THE IMMORTAL IMAGE

The Asheville Urban Trail is a 1.7-mile self-guided walking tour through downtown Asheville, where public sculptures tell the story of the city's history. Station #5 on the Trail is the “Immortal Image,” a reference to the frieze of a face carved into the capital of one of the Drhumor building’s columns.

The Drhumor building, pronounced as “drummer” but often called the Good Humor or Dr. Humor building by locals, was built in 1895. It is thought to be the oldest standing commercial building in downtown Asheville. Architect Allen L. Melton designed the grand Romanesque Revival structure, and Frederick Miles, a stone carver from the Biltmore Estate, was commissioned to create the remarkable limestone frieze above the first-floor exterior, as well as the columns and their capitals. The building’s original owner, William J. Cocke, was an attorney who studied at the University of North Carolina and Harvard. The name "Drhumor" is believed to reference an Irish lake near the ancestral home of the Cocke family.

The “Immortal Image” carved into the Drhumor Building is the face of Cyrus T.C. Deake, also known as “Old Man Deake,” an Asheville florist. Though Deake reportedly ran his florist shop with his wife and brother, he spent a significant amount of time watching Frederick Miles work on the frieze. Miles found Deake’s face so compelling that he immortalized it in his carvings. At the time, Deake was about 70 years old and was often described as a Santa Claus figure due to his white hair, beard, and portly build. Deake passed away on November 11, 1908, in Asheville, North Carolina, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, which is also the final resting place of author Thomas Wolfe.

Frederick Bullen Miles (1860-1921), the stone carver responsible for the frieze, was born in Shaftesbury, England, the son of a master builder specializing in church construction. He apprenticed as a stone carver and sculptor and attended art classes at the School of Art in South Kensington, London. In 1892, Miles and his family immigrated to Asheville, North Carolina, where he joined a large team of artisans working to complete the Biltmore Mansion for industrialist George Vanderbilt. After the Biltmore project, Miles stayed in Asheville and continued working on various commissions, earning recognition for his work in the city and beyond. He passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, and is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.

While the Deake carving is the most notable for the “Immortal Image,” the Drhumor Building’s frieze features several other carved faces. These faces are surrounded by intricate carvings of British royal lions, angels, mermaids, shells, and other elements of nature and mythology. Though some faces are considered allegorical, it is possible that others, like Deake’s, were modeled after Asheville locals.