Some of my first memories of Roanoke, well - Roanoke itself, not the Roanoke area, are of the "big building by the trains with the glass block wall." Ever the industrialist, I instantly viewed the glass-block wall area, and thought "what a great place for a restaurant."

    Ahh 18 is such a wonderful age is it not? Little did I know exactly what this building was, or what it would become. If I remember, it was vacant at the time or undergoing the rebuilding process. Probably talking about 1994 or so. I knew Roanoke was old, but knew nothing of its history. I just new I liked the place with the glass block wall.


    Well, wouldn't Mr. W. T. Barbour be pleased. Closing in on 100 years later, and the Ol' Hotel is still making a impresson. Little did I know the darker history of the hotel. How it sat in desolation and ruin for a good number of years, yet still was home to several people. I am deeply indebted in this story to Ben Beagle, Kevin Kittredge, the Salem Library, and other random sources, including a person who shall go unnamed that I work with, who has memories of the various hotels, and someone else who assisted me with another page (which seriously, Im working on doing it justice) and has provided me with a personal story of one of Roanoke's Grand Ladies.


    Anyway, back to our subject. The Shenandoah. Why now? Well, with the raising of the H&C Coffee sign to the roof of the ol' hotel, it's been in the news a bit lately. Plus, we are coming up on the 20th of the flood, and several other dates relevant to the hotels history.

courtesy Library of Congress.

    So here you are.  1903, at the corner of Campbell and 2nd. St. SE (at the time anyway, also Randolph, and now Williamson) - and there is next to nothing around. Just a simple freight depot across the way, where the Tire Shop now stands - a few dwellings of little regard on Campbell itself, and across from them - the Virginia Brewing Co. However there was a stone retaining wall located at the back of this empty lot. Unusual, but not uncommon considering it was there to shore up Salem Ave. as it decended from the gentle rise over the tracks. Directly across the street, looking towards the N&W shops there was nothing. Just some grass, a stream, and not much else but rail lines.


    1903 seems so different when you consider the undertaking that was about to explode on that corner.


courtesy of wishneff.com

Looking at that photo, explode is right. Something went off there, and it was not pretty. You are looking at the Williamson Rd. side of the building, which is why it may not look right at first. Remember, if you will, the Hotel Earle. Formerly the Big Lick Hotel, it was part of the whole entity that was the Shenandoah. The Earle was built first in 1909, while the Campbell Ave. Shenandoah was finished in 1911. 101 rooms, $1.25 a night. Easy access to the trains, fine dining and libations. Steam Heat and hot water in all rooms.

    I never saw the Hotel Earle, or if I did - I blocked it's charred corpse from my memory. August 23rd, 1991. A unknown person living in a plywood shack against the front of the Hotel Earle must have been cooking in their kitchen (the space between the front doors and inner doors) and must have burned up their bacon. 3 hours, 3 firefighters injured, and several thousand gallons of water later - the fire was extinguished. The Hotel Earle stood, the Shenandoah - a mere 8 foot alley away, was virtually untouched. These turn-of-the-century twins would not be felled so easily. What truly killed the Hotel Earle was the 3 years it spent in limbo. Plus the 10 years of total vacancy it spent while being inhabited by the homeless before the fire. The final touch was during the fire, roughly around 11am, when the sign bearing the standard of the Hotel Earle collapsed into the building as the roof caved in.

Way back in the background there in 1989, the sign of the Hotel stands.

From left to right: H&C Coffee, Dr. Pepper, And Hotel Earle.

        But in 1911, when the hotel "extends an entire square on Randolph from Campbell to Salem" (WPA History of Roanoke. 1941) it was all the Shenandoah Hotel. With an 8 foot alleyway running between. The restaurant alone cost $6,000 and was under the charge of Mr. M. E. Stokeley. It was considered one of the finest restaurants in the state at the time, and business boomed. Mr. Barbour, as mentioned above, was the proprietor of the hotel and lived there with his wife. Also in house, the very builder of the hotel itself, Mr. J.S. Perry. Mr. Perry was variously a banker, a real estate planner, and a developer.

    "Every room an outside room" was the idea behind the building. Which is why it kicks back upon itself on the Campbell Ave. side. Center in the Square owns it now, leasing the street level Campbell Ave. side space to Twists N Turns.

This  just in: The Shenandoah Hotel  (128-132  Campbell Ave. SE) shares its address with the Ponce De Leon on the SW side. 2 former grand hotels, neither being used as such. Both meeting nearly the same fate. In the 50's & 60's, police reports indicate that the Hotel Earle & Shenandoah was doing a brisk business in the bootlegging and prostitution trade. Some veterans of the Roanoke Times can attest that the Ponce De Leon was doing the same.

In 1994, when insurance matters finally wrapped up, the Hotel Earle finally demolished, and ownership of the Shenandoah passed from hand to hand - Center in the Square moved in and did an extensive rebuild on the Shenandoah - the Earle now being a parking lot on Salem Ave.

If one should go wandering down Salem Ave. towards Williamson now, and stand where in a few years the Art Museum will raise its ungodly head and scream towards the heavens, you would see this looking across the street:
Allright, well maybe not a tan Chevy Cavalier (or is that a new-style Malibu?), but the sign - MMT Atelier. Que?  From Dictionary.com: "at·el·ier n. A workshop or studio, especially for an artist or designer."  Well thats nice and all, but what does that have to do with the backdoor to the Shenandoah? Well, since Center in the Square owns the place, and since they also run the Mill Mountain Theatre (see where this is heading?), the MMT Atelier is the "In-residence" location for the actors. It is also where they hold their workshops, informal rehearsals, and Im sure do lots of other things. From what I understand - there are roughly 20 rooms available for actors, each a mini-apartment. Seems like a sweet deal to me, get to live in a place so historic AND get to do what you like?

    I've got a dream like that, but somehow I don't see Rockledge (the original inn, not the home up there) re-opening anytime soon.

    Oh, and an interesting little side note, for those of you who have not been in Twists & Turns. Its a furniture store, with a emphasis on high-end outdoor furniture (I like VT, I really do - but do I want a Hokies Patio Set?) but when you walk in the place - your eyes are drawn up a half-level. To the kitchen. Yes, a full working kitchen. When asked about it - the owner of Twists & Turns said that when she took the place, there was this kitchen she had no idea what to do with. Well, they found a use for it. Tune in to WCOX9 on Cox Cable to Exceptional Entertaining with Larry Bly.
 The kitchen segments are filmed in the original kitchen of the Shenandoah Hotel, which is dead center of Twists & Turns. (unless of course they are filmed on location at the chef's restaurant, which is a whole other matter entirely.)



    The Hotel Shenandoah and Earle may have changed hands, changed vocations; and in the case of the Earle, changed this reality for another where it was still a grande dame hotel, but they - it will always be the eastern side of Campbell's cornerstone. Coming up on 100 years now, and not many places can say that.