Westgate Shopping Center
Asheville, North Carolina - late '50s early '60s
Westgate seems to be one of those quaint little shopping centers that time forgot (even though it's still there). Not much about it online anywhere, aside from only a few passing mentions, and they don't appear to maintain a website either. Granted it isn't really an enclosed shopping mall (I don't think), but rather, a strip mall center, but still, I had hoped to find more about it.
At any rate, the surviving vintage era photos of it are dynamite, if you ask me! Especially the one above--though unfortunately I don't have a really good version of it yet. We'll just have to live with this rather low quality one for now. But it still looks nice in this great early evening shot, quality notwithstanding.
Asheville, North Carolina - circa 1959
Aerial view showing Westgate's nifty location along I-240, next to the French Broad River, looking in roughly the same direction as the first photo.
Mall history: 1950s(?) - present
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view
Previous entries: none
posted by Keith @ 9/13/2006
10 Comments:
The first photo is great except for the fact that the low quality makes it look like a cartoon drawing instead of a real photo. Still, it looks like it was a great place in its heyday. Is that a Woolworth's there?
Beautiful!! I love these dusk shots where you can see the store lights just coming on.
ah, too bad they've destroyed the surrounding countryside in the aerial view.
Scott
Great phots. This mall apparently had a Bon Marche (regional chain). The only other picture of this chain's stores I've ever seen is of the old Charlottetown Mall in Charlotte, N.C.
Westgate was the place to be in the 50's & 60's. I remember going there as a child. Some of the famous stores located there included, Bon Marche', which later became Meyers-Arnold, W.T. Grant, Roses, Hallmark cafeteria, and Winn-Dixie.
There was also a Biff-Burger Drive-In at this location. Unknown what years it was there, but the address was noted to be 4 Westgate Parkway.
I have a wonderful newspaper advertisement for the "grand opening" of this Biff-Burger location. 15 cents Hamburgers!
If your interested in Biff-Burger, the former legendary chain of hamburger restaurants, check out the Biff-Burger Drive-In website at
www.geocities.com/biffburger_drivein/
C. Catherman
Biff Burger Fan and Historian
The Biff-Burger Drive-In website has moved to its permanent home and can now be viewed at:
biff-burger.com
Enjoy!
C. Catherman
Biff Burger Fan and Historian
The stores were (from L to R)
Eckerd Drugs
Winn-Dixie
Western Auto
W.T. Grants
Downey's Diner
The Diana Shop
Poll Parrot shoe store
Bailey's Cafeteria
Roses 5 and 10
Bon Marche
Joel's Barber Shop
Beauty Shop
There was also a hobby shop there.
I remember the hobby shop very well. That's where I went to get most of my diecast cars, mostly Matchbox. I think it was called the Hobby Horse, and had a neon rocking, or hobby, horse for its sign. I think it had motion incorporated, with three colors. I also remember getting very excited when Chevrolet aired a commercial on the Dinah Shore Show showing a family going over the then Smoky Park Bridge on their way to Westgate. I must have been 6 or 7 at the time, and got a kick out of seeing something on national TV that I could relate to.
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