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Ottari Sanitarium
Photo courtesy of City
Development, City of Asheville, North Carolina |
The Ottari Sanitarium was built by a prominent osteopathic physician,
Dr. William Banks Meacham, in 1912. Osteopathy is a medical therapy
that uses bone manipulation as a corrective technique. Dr. Meacham was
a leader in his field. He held degrees from Mississippi
College, Harvard and the Boston Institute of Osteopathy. He was elected
president of the National Osteopathic Association in 1916, and was
re-elected a year later in 1917. He held several offices in the North
Carolina Osteopathic Association and the North Carolina Board of Osteopathic
Examination and Registration.
Historic view of Ottari Sanitarium
Photo courtesy of William
A Barnhill Collection, Pack Memorial Public Library, Asheville,
North Carolina
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By 1912, Asheville was already recognized as a health resort. For this reason Dr. Meacham chose to
build his sanitarium in Asheville. It was to be "the finest private
sanitarium ever built" with "persian rugs, silk draperies, mahogany
furniture and a glass aquarium with fish." The Spanish-mission style
building was constructed of brick, primarily covered in white stucco.
The opulent luxury combined with state-of-the-art treatment made the
sanitarium so successful, that Dr. Meacham added another 23 rooms in
1923. The older, eastern half of the building housed 18 rooms and suites,
all with private porches. The 1923 addition enlarged the sanitarium to a total of 40
bedrooms, 35 baths and 30 porches. The appearance was altered
as well. The porches were enclosed, new casement windows were installed,
an automobile passageway was made in the west end, and the entire building
was stuccoed. The roof of the new addition was flat with a mission style
parapet. An annex north of the building housed the power
plant, providing steam heat. Today the basement of the annex still
contains the building's heating source, a boiler, but the upper half
has been converted into living quarters and a laundry facility.
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Ottari Sanitarium
Photo courtesy of City
Development, City of Asheville, North Carolina |
Like many people after the stock market crash of 1929, Dr. Meacham
lost his property to the bank. After
several bank failures, the property was transferred to the City of
Asheville and the Buncombe County Commission. The building was converted
into 33 apartments in 1937. Three years later, the building was sold to Harry Cutler Coburn and the name changed to The Coburn Apartments. Coburn died in 1948 and the property remained in the family until 2002. At that time, it was purchased by Denise and Bill Palas, who are continuing to operate it as a private apartment complex.
The Ottari Sanitarium is located at 491 Kimberly Ave. It is still
a private apartment complex. Public access is permitted to the grounds
only.
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