Roanoke

on location: south ❖

randy mink

ROAMING

Roanoke ★

The Historic Market District in downtown Roanoke is a shopper’s paradise, offering outdoor stalls, specialty shops and inviting restaurants.

Tour groups enjoy Southern hospitality and big-city amenities in the mountains of Virginia

T

hinking about the pleasures of

Roanoke Valley and other communities

as the world’s largest manmade star,

Roanoke, I don’t know if I’m more

in western Virginia. Just the mention of

the 100-foot-high landmark symbolizes

intrigued by its railroad heritage or its

the gently rolling Blue Ridge Mountains

Roanoke’s progressive spirit. From the

setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

has always cast a magic spell on me,

wooden platform you have panoramic

Shop-hopping in the historic downtown

and waking up to see them outside the

views of the city spread out 1,700 feet

is another big lure. And, as one who “col-

hotel window jump-starts my day.

below and crests of mountains on

lects” vintage hotels, the lore of one of

To start a sightseeing tour of

the Appalachian Trail. Turn around and

the South’s grande dames captivates

Roanoke, the logical place is the sce-

wave at the webcam mounted on

me as well.

nic overlook at the foot of the Roanoke

Roanoke’s

At any rate, this city of 100,000 is an

Star on Mill Mountain. The illuminated

you’ve notified friends with access to

enchanting place that makes for a fun

steel-and-concrete structure, sort of

a computer.

stopover on the Blue Ridge Parkway or

like the star atop a Christmas tree, has

Sharing the Star City’s skyline are

a hub-and-spoke base for exploring the

served as a beacon since 1949. Billed

two other monumental beacons that

36 February 2012

shining

star—provided

LeisureGroupTravel.com

light up the night. A circular Dr Pepper

Center in the Square, the largest

factured locomotives and freight cars in

sign and an H&C Coffee sign—neon

building on Market Square, is undergo-

its Roanoke shops. Push-button dis-

nostalgia-invokers from the 1940s—

ing a $28-million renovation and will

plays let visitors ring a bell, sound a

crown downtown buildings a block

open in spring 2013 as a cultural center.

whistle and activate a crossing signal.

apart. The red-and-white Dr Pepper

Moving back into the space will be Mill

The Virginia Museum of Trans-

logo resembles a bottle cap, while the

Mountain Theatre, the History Museum

portation, anchoring the western end of

H&C sign features a stream of coffee

of Western Virginia and Science Mu-

the Railwalk, boasts an impressive col-

flowing from pot to cup.

seum of Western Virginia. The complex

lection of steam and diesel locomotives.

More visions of yesteryear await

also will be home to aquariums, a but-

groups in the Historic Market District,

terfly habitat and the Harrison Museum

the tourist hub of downtown. It’s domi-

of African American Culture.

ket

building

and

Virginia’s

The nearby Taubman Museum of

oldest

Art has mixed things up, architecturally

continuous farmers’ market (dating to

speaking, since opening in 2008 in a

1882). Under the blue-and-white striped

stunningly contemporary building ac-

awnings on block-long Market Street and

cented by soaring walls of glass and

in Market Square, you’ll find vendors 363

stainless steel roof forms that pay

days a year. They sell everything from ar-

homage to the surrounding mountains.

tisan soaps to homemade walnut cake.

Its collection of American art includes

My favorite Market Street store was

works by Norman Rockwell, Thomas

indoor-outdoor Sumdat Farm Market.

Hart Benton and John Singer Sargent.

With a focus on Virginia-made products,

Temporary exhibitions draw from around

it offers wines, maple syrup and apple

the globe.

butter, plus tins of salted peanuts and

For tour groups passing through

bags of snack foods like fried okra. I

Roanoke, the compact district is a

couldn’t resist the jars of banana pud-

perfect lunch or shopping stop. The

ding butter (great on banana bread or as

Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors

a cheesecake ingredient) and lemon

Bureau makes it easy for groups short

meringue butter. Also tempting was the

on time by providing a free orientation

cinnamon roll walnut jam. Other Market

and discount shopping card. Catherine

District magnets include the kitchen

Fox, the CVB’s tourism and communi-

store Ladles & Linens and Orvis, the

cations director, said it can arrange for

fly-fishing emporium.

each tour member to receive a free

Photos Courtesy of Roanoke Valley CVB

nated by the recently renovated City Mar-

The Roanoke Star, a mighty beacon since 1949, stands above an overlook on Mill Mountain.

The recently renovated City Market,

truffle at chocolatepaper, a shop with

I was fascinated by the oral history

a red-brick structure built in 1922 as a

gourmet chocolates from around the

videos of African-American men who

meat market, is a bright, airy food court

world and an eclectic mix of greeting

worked on the N&W during segregation.

with a variety of eateries. The 96-year-

cards. (For a fee, the CVB can provide

Housed in N&W’s former freight station,

old Roanoke Weiner Stand, across the

a step-on guide for an area tour that

the museum also has a model train lay-

street, serves up outstanding chili dogs.

includes a stretch of the Blue Ridge Park-

out, antique cars and a Greyhound/Trail-

For Southern comfort food, try Thelma’s

way. Roanoke has four entrances/exits

ways bus exhibit. Tour groups can have

Chicken and Waffles, a Market Street

on the fabled road.)

a fried chicken/ham biscuit lunch catered

favorite. Many downtown restaurants

Steps away from the City Market is

and shops occupy old storefronts with

the Railwalk, a trackside interpretive

exposed brick walls and pressed-tin

trail that celebrates Roanoke’s ties to

The romance of railroading really

ceilings.

the railroad industry. Signs and artifacts

comes alive in the O. Winston Link

showcase the city’s heyday as a

Museum, perhaps my favorite downtown

company town, recalling the days when

attraction. Link was a New York photo-

the Norfolk & Western Railway manu-

grapher who captured the end of the

Obtain Virginia visitor guides and itineraries and contact group-friendly suppliers directly at leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info

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by the Roanoker restaurant and eat on picnic tables in the railyard.

February 2012 37

on location: south ❖

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: For a sampling of good places to eat in Roanoke, see Randy Mink’s online article. Log on to http://leisuregrouptravel.com/?p=26159.

The scenic overlook at the foot of the Roanoke Star on Mill Mountain affords panoramic views of the city and crests of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

steam locomotive era in the 1950s with

cated in the Roanoke Valley Visitor Infor-

after a major makeover. Groups can

poignant photos of life along the tracks in

mation Center, which occupies the for-

combine a hotel tour with a buffet lunch

western Virginia and North Carolina. After

mer N&W passenger station.

in the elegant Regency Room, where

a 30-minute film on his five-year project

Across the street looms the hilltop

and how he was recognized by the art

Hotel Roanoke, a rambling Tudor-style

world decades later, you can tour several

landmark built as a railroad hotel in

During my stay at the hotel, I

galleries of his work. Most of his photos

1882. It closed in 1989 after a change

enjoyed soaking in the atmosphere.

were taken at night. The museum is lo-

in ownership and reopened in 1995

The elegant, black walnut-paneled

peanut soup and spoonbread are signature items.

lobby has murals depicting Virginia historical events and full-length portraits of Virginia heroes George Washington and Robert E. Lee. My visit to the Roanoke Valley was confined to the city, so next time I’d like to get out into the mountains. My wish list includes Natural Bridge, Smith Mountain Lake, the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford and Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest retreat. The Blue Ridge are calling me, just as they beckon groups seeking heady doses of history and nature.

For

information,

contact

the

Roanoke Valley CVB, 800-635-5535; Exhibits along the Railwalk in downtown Roanoke chronicle the city’s colorful railroad history.

40 February 2012

visitroanokeva.com. LGT LeisureGroupTravel.com