Climbing wall in downtown Asheville, one of the first in the USA, removed
ASHEVILLE – A gray, bumpy and unlikely 36-foot-tall downtown landmark has been removed from its equally unlikely spot – the side of a city parking garage – after challenging climbers and attracting surprised onlookers for nearly 30 years.
The climbing wall was approved by the city council in 1995 and quickly installed by new climbing gym operator Stuart Cowles before Asheville’s premier festival, Bele Chere. The Climbmax gym’s exterior wall was designed to give his business more visibility, Cowles said, but it also helped transform the then-sleepy town into a strange and fun place.
Cowles sold his business in 2022 and the new owner moved out. This month, the wall was torn down so the city, which owns the property, could prepare the space for a yet-to-be-determined tenant.
“I definitely have mixed feelings,” Cowles told the Citizen Times on August 26, a few days after the wall was dismantled.
In 1992, Cowles, now 59, drove from New Hampshire to Asheville with a full car and the concept of a climbing gym, a new form of business for the United States. Even more unusual was the idea of the outside wall.
In 1995, he faced resistance from the city but was able to convince officials to rent him the side of the parking deck and the interior space for $100 a month for the first year. After receiving approval from the city council in June, he drove the 2,500-pound artificial rock wall out of the Oregon factory and bolted it to the side of the deck. He was finished at 2:30 a.m. on July 28 – just hours before Bele Chere’s launch.
The wall quickly became a landmark and a spectacle. A year later, Cowles attached foam panels to the side, creating an “ice” climbing route. In 2003, Hans Florine – who had set speed records for climbing the granite monolith El Capitan in Yosemite National Park – climbed it in nine seconds.
“We were all proud of ourselves when we did it in 23 or 28 seconds,” Cowles said.
Climbmax closed the gym to the public at the start of the pandemic but opened it for private events. After the sale, the new owners, Cultivate Climbing, moved out and now operate their gym from a location on Amboy Road.
City spokeswoman Kim Miller said some owners of nearby businesses felt the unused space and the surrounding area had become “less safe,” so city staff began looking for new uses.
Tearing down the wall cost $20,000, Miller said. Demolition of the interior is expected to cost another $32,000. In addition, the city plans to spend $2,000 to paint the wall.
To recoup some of the costs, the city plans to auction off the wall. It expects the proceeds to be $3,000.
As for what type of tenant might move into the space, Miller said city officials and nearby businesses are currently discussing ideas.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years and covers politics, government and other news. He has written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Have a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter at @AVLreporter. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
