The Waverly, Hendersonville, North Carolina, a historic hotel on the National Register of Historic Places
The Waverly is a three-story wooden building in the Queen Anne style, originally built in 1898 with a two-level front porch featuring decorative woodwork. The structure sits on a stone foundation and displays characteristic details including dormer windows, single-pane windows with simple trim, and a centered entrance door with columns and carved wooden framing. Inside, a large central hall contains a striking Eastlake-style staircase with dark stained railings, turned spindles, and decorative newel posts, with the original registration desk positioned underneath. The building holds twenty-one guest rooms furnished with original five-panel doors, coal fireplaces with Victorian mantels, and architectural details such as baseboards and picture rails throughout.
The building was constructed in 1898 as the Anderson Boarding House by Maggie Anderson and remains the oldest hotel structure still standing in Hendersonville. After a fire around 1910 damaged the roof, the owners reconstructed the top floor, removing dormer windows and adding a full third story with attic space beneath a hip roof. It was renamed The Waverly sometime before 1915 and underwent additional expansions with new wings built in 1940 and 1960. Recognition came in 1988 when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance.
The building is located at North Main Street and is easily accessible on foot within a historic neighborhood containing other period buildings. It shares a parking lot with the adjacent Claddagh Inn and sits close to the street on a narrow lot, making it convenient to view from the sidewalk.
The building had electricity by 1903 and a telephone by 1904, making it one of the first modern lodgings in Hendersonville to offer such amenities. This early adoption of conveniences shows the owners were determined to provide guests with current comforts long before such features became standard in the region.
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