Photograph: The drugstore at the Young Men’s Institute in 1905. Image from the Pack Memorial Library.
_______________
On September 5, 1891, George W. Vanderbilt II purchased land for the Young Men’s Institute in Asheville. During construction of his lavish home in Asheville, Vanderbilt decided to establish a community center for his African American workers. The building, constructed in 1892 and 1893, was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, who was also the supervising architect of the Biltmore House.
