Smith and Carrier
Trades:
- Architect
Building Types:
Styles & Forms:
Beaux-Arts; Colonial Revival; Gothic Revival; Neoclassical Revival; Renaissance Revival
Smith and Carrier, an Asheville architectural firm established in 1906 by Richard Sharp Smith (1852-1924) and Albert Heath Carrier (1878-1961), was among the most distinguished and prolific architectural firms in western North Carolina and did much to define the character of the mountain city of Asheville during its early 20th century era of rapid growth and architectural efflorescence.
Smith, a native of England, had come to Asheville in the 1890s as superintending architect at Biltmore and had already established his reputation by 1906, while Carrier, a native of Michigan, moved there with his family as a child in 1885 and as a young man gained valuable knowledge of construction by working with a family firm in Duplin County. By 1903 Smith was so busy that he needed a partner, and after some negotiation on terms (see entry for Albert Heath Carrier), the two formed their partnership in 1906.
The firm worked on more than 700 projects from its inception until Smith’s death in 1924. Their notable works in Asheville included all building types, with the Legal Building (1909) and the Loughran Building (1923) among the most prominent early and late works. Landmarks beyond the city include the imposing, neoclassical Jackson County Courthouse and Madison County Courthouse. Among the architects employed by the partnership were Charles N. Parker from 1909 to 1913, who later practiced independently in Asheville, and Joseph D. Rivers from 1923-1924, who subsequently worked with William H. Lord in Asheville. After Smith’s death, Carrier completed the projects underway but soon reduced his practice and essentially retired from the profession. For more information on both men and the firm, see their respective entries herein.
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.
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
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.
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).
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
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).
George Tayloe Winston House
Contributors:Dates:1909
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:2 Howland Rd., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Thomas Lawrence House
Contributors:Dates:1909
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:25 Lawrence Pl., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
William Jennings Bryan House
Contributors:Dates:Ca. 1917
Location:Asheville, Buncombe CountyStreet Address:107 Evelyn Pl., Asheville, NC
Status:Standing
Type:Residential
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.