House #2

45 Person Drive. In the late 20^th century, many Montford houses deteriorated considerably, and this included the house originally built at 45 Pearson Drive.  The house had been built sometime before 1917, on land owned by Anna Grant, whose property at 194 Montford Avenue reached to Pearson Drive.  She built two small bungalows for rental.  The houses were sold following her death in 1933, and they remained as rentals under successive owners.

By 1967, the houses had been neglected to the point that the City of Asheville declared them “unfit for human habitation,” and they were demolished. The non-profit Neighborhood Housing Services purchased the land and built affordable bungalows.  The new house at 45 Pearson was designed as an “arts and crafts” bungalow, including a cozy front porch, jack and jill bedrooms with an adjoining bath, and distinctive columns between the living room and dining room.  The project was awarded the Griffin Award by the Preservation Society in 1999 for “historically sympathetic infill construction.”

Betsy Pappas and Debbie Southern had lived in Greenville, and loved vacationing in Asheville.  They decided to move here when they retired, and purchased the house at 45 Pearson in 2015.  They added on to the rear of the house, increasing the size of the kitchen and master closet/bath, and adding a screened porch.  The addition allowed the creation of a large covered outdoor space in the backyard for entertaining.

The remodeled kitchen is filled with light and includes a large central island and a sliding barn door over a spacious pantry.  Betsy and Debbie enjoy patronizing local artists, and the kitchen includes bar stools by Kim Dryden, pottery by East Fork and Magnum Pottery and a painted ceramic tray by Charleston artist Elizabeth Carlton.