitations. Tense negotiations between Smith and Dr. J. Howell Way of Waynesville over the design and cost of a proposed house led to a deterioration of their relationship. Following a request for payment of $65 for architectural services in April 1898, Way’s response indicated that Smith had accused him of copying and distributing to others the plans Smith had provided, despite the fact that Smith’s plans consistently exceeded the $2,500 maximum stated by Way at the outset of the project.
As documented in the 1901 publication, My Sketch Book, Smith’s clients included many prominent civic leaders and businessmen in Asheville, Hendersonville, Flat Rock, and Brevard. The J. H. White House in Marshall, county seat of Madison, was built in 1903 on a terrace overlooking the small riverside town. A tobacco businessman, newspaper publisher, postmaster, banker, and clerk of court, James White later influenced the selection of Smith to design the Neoclassical-style Madison County Courthouse in 1907. In 1905, Smith designed the Neoclassical-style Henderson County Courthouse in Hendersonville, and due to the popularity of his work at the time, he was asked to update several 19th century houses in the summer colony of Flat Rock, frequently adding his signature pebbledash stucco and half timbering to the existing structures. In neighboring Transylvania County, Smith provided designs for a few modest buildings, but his influence was demonstrated with the use of pebbledash stucco as an exterior finish on several substantial residences.
In Asheville, Smith worked on designs for a wide range of buildings and structures that greatly shaped the physical appearance of the downtown area in the first two decades of the 20th century. In 1896, Smith designed the Vance Monument, a granite obelisk located on the public square and erected in honor of Zebulon B. Vance. A devout Episcopalian, Smith produced a substantial number of church designs. These ranged from the restrained Gothic Revival style of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church to the more bold expression of Hopkins Chapel A.M.E Zion Church, with its asymmetrical façade and tall corner tower. Smith collaborated with internationally-known architect-engineer Rafael Guastavino on the design for the Basilica of St. Lawrence in downtown Asheville. Having previously worked together at Biltmore, Smith and Guastavino planned the spacious and opulently finished structure in the Spanish Baroque Revival style. Built between 1905 and 1909, the church features a great self-supporting tiled dome over the sanctuary.
In addition to residential and church designs, Smith’s other early projects included many commercial buildings, clubs and lodges, and public school buildings. In 1906, he formed a partnership with Albert Heath Carrier, whose family had moved to Asheville in 1885, and together the Smith and Carrier firm worked on more than 700 projects from its inception until Smith’s death in 1924. Among their most notable works, Smith and Carrier designed the Legal Building (1909) on the south side of Pack Square—a five-story Renaissance Revival-style office building with one of the first applications of reinforced concrete construction in the city. The firm designed the Scottish Rite Cathedral and Masonic Temple in 1913, a striking 4-story brick building with a two-story limestone portico framed by paired Ionic columns. Directly across the street, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Building, a three-story brick structure completed in 1914, features a two-story, low-relief limestone classical portico. The firm also designed the four-story reinforced concrete Elks Home (1915) on Haywood Street. The six-story Loughran Building (1923), one of Smith and Carrier’s last projects, stands on the corner opposite the Elks Home and features a restrained classical composition of glazed terra-cotta over a steel frame. Together Smith and Carrier formed an incomparable partnership, capable of handling nearly any project and influencing architectural design throughout the region into the mid-1920s.
Smith took an early leadership role in the architectural profession in the state. As early as 1901, he served as president of the Southeastern Architectural League. Most important, in 1913 he was one of the five founding members of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (see Glenn Brown), and he served as its president in 1917 and vice-president in 1921. Smith was one of several architects who gained their licenses to practice in North Carolina under the newly passed Practice Act of 1915, obtaining certificate #36 on July 5, 1915, on the basis of having been practicing prior to 1915.
At his death in 1924, the Asheville Citizen of February 10 carried a laudatory account of his work, saying that “after long years of residence in Asheville, Mr. Smith has done more than any other person to beautify the city. . . . He came to Asheville just at a time when he was needed, and was really a pioneer architect in the community. Since then many other architects of ability have come and his work can be carried on, but to R. S. Smith should be given the honor of having helped us all.” Richard Sharp Smith is buried in Riverside Cemetery in the Montford neighborhood of Asheville
- Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
- S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
- C. David Jackson and Charlotte V. Brown, History of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 1913-1998 (1998).
- Richard Sharp Smith, “An Architect and His Times, A Retrospective” (1995), exhibit catalog of essays and drawings by the Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, North Carolina.
- Richard Sharp Smith Drawing Collection, Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, North Carolina.
- Douglas Swaim, ed., Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, North Carolina (1981).
Anderson Auditorium
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect (1922); Smith and Carrier, architects (1922); Richard Sharp Smith, architect (1922)Dates:1922; 1941 [rebuilt]
Location:Montreat, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:318 Georgia Ter., Montreat, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Note:The capacious, stone-walled auditorium at the Montreat campus has a 3,000-seat hall under a steel truss roof. It complements the massive stone Assembly Hall by architect William J. East. The Auditorium burned in 1940 and was rebuilt the following year.
Annie West House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:189 E. Chestnut St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Apartment Houses
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1905
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:130-132 and 134-136 Biltmore Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Note:Two granite fieldstone apartment buildings designed for O. C. Hamilton.
Asheville Club
Contributors:Variant Name(s):Carolina Hotel; Charmil Hotel
Dates:1915
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:33-35 Broadway, Asheville, NC
Status:No longer standing
Type:Commercial
Basilica of St. Lawrence
Contributors:Samuel I. Bean, stonemason; Rafael Guastavino, Sr., architect; Frederick B. Miles, sculptor; Richard Sharp Smith, architect; Rafael Guastavino, Jr., architect and builderVariant Name(s):St. Lawrence Catholic Church
Dates:1905-1909
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:97 Haywood St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, North Carolina Architecture (1990).
Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Douglas Swaim, ed., Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, North Carolina (1981).Note:Famed Spanish architect-builder Guastavino and Smith worked together on the imposing brick church, where the broad dome and other elements show Guastavino’s unique self-supporting tile construction and other tilework, which he manufactured at his estate near Black Mountain. Guastavino is entombed in the church. Drawings survive in the Richard Sharp Smith Drawing Collection, Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, North Carolina. See http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog?utf8=%E2%9C%93&f[classification_facet]=Richard+Sharp+Smith+Collection&q=St.+Lawrence.
Frederick B. Miles, who like Guastavino and Smith, had come to Asheville to work on Biltmore, was commissioned to carve a stone angel for the basilica. The church was elevated to the status of a basilica in 1993. Rafael Guastavino, Jr., completed the edifice after his father’s death.
Beaumont
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect (1909); Smith and Carrier, architects (1909); Richard Sharp Smith, architect (1909)Dates:1839; 1909
Location:Flat Rock, Henderson CountyStreet Address:121 Andrew Johnstone Dr., Flat Rock, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Note:Smith supervised remodeling and enlarging the original 1839 stone house for Frank Hayne of New Orleans. This was one of several 19th century houses in the resort community of Flat Rock that were re-designed in the early 20th century.
Biltmore Estate
Contributors:Samuel I. Bean, stonemason; John T. Corbin, stonecutter; Rafael Guastavino, Sr., builder; Richard Howland Hunt, assistant architect; Richard Morris Hunt, architect; Richard Sharp Smith, supervising architectDates:1888-1895
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Biltmore Ave., Asheville vicinity, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Agricultural
ResidentialImages Published In:Paul R. Baker, Richard Morris Hunt (1980).
Catherine W. Bishir, North Carolina Architecture (1990).
Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
John Morrill Bryan, Biltmore Estate: The Most Distinguished Private Place (1994).
Susan Stein, ed., The Architecture of Richard Morris Hunt (1986).
Biltmore Village
Contributors:Richard Howland Hunt, architect; Richard Morris Hunt, architect; Richard Sharp Smith, architect; J. M. Westall, builderDates:1889-1910
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Asheville vicinity, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
ResidentialImages Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Douglas Swaim, ed., Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, North Carolina (1981).Note:George Vanderbilt planned a manorial village outside the gates of the Biltmore Estate and had Frederick Law Olmsted lay it out. Richard Morris Hunt designed some of the original buildings, including the Railroad Depot, Estate Office, and All Souls Church. Most of these featured brickwork combined with stucco or “pebbledash,” and some had half-timbering. They continued the “estate style” of the farm buildings at Biltmore. After the older Hunt’s death, Richard Howland Hunt and Richard Sharp Smith continued to design the buildings that composed the picturesque village, most of which survives to the present. A similar style was used by Smith at the YMI Building in Asheville for the estate’s black workers, sponsored by Vanderbilt. Among the buildings in Biltmore Village that have been credited to the contracting firm of J. M. Westall are the following: Cottage H, Cottage L. Cottage Z (Swann St.), Barber Shop, Swannanoa Lodge and Office (Biltmore Ticket Office), Biltmore Schoolhouse.
Breezemont
Contributors:Variant Name(s):Herbert Miles House
Dates:Ca. 1914
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:150 Cherokee Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Charles Jordan House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:296 Montford Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
David Cottages
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architect; J. M. Westall, builderDates:1897-1899
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:138, 144, 156, and 160 E. Chestnut St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Note:It is believed that Smith designed and Westall built these picturesque rental houses in hybrid Craftsman styles. Not long after this, Smith was involved in a dispute with Westall, whom he accused of having copied his building style without giving due credit.
Dorland Memorial Presbyterian Church
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1898-1900
Location:Hot Springs, Madison CountyStreet Address:Bridge St., Hot Springs, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
E. W. Grove Office
Contributors:Dates:Ca. 1912
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:324 Charlotte St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Edwin L. Ray House
Contributors:Dates:1908
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:83 Hillside St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Elks Home
Contributors:Variant Name(s):Hotel Asheville
Dates:1915
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:55 Haywood St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Embrook
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1902-1903
Location:Flat Rock, Henderson CountyStreet Address:93 Embrook Lake Dr., Flat Rock, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Foster Sondley House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1902; 1905
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Haw Creek Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Fraternal Order of Eagles Building
Contributors:Dates:1914
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:73 Broadway, Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Fred W. W. Graham House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Victoria Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
George Tayloe Winston House
Contributors:Dates:1909
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:2 Howland Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Grace Episcopal Church
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1905-1907
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:871 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Henderson County Courthouse
Contributors:W. F. Edwards, builder; Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1905
Location:Hendersonville, Henderson CountyStreet Address:S. Main St., Hendersonville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Public
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Henry Clarke Carrier House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Dunn's Rock, Transylvania CountyStreet Address:Hwy 276 at Rockbrook Camp, Dunn’s Rock vicinity, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
Hopkins Chapel A. M. E. Zion Church
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect; James Vester Miller, contractor; Smith and Carrier, architects; Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1910
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:21 College Pl., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Note:The Asheville Citizen-Times of May 7, 1911 commented on the “excellence of the work done in this building by J. V. Miller, the colored contractor who had entire charge of the construction, under the supervision of Messrs. Smith and Carrier, the architects.” The congregation was founded in 1868.
House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:27 Soco St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
InTheOaks (recreation wing)
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect (1922-1923); Smith and Carrier, architects (1922-1923); Richard Sharp Smith, architect (1922-1923); Frank Wallis and Son, architects (1919-1921)Dates:1919-1921; 1922-1923 [addition]
Location:Black Mountain, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:510 Vance Ave., Black Mountain, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Note:In 1922-1923, Smith and Carrier added a recreation wing.
J. H. White House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1903
Location:Marshall, Madison CountyStreet Address:5 Hill St., Marshall, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Jackson County Courthouse II
Contributors:Dates:1914
Location:Sylva, Jackson CountyStreet Address:W. Main St., Sylva, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Public
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Kanuga Conference Center Cottages
Contributors:Dates:1908-1910
Location:Hendersonville, Henderson CountyStreet Address:Kanuga Conference Dr., Hendersonville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Recreational
ReligiousImages Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Killarney
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1853; early 20th century
Location:Hendersonville, Henderson CountyStreet Address:322 Killarney St., Hendersonville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Lambert Building
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:65-71 Biltmore Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Note:The building was designed for H. S. Lambert Carriage Works. The façade was remodeled in the 1990s.
Lambert House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architect; J. M. Westall, builderDates:1896
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:166 E. Chestnut St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Note:The 2-story, shingled and roughcast stuccoed residence was one of architect Smith’s first commissions after he completed work for Vanderbilt. It set the tone for his many other commissions, including those built by Westall’s firm.
Langren Hotel
Contributors:Samuel I. Bean, stonemason; Albert Heath Carrier, attributed architect; Smith and Carrier, attributed architects; Richard Sharp Smith, attributed architectDates:Ca. 1908-1912
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:College St. at Biltmore Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Note:The building’s construction history is complicated by a delay caused by financial problems. Although no architect is generally cited for it, the building was identified by A. H. Carrier to Joseph D. Robinson, Jr. as one the firm had been involved in. Further research may uncover documentation of the building’s architects and builders.
Legal Building
Contributors:Dates:1909
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:10 S. Pack Square, Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Note:For this severely elegant building facing Pack Square, Smith employed one of the region’s earliest uses of reinforced concrete structure. The postcard shows the Legal Building on the left.
Lewis Funeral Home
Contributors:Dates:1921
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:189 College St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Note:The building is now the Buncombe County Courthouse Annex.
Locke Craig House
Contributors:Dates:1916
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:25 Glendale Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Loughran Building
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect; Luther L. Merchant, contractor; Smith and Carrier, architects; Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1923
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Haywood St. and Walnut St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Madison County Courthouse
Contributors:Dates:1907
Location:Marshall, Madison CountyStreet Address:S. Main St., Marshall, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Public
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Note:The postcard shows the Madison County Courthouse on the left.
Majestic Theater
Contributors:Variant Name(s):Paramount Theater
Dates:Ca. 1912
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:College St. at Market St., Asheville, NC
Status:No longer standing
Type:Commercial
Note:For a decade or so Smith and Carrier had their office on an upper floor of the building. The theater featured vaudeville acts as well as motion pictures. Family memory recalls that Carrier had a window cut in his office wall so he could watch performances. The firm subsequently moved to the Overland-Knight Building.
McConnell Hall
Contributors:Willis Carrier, architect; Smith and Carrier, architects; Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1924
Location:Mars Hill, Madison CountyStreet Address:Mars Hill College campus, Mars Hill, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Educational
Note:Built as a gymnasium, the large brick building features a columned façade. The drawings for it are located in the Richard Sharp Smith Collection Asheville Art Museum. They are posted at https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog?f%5bclassification_facet%5d%5b%5d=Richard+Sharp+Smith+Collection&f%5bwork_facet%5d%5b%5d=Mars+Hill+College+(Mars+Hill%2C+N.C.). One of the drawings, with the firm name of Smith and Carrier in the block, is dated August 1923.
Medical Building
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1898
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:16 College St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Note:The Medical Building was built for the Coxe estate. It was remodeled ca. 1990.
Miss Maria T. Brown House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:177 Cumberland Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
Mrs. Lon Mitchell House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:214 Montford Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
Mrs. Minnie Alexander Cottage
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1905
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:218 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Norton House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architect (ca. 1900)Variant Name(s):Chanteloup
Dates:1840-1841; Ca. 1900
Location:Flat Rock, Henderson CountyStreet Address:1001 Estate Dr., Flat Rock, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
Note:Smith designed the large granite wings that more than doubled the size of the original house
Oates House
Contributors:Dates:1913
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:90 Gertrude Pl., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Note:The unusually sophisticated house, built of fireproof concrete and stucco, was built for J. Rush and Dora Oates; he was vice-president of the Central Bank, for which Smith had also designed the Legal Building, of reinforced concrete. The postcard shows the Oates House in the upper right corner.
Ottis Green House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:200 Montford Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Overland-Knight Building
Contributors:Variant Name(s):Buncombe County Administrative Offices Building; Three Mountaineers
Dates:Ca. 1922
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:College St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Note:This building, which was the last location of Smith and Carrier’s offices, was fitted with Carrier Casement Adjuster windows.
Paragon Building
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1895
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Haywood St., Asheville, NC
Status:No longer standing
Type:Commercial
People's National Bank
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect; W. F. Edwards, builder; Smith and Carrier, architects; Richard Sharp Smith, architectVariant Name(s):Henderson County Bank
Dates:Ca. 1910
Location:Hendersonville, Henderson CountyStreet Address:225-231 N. Main St., Hendersonville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Note:The building has been converted to commercial and residential space.
Rattlesnake Lodge
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectVariant Name(s):Dr. Chase P. Ambler Cabin
Dates:1903-1904
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Blue Ridge Parkway, approx. 0.5 mi. NE of Tanbark Ridge Tunnel, Asheville vicinity, NC
Status:No longer standing
Type:Residential
Note:The rustic pole-log cabin was built for Dr. Chase P. Ambler, a prominent Asheville physician and avid hiker and outdoorsman. The foundations remain a popular hiking destination; they are located approximately .5 mile northeast of Tanbark Ridge Tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Reems Creek Presbyterian Church
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Early 20th century
Location:Weaverville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Reems Creek Rd., Weaverville vicinity, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Note:A rural example of Smith’s picturesque frame and pebbledash style.
Richard Sharp Smith House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1902
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:655 Chunns Cove Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Rutledge House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1900
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:209 Cumberland Ave., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
Samuel and Addie Stringfield House
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1922
Location:Waynesville, Haywood CountyStreet Address:28 Walnut St., Waynesville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Note:A portion of Smith’s drawings for the house is held by the Asheville Art Museum.
Scottish Rite Cathedral and Masonic Temple
Contributors:Samuel I. Bean, stonemason; Albert Heath Carrier, architect; John T. Corbin, stonecutter; Smith and Carrier, architects; Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1913
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:80 Broadway, Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Fraternal
Images Published In:David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Contributors:Dates:1914
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:337 Charlotte St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Religious
Note:Smith’s home church, St. Mary’s is one of the state’s few examples of a fully realized Anglo-Catholic church design; it follows a cruciform plan and includes a rood screen in the formally arranged interior.
Sunnicrest
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:Ca. 1895
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:394 Victoria Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:S. J. Fisher [and Richard Sharp Smith], My Sketchbook (1901), copy in Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, North Carolina.
Douglas Swaim, ed., Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, North Carolina (1981).Note:During the late 1890s George W. Vanderbilt built five Richard Sharp Smith-designed “model cottages” on Vernon Hill in what was then the town of Victoria. Vanderbilt then rented the houses, “completely furnished, except. . . silver, linen, blankets” for rates from $200 monthly for Hillcote, the smallest, to $350 monthly for Ridgelawn and Sunnicrest, the largest. Vanderbilt eventually sold the buildings to individuals for permanent residences. Of the five only Sunnicrest survives, the others having burned or been demolished. Sunnicrest was converted into offices for Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in the early 1990s. The other four structures were Hillcote, Ridgelawn, Spurwood, and Westlake, all lost.
Swain County Courthouse
Contributors:Albert Heath Carrier, architect; Frank Pierce Milburn, attributed architect; Smith and Carrier, architects; Richard Sharp Smith, architect; Michael Heister, architectDates:1908
Location:Bryson City, Swain CountyStreet Address:101 Mitchell St., Bryson City, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Public
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Technical Building
Contributors:Dates:Ca. 1910
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:College St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Commercial
Images Published In:David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Teneriffe
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architect (ca. 1903)Dates:1855; ca. 1903 [remodeled]
Location:Flat Rock, Henderson CountyStreet Address:2531 Little River Rd., Flat Rock, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Note:Smith supervised remodeling and enlarging the original 1855 Gothic Revival style house with a pebbledash exterior and Tudor Revival details in his English-inspired mode.
Thomas Lawrence House
Contributors:Dates:1909
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:25 Lawrence Pl., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Vance Monument
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectDates:1896
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Pack Square, Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Memorial
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Note:The photograph shows, from left to right, Vance Monument (Richard Sharp Smith), Buncombe County Courthouse (Frank Pierce Milburn), Asheville City Building (Douglas Ellington), Jackson Building (James J. Baldwin), Legal Building (Richard Sharp Smith), and Pack Memorial Library (Edward Tilton).
William Jennings Bryan House
Contributors:Dates:Ca. 1917
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:107 Evelyn Pl., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
YMCA
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architect; J. M. Westall, builderDates:1902-1903
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:Haywood St., Asheville, NC
Status:No longer standing
Type:Recreational
Note:The Manufacturers’ Record (Aug. 29, 1901) reported that R. S. Smith had drawn plans for a YMCA Building, which was to be built by Westall.
Young Men's Institute
Contributors:Richard Sharp Smith, architectVariant Name(s):YMI Building
Dates:1892
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:39 S. Market St., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Recreational
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
David R. Black, Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina (1979).
Douglas Swaim, ed., Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, North Carolina (1981).Note:George Vanderbilt established the YMI for black men in Asheville, including those who worked on Biltmore; he commissioned Smith to design it in the Biltmore estate English style with red brick and pebbledash, a mode he often employed.
Zealandia
Contributors:Variant Name(s):Philip S. Henry House
Dates:1908-1920
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:1 Vance Gap Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
Images Published In:Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).
Douglas Swaim, ed., Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, North Carolina (1981).Note:For diplomat and art collector Henry, Smith designed a luxurious Tudor Revival stone mansion that rises out of living stone. Like many Asheville area houses, its design complements the mountain setting.