Check out the Fall 2016 edition of our newsletter, Preservation Focus for a look back on the past few months! This issue contains an update on inaugural Preservation Pub Talks and the Greenfield Plantation archaeological study, a review of our 2016 Endangered Sites Awards, and a tribute to former RVPF board member Joel Richert. You’ll also find a list of upcoming events, and an invitation to our Annual Meeting on November 15, 2016.
Check out the full newsletter HERE.
Five neglected structures and the threat of a gas pipeline crossing are on the 2015 Endangered Sites listing announced this past Saturday (May 30), by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation. A Bulldozer Award for the demolition of the historic Woods End house near Hidden Valley High School was announced for the Roanoke County School Board.
The sites:
Mill stones
Gas pipeline route
Billy’s cabin
Ole Monterey cabin
Spickard house
Holdren’s Country Store
The Preservation Foundation has called attention to threats against old, potentially useful buildings and natural resources annually since 1996. The Foundation encourages owners to find ways to use these older properties and to care for natural resources.
The full text of our 2015 Endangered Sites and the Bulldozer Award is available Here.
RVPF’s first annual Pints for Preservation Pub Crawl took place this past Saturday (May 30), and we had an amazing time! While the numbers are still being tallied, we’d like to give a huge thank you to our sponsors – Brown Edwards, Gentry Locke, Hill Studio and Hist:Re. This could not have been done without their generous donations. And thank you to The Square Society, The Harvester and Firefly Fare for the wonderful prizes they donated to our contestants.
We would also like to thank all of our participating bars – Billy’s, Blue 5, Cornerstone, The Quarter and Martin’s Downtown Bar & Grill. They went out of their way to make this a fun experience for all, and we are very grateful.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who came out to support RVPF and congratulations to our three winning teams! We hope you all had fun, regardless of where you placed, and will join us again next year! The answers to all of Saturday’s trivia questions can be found Here.
Many thanks!
– The Pints for Preservation Committee and the RVPF Board of Trustees
RVPF’s President Alison Blanton has written another article for the Roanoke Times on the economic value of historic tax credits and their impact beyond just the obvious tax incentives. She writes “To date, more than 2,350 federal and/or state HTC projects have been completed in Virginia. These projects total more than $4 billion in private investment and have created more than 31,000 full or part-time jobs. These HTC projects, which have been completed in 85 out of 90 counties in Virginia, not only renovate historic buildings, they revitalize the local economy. Studies show that over 75 percent of the dollars invested in HTC projects stay in the local economy as labor and materials tend to be local.” Clearly, preservation is a wonderful economic tool and RVPF agrees with Alison that the tax credit program is an invaluable asset to the state.
You can read the full article here.
RVPF’s President Alison Blanton has written an article for the Roanoke Times on why we should care about historic preservation. She writes ” that ‘sense of place’ maintained through the preservation of buildings, communities, and cultures…helps us feel that we are significant as well. We feel connected not only to our past, but to our surrounding community and environment. Whether it be historic buildings that clearly represent their purpose—in the case of City Hall or St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, with its soaring spires—or pedestrian-scaled streetscapes and small storefronts that encourage us to walk and interact with others, historic buildings continue to be useful and provide an improved quality of life.”
Bravo to Alison for writing such an articulate article. You can read it here.
This year, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation will not be hosting a Downtown Abbey Premiere Party. However, luckily for our supporters and fans of the show, the Alexander Black House and Cultural Center in Blacksburg will be airing a premiere party there at 8:00 pm on January 4th. There will be light refreshments, a costume contest and cash bar and, of course, the premiere of the fifth season. The cost is 20 dollars a person and 35 per couple. For more information, please call 540-558 -0746 email [email protected] or visit www.blacksburghistory.org. Hope to see you there!
The RVPF celebrates National Preservation Month on Saturday, May 31 with the unveiling of two markers interpreting historic sites along the Roanoke River Greenway. A marker for the American Viscose Corporation, one of Roanoke’s largest industries, will be unveiled at 10:30 a.m. at mile marker 25.5 near the 9th Street Bridge. This will be followed by a 5.2-mile bike ride to the second marker at Norwich near Bridge Street. The Norwich neighborhood developed in the early 1900s with many of Roanoke’s earliest industries and worker housing. A third marker was installed earlier this year at Elmwood Park to tell the history of the Terry property that eventually became Roanoke’s first park.
These three markers were made possible by an Arts & Cultural Plan Implementation Grant from the Roanoke Arts Commission and partnerships with Roanoke Valley Greenways and the City of Roanoke Parks & Recreation Department. As part of this project, the RVPF worked with Clay Kerchoff, a student intern from the UVa School of Architecture, to develop a master plan for interpreting
historic sites along the Roanoke Valley Greenway system. The RVPF will continue to seek funding and partnerships to install additional markers along the greenway!