From Staff Reports

Flooding from the French Broad River in late September obliterated Asheville’s “cherished River Arts District — a creative hub home to studios, galleries, community spaces and other artist-run small businesses,” hyperallergic.com reported on Oct. 1.

More specifically, the website quoted Jeffrey Burroughs, president of the RAD Artists Association, as saying in an interview that “two-thirds of the district has been destroyed.”

The RAD comprises 350 local artists and craftspeople, 27 buildings that span just more than a mile of the eastern riverside. 

“The southernmost string of buildings along Foundy Street, including the enormous Marquee warehouse which was once a bustling marketplace for artisans and antique dealers, are ‘gone,’ according to Burroughs, who has been surveying the damages onsite daily since Friday (Sept. 27),” hyperallergic.com stated.

Further, the website reported the following:

“The river’s record-breaking swell came after two days of torrential downpour that struck Asheville as Helene climbed further north. 

“Up to 12 inches of rain pummeled Buncombe County between Wednesday and Friday (Sept. 25-27), leaving the ground saturated, soft and unable to mitigate the rush of stormwater that destroyed everything in its path.”

As of Oct. 1, the website added, “Buncombe County has reported over 40 confirmed deaths related to the storm, with hundreds of people unaccounted for as the state embarks on various search and rescue missions amid downed trees and power lines, gas leaks, sinkholes beneath roadways, mudslides, and a lack of running water and electricity, among other critical resources.”

Meanwhile, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) posted a YouTube video headlined, “Asheville’s River Arts District a ghost town after Hurricane Helene,”

The video also noted that the RAD “was left in shambles after Hurricane Helene.”

As for the history of Asheville’s RAD, Wikipedia stated the following:

“The River Arts District in Asheville, North Carolina, is an area of former industrial buildings located near the French Broad River, along Riverside Drive, east of Interstate 240. 

“Numerous artists have moved into the area and produce and display their works. 

“It is the result of RiverLink’s design to redevelop the urban riverfront corridor, built and expanded from the 1989 Asheville Riverfront Plan, which won the American Planning Association Award and represents the consolidation of over 20 years of community planning.”