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The Quiet Man Behind Downtown Asheville

Host Frank Stasio previews a documentary film about Julian Price with his widow Meg MacLeod; filmmaker and oral historian Erin Derham; and Pat Whalen, the president of Public Interest Projects.

Julian Price was born into money but spent most of his life giving it away.

A new documentary looks closely at how his social and entrepreneurial vision shaped downtown Asheville.

When Price arrived there in 1989, the downtown was vacant and boarded up. More than two decades later it has a vibrant and thriving arts scene, thanks in large part to his investment in key institutions like Malaprop’s Books, The Orange Peel, and the Mountain Xpress.

Host Frank Stasio previews the new documentary “Julian Price: Envisioning Community, Investing In People" with Price’s widow Meg MacLeod; filmmaker and oral historian Erin Derham; and Pat Whalen, the president of Public Interest Projects, a real estate development company founded by Price in 1990. The documentary premieres at the Orange Peel in Asheville tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Here's the trailer:  https://vimeo.com/122121830

 

 

The beauty of this spot in downtown Asheville inspired philanthropist Julian Price to stay and invest his money in redevloping the city.
Erin Derham /
The beauty of this spot in downtown Asheville inspired philanthropist Julian Price to stay and invest his money in redevloping the city.
The new documentary 'Julian Price: Envisioning Community, Investing In People' traces Price's journey from Greensboro, out west, and back to Asheville.
Erin Derham /
The new documentary 'Julian Price: Envisioning Community, Investing In People' traces Price's journey from Greensboro, out west, and back to Asheville.

Copyright 2016 North Carolina Public Radio

Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.