Gone but not forgotten: Trees disappear in front of Pack Place in downtown Asheville

Jason Sandford November 25, 2008

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

The photo above is what the entrance to Pack Place looked like just a couple of months ago. We had two wonderful trees framing the entrance to Pack Place, the downtown collection of buildings and businesses that triggered the downtown renaissance we now enjoy.

Today, this entrance is clogged with tall construction chain-link fencing and heavy equipment, including a dump truck and big back hoe. That’s because the entrance is being reworked as part of the Pack Square Conservancy’s $20 million renovation of Pack Square and the area in front of City Hall.

The tree on the ~~left~~ right is now gone. I don’t know if it was chopped down or uprooted. But it’s gone. And I’m assuming its sister will be going, as well. Below, you see a cellphone photo of what the scene looked like about 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

I don’t know how old the trees are/were. Fifteen years old? Ten? Twenty? I don’t know, but I’m surprised there hasn’t been an uproar, or a sit-in, or a single peep, especially after this summer’s great gnashing of teeth over the 100-year magnolia just a block down near City Hall.

Perhaps as a tree, you don’t get any respect unless you reach the magic 100 number. Maybe your name has to be magnolia. Or you have to be threatened by a big developer, rather than a non-profit redeveloping a park.

Meantime, the big electronic sign that lots of folks complain about remains sturdily in place.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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8 Comments

Heather November 27, 2008

I know that it’s sad to see the trees go. Pack Place has been open to the public since July of 1992, when the face of the facility dwarfed the Honey Locusts out front. I do find comfort in knowing that the Park plans include the addition of native trees, a grassy area and improved seating around the base of the Marquee (among other amenities). The site plan for the park can be viewed at packsquarepark -dot- org or in Pack Place’s Promenade (main level, just as you go inside the doors of Pack Place off the square.)

An aside –
For those of you who live, work and play here – you may already know what Pack Place is (did you know that it’s an independent non-profit, separate from its Partner Organizations housed within?) and its impact on this community (remember when Downtown was a ghost town?). For the people who happen upon Pack Place and the experiences found there by accident or as beckoned in by the Marquee, it seems as though the locust trees grew so large that they mask(ed) the building, hiding the treasures found inside. Once the construction fencing is down, Pack Place may be visible once again.

Always glad to hear voices from the community…

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Eric November 26, 2008

This Pack Place renovation seems to be Asheville’s version of the Big Dig. It may never be completed.

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Ash November 26, 2008

i hear ya, Dean. I don’t remember that old theater. I do remember being scared to walk by the porno parlor; it looked run-down and dark and dingy.

Chall, most excellent post.

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Chall November 26, 2008

As someone who has worked on Pack Square for almost a year and a half, I think it’s a shame that the tree went, and even more so that this project has seemed to lack direction so at so many points.

What exactly was so wrong with the fountain we had before?

Could some of these millions not being going to help those in need, as opposed to incessant redesign and regurgitation of similarly aired themes?

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Black Mtn Bill November 26, 2008

It is so disgusting that the redevelopment of Pack Square and City County Plaza is STILL not completed. It has been a mess from the start and has really taken away from the attractive nature of downtown Asheville.

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Dean November 26, 2008

Personally, I miss the movie theater. It was one of the last old great places to see film in Asheviille.

Of course, that was when there was a porno parlor across the street and the Fine Arts was where you met the other folks from the WNC area watch nekkid people do naughty things.

Not my preference, just my memories of youth in Asheville.

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Ash November 26, 2008

Thank you, Can’t See, for the sobering dose of reality. You’re absolutely right.

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Can't see the forest November 26, 2008

You must mean the tree on the right is gone (from the photo, it appears it may be gone, we can’t tell from the angle) not the tree on the photographer’s left, which appears to remain.

I agree that it is, or would be, a shame to lose these trees. But as we cry out or rally or dance and chant for justice for another tree in the town square ….

When an Asheville reporter or commenter shows similar attention to the hundreds or thousands of poor children who are not thriving, who are cut down from neglect or hunger or crime or criminally inadequate education, as almost all Asheville commenters show to trees cut down by building homes (even parks now), then we will know that Asheville has gained a broader and more mature perspective.

It’s not all about appearance. Quality of life in Asheville is not all about appearance.

For those of us who have means, leisure, choices, maybe it is very much about appearance. But for thousands of others (maybe a hundred thousand or more in Buncombe County) who struggle to pay the bills and raise good children, there are so many other things, in addition to saving a tree in the town square, that should comptete for our public attention.

A few of us out here (very few, apparently) are searching for observers, writers, activists who would just a soon hug a poor child as hug a poor tree. But we’re not holding our breath. I’m watching for a story that cries out for more activism for Big Brothers/Big Sisters or tutoring for children who need to pass the 8th grade.

Thank you for encouraging our comment.

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