Museums From Pioneer Life To 20Th Century
If you’re visiting Asheville, certain museums and historical sites are hard to miss: The Asheville Art Museum and the Center for Craft completed multimillion-dollar makeovers in 2019 and are reveling in their recent reveals; meanwhile, the Biltmore Estate and Asheville Museum of Science are anything but hidden. Other locations require a little digging, though. If you want to go small, niche or quirky, and your passion is pinball, radios, antique cars, Moog synthesizers or cats, we’ve got a museum for you. Unless specified otherwise, the following sites are located in Asheville. HOUSE MUSEUMS • Smith-McDowell House Museum: Built in 1840, the home is believed to be the oldest surviving house in Asheville and the oldest brick structure in Buncombe County. • Thomas Wolfe Memorial: Tour the childhood home of writer Thomas Wolfe and learn how the property inspired his scandalous 1929 novel Look Homeward, Angel. • Vance Birthplace: Located in Weaverville, the tour focuses on what pioneer life was like for both free and enslaved people in Western North Carolina. INSTRUMENTS AND SOUND • The Asheville Radio Museum: This small museum has an impressive collection of radio equipment, advertisements and other memorabilia. Hours vary. • LEAF Cultural Arts center: The multicultural, interactive, family-friendly center offers sights and sounds from around the globe, as well as local crafts.
Photo courtesy of the Bob
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Moog Foundation
• The Moogseum: This interactive museum celebrates Robert “Bob” Moog’s legacy and the science of sound.
FIELD GUIDE TO ASHEVILLE
2020
