Asheville City Hall

Douglas Ellington drew a matched pair — twin Art Deco towers joined by a connecting wing. Asheville said yes. Buncombe County said no.

The city built their half: brick and stone, 1926 to 1928, the seat of Asheville government at 70 Court Plaza. Ellington — the architect who gave the city its high school and its First Baptist Church — delivered what he'd promised: steep setbacks, colored tile, a tower that reads from across downtown. The City Council Chamber holds five murals by Clifford Addams. The building made the National Register in 1976. Its silhouette appears on the city's seal.

Next door, the county hired Millburn and Heister out of Washington. They built the courthouse taller, in a different style entirely. The matching tower was never built. The connecting wing stayed on paper.

What survived is the tower Asheville actually built — the one that stands alone, the one that became the icon. The building still does the work it was drawn for. The county got what it wanted. Ellington got the silhouette.