Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia Downtown Roanoke from up on Mill Mountain.
Downtown Roanoke from up on Mill Mountain.
Official seal of Roanoke, Virginia Seal Official logo of Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke is positioned in Shenandoah Valley Roanoke - Roanoke Roanoke is an autonomous town/city in the southern U.S.
As of the 2010 census, the populace was 97,032. It is positioned in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. Roanoke is the biggest municipality in Southwest Virginia, and is the principal municipality of the Roanoke Metropolitan Travel Destination (MSA), which had a 2010 populace of 308,707.
It is composed of the autonomous metros/cities of Roanoke and Salem, and Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Roanoke counties.
Bisected by the Roanoke River, Roanoke is the commercial and cultural core of much of Southwest Virginia and portions of Southern West Virginia. See also: Timeline of Roanoke, Virginia It was titled for a large outcropping of salt which drew the wildlife to the site near the Roanoke River. In 1882 it became the town of Roanoke, and in 1884 it was chartered as the autonomous town/city of Roanoke.
The name Roanoke is said to have originated from an Algonquian word for shell "money". The name for the river was that used by the Algonquian speakers who lived 300 miles away where the river emptied into the sea near Roanoke Island.
Roanoke's locale in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the middle of the Roanoke Valley between Maryland and Tennessee, made it the transit hub of Virginia and contributed to its rapid growth.
The Great Wagon Road, one of the most heavily travelled roads of eighteenth century America, ran from Philadelphia through the Shenandoah Valley to the future site of the City of Roanoke, where the Roanoke River passed through the Blue Ridge.
The Roanoke Gap proved a useful route for immigrants to settle the Carolina Piedmont region.
After the American Civil War (1861 1865), William Mahone, a civil engineer and hero of the Battle of the Crater, was the driving force in the linkage of 3 barns s, including the V&T, athwart the southern tier of Virginia to form the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a new line extending from Norfolk to Bristol, Virginia in 1870.
Although the grateful people offered to rename their town "Kimball", at his suggestion, they agreed to name it Roanoke after the river.
As the N&W brought citizens and jobs, the Town of Roanoke quickly became an autonomous town/city in 1884.
In fact, Roanoke became a town/city so quickly that it earned the nickname "Magic City".
Following the Roanoke River, the VGN was assembled through the City of Roanoke early in the twentieth century.
It was N&W's Roanoke Shops that made the business known industry-wide for its excellence in steam power.
The Roanoke Shops, with its workforce of thousands, is where the famed classes A, J, and Y6 locomotives were designed, built, and maintained.
The existence of the barns also made Roanoke attractive to manufacturers.
American Viscose opened a large rayon plant in Southeast Roanoke in October 1917. This plant closed in 1958, leaving 5,000 workers unemployed.
See also: List of mayors of Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke has a weak mayor-city manager form of government.
The town/city manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the city's government and has the authority to hire and fire town/city employees.
A proposal for a ward-based council, in which the mayor and vice mayor would continue to be voted for at-large, was rejected by Roanoke voters in 1997, but ward fitness promotes still contend that the at-large fitness results in a excessive number of council members coming from well-to-do neighborhoods and that electing some or all council members on a ward basis would result in a more equal representation of all areas of the city.
Roanoke is represented by two members of the Virginia House of Delegates, Sam Rasoul (D-11th) and Chris Head (R-17th), and one member of the Virginia Senate, John Edwards (D-21st).
Former Roanoke mayor Ralph Smith won the 2007 election in the neighboring 22nd Senate precinct after defeating incumbent Brandon Bell for the Republican nomination in the major election and Democrat Michael Breiner in the general election.
The City of Roanoke lies inside the 6th Congressional District of Virginia, which also contains Lynchburg and much of the Shenandoah Valley.
Current representative Bob Goodlatte resides in Roanoke County; many of those who have held the seat lived in or near Roanoke.
The 9th Congressional District of Virginia, represented by Morgan Griffith of neighboring Salem, has traditionally veiled southwest Virginia but has period into parts of Salem, Roanoke County and counties to the north of Roanoke to make up for populace losses in the rest of the district.
Robert Hurt represents much of the region to south and east of Roanoke, including close-by Franklin County, in the 5th Congressional District of Virginia, which also stretches north to Charlottesville.
Location of Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke is positioned in the valley and ridge province of Virginia immediately west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and east of the Allegheny Mountains Its summit features the Roanoke Star, Mill Mountain Zoo, the Discovery Center interpretive building, and an overlook of the Roanoke Valley.
The Appalachian Trail runs through the northern section of Roanoke County a several miles north of the city, while the Blue Ridge Parkway runs just to the south of the city.
Carvins Cove, the second-largest municipal park in America at 12,700-acre (51 km2), lies in northeast Roanoke County and southwest Botetourt County. Smith Mountain Lake is a several miles southeast of the city.
Roanokers and visitors to the region appreciate hiking, mountain biking, cross-country running, canoeing, kayaking, fly fishing, and other outside pursuits.
The town/city is positioned in the North Fork of Roanoke winemaking region.
The "North Fork of Roanoke" appellation is a designated American Viticultural Area, recognizing the unique grape burgeoning conditions present in the area.
Valhalla Vineyards is positioned just outside the town/city limits of Roanoke.
The Roanoke River flows through the town/city of Roanoke.
Although positioned along the Blue Ridge Mountains at elevations exceeding 900 ft (270 m), Roanoke lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Koppen Cfa), with four diverse , but generally mild, seasons; it is positioned in USDA hardiness zone 7b, with the suburbs falling in zone 7a. Extremes in temperature have ranged from 105 F (41 C) as recently as August 21, 1983 down to 12 F ( 24 C) on December 30, 1917, though neither 100 F (38 C) nor 0 F ( 18 C) is reached in most years; the most recent occurrence of each is July 8, 2012 and February 20, 2015. More typically, the region records an average of 7.7 days where the temperature stays at or below freezing and 25 days with 90 F (32 C)+ highs annually. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 36.6 F (2.6 C) in January to 76.7 F (24.8 C) in July. Based on the 1981 2010 period, the town/city averages 16.6 inches (42 cm) of snow per winter. Roanoke experienced something of a snow drought in the 2000s until December 2009 when 17 inches (43 cm) of snow fell on Roanoke in a single storm. Winter snow flurry has ranged from trace amounts in 1918 19 and 1919 20 to 62.7 inches (159 cm) in 1959 60; the biggest single storm dumped roughly three feet (0.9 m) from December 16 18, 1890. Heavy rains, most incessantly from remnants of a hurricane, drain from encircling areas to the narrow Roanoke Valley.
Ten citizens drowned in the Roanoke Valley, and the rest were saved by rescue personnel.
Most famously, the family of Wayne Newton moved from Roanoke to the dry climate of Phoenix, Arizona because of his childhood asthma and allergies. However, there have not been clinical studies to establish that these conditions are more prevalent in Roanoke than in other metros/cities with similar vegetation and climate.
Climate data for Roanoke Regional Airport, Virginia (1981 2010 normals, extremes 1912 present) Main article: List of neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia Within its boundaries, Roanoke is split into 49 singly defined neighborhoods.
Webber Expressway from downtown Roanoke, where the I-581 designation ends, south to State Route 419.
Route 220 joins Roanoke to Martinsville, Virginia and Greensboro, North Carolina.
The proposed Interstate 73 would generally alongside Route 220 between Roanoke and Greensboro and would likely be a concurrency with I-581 through the city.
Route 460 joins Roanoke to Lynchburg.
The mailing address for locations in Roanoke contains the two letter quadrant abbreviation after the street name.
For example, the Center in the Square complex in downtown Roanoke has the address "1 Market Square SE." Main article: Roanoke Regional Airport Roanoke Regional Airport terminal building Roanoke Regional Airport is positioned in the northern part of the town/city and is the major traveler and cargo airport for Southwest Virginia.
Main article: Roanoke station (Virginia) Roanoke has not had traveler rail service since 1979. In August 2013, it was reported that Amtrak service as part of their Northeast Regional would be extended from Lynchburg to Roanoke by 2017.
Construction of a platform for this new service began in Fall 2016, with trains set to run from Roanoke in Fall 2017. In the meantime, a bus service, the Smart Way Connector, aligns with the Amtrak schedule to connect riders to the Kemper Street Station in Lynchburg.
Roanoke would be a stop in the proposed Transdominion Express traveler rail fitness presently under study by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Roanoke remains a primary hub in Norfolk Southern's freight rail system.
In 2007, former Roanoke mayor David A.
The Commonwealth of Virginia may also upgrade Norfolk Southern's rail line alongside to Interstate 81 from Roanoke through the Shenandoah Valley to encourage more freight to be shipped by rail.
The Valley Metro bus fitness serves the town/city of Roanoke and encircling areas.
Nearly all routes originate or terminate at the Campbell Court bus station in downtown Roanoke, which is also served by Greyhound.
The Ferrum Express runs between Ferrum College in close-by Rocky Mount and downtown Roanoke, while the Hollins Express joins to Hollins University in Roanoke County.
Roanoke City is served by RIDE Solutions, a county-wide transit demand management agency that provides carpool matching, bicycle advocacy, transit assistance, and telework assistance to businesses and people in the region.
The small-town enhance school division is Roanoke City Public Schools.
The two general enrollment enhance high schools in Roanoke City are Patrick Henry High School, positioned in the Raleigh Court area, and William Fleming High School, positioned in Northwest Roanoke.
The six enhance middle schools in Roanoke City are Woodrow Wilson, James Madison Middle School, and Stonewall Jackson, that feed into Patrick Henry High School; and Lucy Addison, William Ruffner, and James Breckinridge, that feed into William Fleming High School. The Noel C.
Private non-parochial schools in Roanoke City include Community High School, that provides classes from ninth to twelfth grade; and New Vista Montessori, that provides classes from third through ninth grade. Private non-parochial schools outside of Roanoke City, but in the Roanoke Metropolitan Area, include North Cross School, which provides education from pre-kindergarten through the twelfth grade. Private parochial schools in Roanoke City include North Cross and Roanoke Catholic, that furnish classes from kindergarten through twelfth grade; and Roanoke Adventist Preparatory, that provides classes from kindergarten through eighth grade. Private parochial schools outside of Roanoke City, but in the Roanoke Metropolitan Area, include Roanoke Valley Christian Schools, Faith Christian School, Mineral Springs Christian School, Parkway Christian Academy, and Life Academy, all in Roanoke County.
Two four-year private establishments are situated in neighboring localities Roanoke College in the town/city of Salem, and Hollins University in Roanoke County.
It has opened a college studies center in downtown Roanoke in cooperation with other universities and universities, and the Virginia Tech Foundation owns the Hotel Roanoke.
Virginia Tech is also opening a new medical school in South Roanoke in cooperation with Carilion Clinic, the county-wide non-profit community care organization based in Roanoke. Virginia Western Community College is positioned in the town/city of Roanoke, as is the Jefferson College of Health Sciences.
Roanoke's economy advanced around the Norfolk and Western Railroad, with a strong emphasis on manufacturing.
Roanoke's economic history also contains Sun Belt characteristics as it was once a center for the garment industry.
Even with Virginia's being a right to work state, unions have traditionally represented workers at many large employers in the Roanoke region and southwest Virginia. Roanoke was formerly the command posts of Norfolk and Western Railway until its consolidation with the Southern Railway created the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982.
Norfolk Southern continues to operate its marketing command posts and some maintenance facilities in Roanoke.
Wachovia Bank, then known as First Union, acquired Roanoke-based Dominion Bank in 1993 and maintains an operations and customer service center in Roanoke.
Other firms have been acquired by companies headquartered elsewhere, including such as Roanoke Electric Steel and architectural and engineering firm Hayes, Seay, Mattern and Mattern, (HSMM) which has been acquired by the multi-national conglomerate AECOM.
Roanoke's rates of economic and populace growth have been less than the state and nationwide averages since the 1960s.
The immediate Roanoke region has a low unemployment rate, but a brain drain of workers unable to find satisfactory employment and underemployment are sometimes cited as explanations. The City of Roanoke has created initiatives to address the brain drain of the region such as a database to match job seekers who wish to reside in the Roanoke region with employers looking for candidates.
However, Roanoke's economy has areas of strength.
Freight - Car America hired a several hundred persons to assemble rail cars in shops leased from Norfolk Southern and has closed a plant in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in part because of the lower costs for the Roanoke facility.
Recently though, the business laid off its Roanoke employees and said it plans to temporarily close the plant. The corporate offices of Virginia Transformer Corporation (the dominant transformer manufacturing business of USA) and utility business RGC Resources are situated in this city.
ITT manufactures evening vision goggles at its plant in Roanoke County, and some of its employees have started other firms such as Optical Cable Corporation.
Roanoke's locale allows for bringy inside one day to most markets in the southeast, northeast, mid-atlantic, and Ohio Valley, which has made it a distribution center for such companies as Orvis, Elizabeth Arden, and Hanover Direct.
United Parcel Service (UPS) maintains a primary facility at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
While the town/city of Roanoke has lost population, suburbs in Roanoke County, southern Botetourt County, and areas of Bedford County and Franklin County near Smith Mountain Lake have grown. According to Roanoke's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town/city are: 1 Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital 1,000+ 2 Roanoke City Public Schools 1,000+ 3 City of Roanoke 1,000+ Roanoke is the media core for much of Southwestern Virginia and parts of Southern West Virginia.
The city's everyday newspaper, The Roanoke Times, has been presented for 120 years and edited for many years in the twentieth century by famed editor John W.
Metropolitan areas, The Roanoke Times ranked first in the percentage of grownups who read their everyday newspaper.
It ranked first again in 2006. The Roanoke Times established a web site in 1995 and has advanced a web portal at Roanoke.com.
The Roanoke Times formerly presented Blue Ridge Business Journal which served the company improve in Roanoke and the encircling region, however printed announcement ceased freestanding printed announcement in 2010 and was closed into the newspaper's Sunday Business Publication as The Ticker.
The weekly Roanoke Tribune was established in 1939 by Fleming Alexander and covers the city's black community.
Main Street Newspapers prints weekly newspapers for encircling communities such as Salem, Vinton, southwest Roanoke County, and Botetourt County.
The Roanoke Star-Sentinel is a weekly journal which covers the town/city of Roanoke.
The South Roanoke Circle is an autonomous monthly journal for the neighborhood of South Roanoke.
The Roanoker is the area's bi-monthly lifestyle periodical and is presented by Leisure Publishing, which also prints the bi-monthly Blue Ridge Country magazine.
Roanoke and Lynchburg are grouped in the same tv market, which presently rates #67 in the United States with 440,398 homeholds.
Other stations in the market include Fox partner WFXR Fox 21/27 in Roanoke, PBS partner WBRA-15 in Roanoke, Liberty University's WLHG-43 in Lynchburg, autonomous WFFP-TV-24 in Danville, and ION Television partner WPXR-38 in Roanoke.
WVTF 89.1 Public Radio Roanoke Virginia Tech Foundation WRXT 90.3 Christian Contemporary Roanoke Positive Alternative Radio WXLK 92.3 Top-40 Radio Roanoke Wheeler Broadcasting WSLC 94.9 Country Roanoke Wheeler Broadcasting WSLQ 99.1 Adult Contemporary Roanoke Wheeler Broadcasting WSFF 106.1 Adult Contemporary Roanoke i - Heart Media WPLY 610 Sports Roanoke Wheeler Broadcasting Event - Zone is charged with assisting in the creation of new celebrations and activities in the Downtown Roanoke "event zone," defined as bounded by Williamson Road, 6th Street, SW, the Roanoke Civic Center, and Rivers Edge Park.
Roanoke's celebrations and cultural affairs include the Chili Cook-Off, Festival in the Park, Local Colors Festival, Henry Street Festival, Big Lick Blues Festival, Strawberry Festival, and the large red, white, and blue illuminated Mill Mountain Star (formerly illuminated in red following drunk driving fatalities in the Roanoke Valley; temporarily illuminated in white on April 22, 2007 in remembrance of the Virginia Tech Massacre of April 16, 2007) on Mill Mountain, which is visible from many points in the town/city and encircling valley.
Center in the Square was opened in downtown Roanoke on December 9, 1983 near the town/city market as part of the city's downtown revitalization accomplishment.
The facility's design sparked debate in the improve between those who feel it is a bold, refreshing addition to Roanoke and those who feel its unusual, irregular design featuring sharp angles contrasts too firmly with the existing buildings.
Some are also concerned about the facility's cost at a time when many Roanoke region artistic organizations face financial challenges.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation homes many locomotives that were assembled in Roanoke, including the Norfolk and Western J class #611 and Norfolk & Western 1218 steam engines, and other locomotives and rolling stock.
Roanoke's landmark former traveler rail station hosts the O.
The Harrison Museum of black Culture is dedicated to the history and culture of Roanoke's black improve and is presently positioned at a former school in the Gainsboro section of Roanoke.
Roanoke Children's Theatre is Roanoke's experienced children's theatre.
It can be found inside the new Taubman Museum of Art in downtown Roanoke.
The Roanoke Civic Center's auditorium and newly renovated theatre, now known as the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre, host concerts, touring Broadway theatre performances, the Miss Virginia pageant, and other affairs.
The Shaftman Performance Hall, which opened in May 2001 and is positioned at the Jefferson Center, has turn into a prominent part of Roanoke's performing arts scene.
The Jefferson Center formerly served Roanoke as Jefferson High School and now also homes offices and display spaces for cultural organizations.
Located literally athwart the barns tracks from the center of downtown Roanoke, Henry Street served as the commercial and cultural center of Roanoke's African American improve before to desegregation.
The renovated Dumas Center homes an auditorium with more than 180 seats, the Downtown Music Lab: a recording studio and music education center for teens, the Dumas Drama Guild, and the offices of Opera Roanoke.
The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra has performances at Shaftman Hall, the Salem Civic Center, and the Roanoke Civic Center.
The Grandin Theatre in the Grandin Village of Southwest Roanoke regularly screens art home films, family features, and mainstream movies.
Roanoke has also been home to the Showtimers Community Theatre since 1951.
The 1971 1972 Virginia Squires of the ABA were the only primary league sports team to regularly play home games in Roanoke.
Minor league baseball has been more prosperous in building and maintaining a fan base than have the Roanoke Valley's other minor league sports teams.
Minor league hockey has a history in the Roanoke Valley dating to the 1960s.
The 2005 2006 revival by the UHL's Roanoke Valley Vipers floundered after one season.
In 2016, experienced hockey returned to Roanoke after ten years when the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the Southern Professional Hockey League began play.
The Roanoke Dazzle of the NBDL and the Roanoke Steam of the af2 (Arena Football) closed after never developing consistent followings.
Over the years, Roanoke has also had squads in soccer and men's and women's semi-professional football.
For a number of years, Roanoke, with Richmond and Norfolk, was one of the nominally neutral sites for the annual basketball game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies.
During most of the 1970s through 1990s, the University of Virginia dominated the rivalry and as such tended to have decidedly greater fan representation, despite Roanoke's closer adjacency to Virginia Tech's home in Blacksburg.
The Virginia Tech Hokies ice hockey team has used the Roanoke Civic Center as its regular season home venue, from 2006 to the present season. In 2010, the Roanoke College ice hockey team began using the Roanoke Civic Center as its home venue as well. From the 1940s through the late 1960s, Roanoke's Victory Stadium hosted an annual Thanksgiving Day game between Virginia Tech and the Virginia Military Institute and other high-profile college football games.
Roanoke Catholic High School is a member of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association.
The Roanoke Valley Chess Club was formed in 1947 in Roanoke, and is the earliest closing chess club in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
For over 60 years, the Roanoke Valley Chess Club has served to bring and sustain chess activities to the region, and holds regular affairs.
Roanoke and encircling communities host the annual Commonwealth Games of Virginia, an Olympic-style amateur sports festival.
Note: Since a state constitutional change in 1871, all metros/cities in Virginia are autonomous metros/cities and they are not legally positioned in any county.
The Roanoke, VA MSA includes: Roanoke County City of Roanoke The Roanoke Star is the origin of the city's nickname Star City.
The older "Magic City" is still used, most prominently by Roanoke's Ford dealership. The city's initial name of "Big Lick" is often used in whimsical contexts.
Roanoke's status as the biggest city in a mountainous region led to the nickname "Capital of the Blue Ridge". Roanoke has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: Born in Roanoke: Twin NFL players Ronde Barber and Tiki Barber (Roanoke County) Redick (Roanoke County) Roanoke's Historical Fire Station #1: The Firehouse opened in 1907 and is the earliest operating Firehouse in Virginia.
Hotel Roanoke Roanoke Historic Farmers Market Roanoke's Historical Fire Station #1 National Register of Historic Places listings in Roanoke, Virginia "Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail " Mountain Trail " Star City " Roanoke Water Pollution Control Plant".
"Roanoke City High Point Trip Report".
"Roanoke Region of Virginia".
"Roanoke Regional Trade Area".
"Sherman Lea sworn in as Roanoke's mayor".
"Station Name: VA ROANOKE RGNL AP".
"1890 snowstorm one of biggest affairs in Roanoke's weather history".
"Building of Roanoke's Amtrak platform expected to start this fall, state says".
"Roanoke Catholic School Mission Statement".
City of Roanoke CAFR Archived June 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
"The Roanoke Times rates best-read weekday journal in the country".
""MAGIC CITY" CLASS, COMMUNITY, AND REFORM IN ROANOKE, VIRGINIA, 1882 1912" (PDF).
"Legend's killer lived in Roanoke - Roanoke.com".
See also: Bibliography of the history of Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia, 1882 1912: Magic City of the New South (2008) Roanoke, Virginia The History of the Roanoke Fire Department in progress from the 1880s to present, with current news and links A undivided history of Roanokers sharing their connection with the Star City Old Roanoke A photographic history of Roanoke Virginia Roanoke Star City Brief history and undivided panoramic photos from the Roanoke Civil War Round Table Roanoke Wants U! Neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia
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