Seventeen stories of brick and stone rise above you here, the Buncombe County Courthouse anchoring this corner of Asheville, North Carolina. Designed by architect Frank Pierce Milburn and built between 1924 and 1928, this is a 17-story, steel-frame skyscraper sheathed in brick and ashlar veneer. From here you can appreciate the building’s tiered profile: complex setbacks step back as the structure rises, creating the silhouette above the street.
Notice, too, the extravagant overlay of Neo-Classical Revival ornament — an architectural language that signals civic ambition in stone and brick. This landmark was recognized for its significance when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and it stands within the Downtown Asheville Historic District. Trace the transitions of material — the steel frame hidden beneath brick and ashlar veneer — and imagine the years between 1924 and 1928 when this composition took shape under Milburn’s hand.
Let the scale of those 17 stories register against the street, and let your eye find the decorative details that reward a closer look. Frank Pierce Milburn's 17 stories of brick and ashlar veneer step back as they climb, civic ambition written in stone within the Downtown Asheville Historic District.