From Staff Reports 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A minor roof and chimney fire broke out at the historic Flat Iron Hotel (formerly the Flat Iron Building) in downtown Asheville — resulting in a temporary evacuation — on the night of Sept. 14.

Following are fire response details:

• Time: Around 10:45 p.m.

• Location: 20 Battery Park Ave (flume/exhaust vent on the roof).

• Response: Fully evacuated; reportedly contained quickly by the Asheville Fire Department.

• Casualties: None reported.

• Damage: Mostly limited to the metal exhaust duct; minimal water used.

The impact and operations after the fire are as follows:

• Business status: Hotel and most dining areas remain open. 

Casualty: The restaurant’s pizza oven was damaged and temporarily out of service.

• Investigation: The official cause remains under investigation.

Regarding what was known until recently as Asheville Flat Iron Building, a promotion stated the following:

“For nearly 100 years, the Flat Iron was an office building. Announced, buil and occupied in just a one-year period ending in 1926, at the peak of Asheville’s boom decade, the Flat Iron attracted the best and brightest in town. These halls played host to detectives, dancers, secretaries, therapists, architects, and hundreds of others."

Asheville’s historic Flat Iron Building was designed by New York architect Albert C. Wirth in 1925 and developed by L. B. Jackson, as part of Edwin W. Grove’s Battery Park Hill redevelopment.

The wedge-shaped, eight-story high-rise reportedly maximized use of an irregular triangular plot created by the junction of Battery Park Avenue and Wall Street.

The building mirrors the famous Manhattan skyscraper with its sharp triangular footprint.

Its architectural style is Beaux-Arts and neoclassical detailing, shaped like a Greek column.

“Beaux-Arts architecture was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century,” according to Wikipedia.

 “It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and Baroque elements, and used modern materials, such as iron and glass, and later, steel.

“It was an important style and enormous influence in Europe and the Americas through the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, particularly for institutional and public buildings.”

While New York City’s 1902 landmark is the most famous Flatiron Building, more than a hundred triangular “flatiron” buildings exist worldwide where streets meet at sharp angles. 

Notable examples include the following:

• Atlanta, Ga.: Completed in 1897 as the English-American Building, predating NYC’s version.

• Toronto, Canada: The Gooderham Building was built in 1892, featuring a striking red-brick design and mural.

• San Francisco, Calif.: The Columbus Tower (Sentinel Building) is a 1907 green-tinted landmark in North Beach.

Asheville’s Flat Iron Building was converted into a hotel on May 15, 2024, and renamed the Flat Iron Hotel.