Last updated on April 28th, 2023 at 05:51 pm
If you hop in a car and drive westerly out Route 66 from the Washington, D.C. area for about an hour to Front Royal, Virginia, then turn south on I-81 for another 2 hours, you’ll run smack-dab into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Exit on route 581 south for about a mile, and the Blue Ridge valley serves up Roanoke before you.
After roving around for about 20 minutes, my wife said “comfy” (short for “comfortable” for our non-native English readers). And in a sense, this embraces an overall initial feeling one grasps from the area. And it’s more evidence of what we tell our readers a lot — breeze through a country or an area quickly and you’ll have a good feeling about whether it's “right” for you.
Housing and Construction
Several quick first impressions jump right out at you.
First, housing. It’s easy to see that not long ago much of this area was farm land. Just take a look around and you can see how plats of property were sold off here and there over the years since World War II leading to the hodgepodge of housing developments now sprinkled across the valley surrounding the city. And houses are not built on top of one another as they are in many other areas of the U.S.
Second, construction. It isn’t hard to find 1950’s era homes here.
The downtown historic district presents scores of massive, early 20th century housing characteristic of the day when large families lived in one house with the mother at home taking care of the kids and the father working — probably as a railroad worker or for the industries of the day supporting the railroads. Today these houses often serve as offices for professional firms, multi-unit apartments, or simply large homes for those able to afford them.
A Railroad Town
Third, the railroad. Roanoke was and still is a railroad era town. Everyday at 0800, 1200, 1230 and 1500, the old railroad era steam whistle still sounds off de-marking the beginning and end of the railroad workers day with a whistle for lunch breaks in between. The old 1950’s train station is now the tourist center housing the O. Winston Link museum, a fitting tribute to the famous steam engine locomotive photographer of the 1950’s.
A five minute walk from the visitors center is the old City Market area retrofitted into a modern mini-shop stop featuring vendors offering dining and other services. The entire downtown area has been restored, or is under restoration, and it’s clear those governing the City are proud of their heritage and bent on preserving their early 20th century railroad era look and feel. Commercial product advertisements are preserved and restored on the side of buildings.
Take a walk a few blocks away, and you’ll run into the Virginia Museum of Transportation, home of the still active and last powerhouse steam engines of yesteryear: the J611 and 1218. Now in its’ third iteration of restoration, the J611 breaks free of her chains every Spring offering runs to regional areas between April and September each year. You can find more information about this museum and the schedules for the 611 here.
And it may be 2016, but there’s still many trains that pass through Roanoke daily —up to 40 a day according to Rail Fans. Rail fans also provides tips on the best sites to flick pix of the trains as they pass by.
Despite the hodge-podge, there’s a genuine comfy, laid back warmth to the entire area. The Blue Ridge Mountains surround the city and the valley beckoning you to take a ride along the Blue Ridge Mountain highway. The city market invites you to explore the restorations, restaurants, and shops in town. The heavy railway traffic, for those with an interest, beckons photographers and sightseers. Residents are warm and welcoming: there's no rush-rush “I don't have time for you” attitude here.
Mill Mountain featuring its’ gigantic star at the precipice, offers inviting, 180 views of the city and surrounding area. And St. Andrews Roman Catholic Church, with its’ black spiraled steeples and yellow base, sit’s up on a hill overlooking the railroad era Hotel Roanoke, City Market and Mill Mountain in an east to west direction.
There’s much to be said for a visit to Roanoke: The Link Museum, the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the historic district architecture, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and more.
Stick with us in this multi-part series about Roanoke to find out some of the places we think you’ll find fascinating.
How To Get Here
Roanoke is easy to get to by road, rail, or air. You can find out more information at their The Visitor Information Center, 101 Shenandoah Avenue NE, Roanoke, VA 24016, open from 9:00am – 5:00pm, seven days a week.
By road: Roanoke is only a few minutes away from Route I-81, an U.S. Interstate Highway that runs north and south through the U.S. You can find out more information about driving to the Blue Ridge Valley Visitors Center here.
- Note for our foreign readers: An interstate highway system spans the U.S. Roads with an odd number run north and south; roads bearing an even number run east to west.
By air: Roanoke is home to Blacksburg Regional Airport, which offers direct flights to eight international airports through the hubs of U.S. Airways, Delta, United Airlines, American Airlines and Allegiant Air.
Direct flights are available to eight international hubs with one-stop service to over 70 international cities and over 400 domestic destinations with 25 departure flights daily.
Domestic and International Gateways
Atlanta (ATL)
Charlotte (CLT)
Chicago/O'Hare (ORD)
NYC/LaGuardia (LGA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
St. Petersburg/Clearwater (PIE)
Washington/Dulles (IAD)
Orlando/Sanford (SFB)
The airport is within five miles (less than a 10-minute drive) of downtown Roanoke and is surrounded by a variety of accommodations and attractions.
By rail: The train station in downtown Roanoke is, yup, you guessed it, smack-dab in the middle of things near the City Market and the old train station now converted into a visitors center. But there's great news: Amtrak will begin service to the city in the spring of 2017 making Roanoke the southern most point of their service in Virginia. Train travel till return to Star City for first time in 34 years!