Cooperative Living September 2014 - 34

THE GOLDEN AGE OF RAILROAD HOTELS
Just across Shenandoah Avenue from the
Link Museum is the historic Hotel Roanoke,
which the N&W built when the railroad was
headquartered here.
" When the N & Wmerged with Southern
Railway in the late 1980s, corporate headquarters
transferred to Norfolk, " says hotel
general manager Gary Walton. The railroad
operated the hotel until 1989 and then gifted
it to Virginia Tech. By that time, Walton
remarks, the hotel had deteriorated quite a
bit, but " it was an icon here in the community,
and Norfolk Southern didn't know what to
do with it. "
They gave Tech five years to raise the $27
million to renovate the hotel. Walton, who
came to the Hotel Roanoke as manager in
1994, says only the lobby and dining room
are original. " Everything else was gutted. "
The City of Roanoke got in on the action,
too, because it wanted a convention center, so
it built the facility adjacent to the hotel, turning
the whole complex into the Hotel
Roanoke and Conference Center, now managed
by Doubletree.
As for me, I've never stayed anyplace else
IF YOU GO...
Your first stop in Roanoke should be
the Roanoke Valley Convention and
Visitors Bureau (101 Shenandoah
Ave. NE, 540-342-6025, www.visit
roanokeva.com), which is located in
the old Norfolk and Western Railway
train station. The station is also home
to the O. Winston Link Museum (540982-5465,
www.linkmuseum.org),
which has a stunning collection of the
railroad photographer's artwork.
You can explore Roanoke's railroad
history further at the Virginia
Museum of Transportation (303
Norfolk Ave. SW, 540-342-5670,
www.vmt.org) and along the David R.
and Susan S. Goode Railwalk,
which runs from Market Street to
Warehouse Row, paralleling the
Norfolk Southern tracks that pass
through downtown. Storyboards,
plaques, whistles, and even a radio
scanner tell the railroad history of the
city. The Railwalk was named in honor
of former Norfolk Southern president
and CEO David R. Goode, who was
responsible for getting the 1218
locomotive to the Virginia Museum
of Transportation.
32
when in Roanoke than this 1882 Queen
Anne-style hotel with its turrets and gables
adjacent to the Norfolk Southern track. Many
times it was a temporary home base for me
when on business for the railroad in
Roanoke, and it has served as my headquarters
for pleasure trips to the Roanoke Valley
as well. I'm not alone in loving the hotel's
nostalgic feel.
" People love the railroad history of this
place, " Walton says. " We have guests who
love to stay on the rail side of the hotel so
they can hear the trains go by. Being here is
like stepping back in time. We're in the vintage
era of grand hotels. "
And while one can dine in the Hotel
Roanoke's elegant Regency dining room or
the more casual Pine Room pub, I elect to hit
a relatively new spot in town after my afternoon
in Mr. Walton's company - appropriately
named The River and Rail Restaurant, a
short drive from downtown on Crystal Spring
Avenue.
Opened just two years ago, this casual
bistro has a menu that changes with the local
seasonal offerings from area producers. Chef
Aaron Deal, who prompts my taste buds to
While you're exploring the rail
story of the city, be sure to spend the
night at The Hotel Roanoke &
Conference Center (110 Shenandoah
Ave., 540-985-5900, www.hotel
roanoke.com), which was formerly
owned by Norfolk Southern. From the
hotel, you can easily walk to restaurants
and attractions in downtown
Roanoke via a glass-enclosed pedestrian
bridge over the railroad tracks that
will put you in the midst of Market
Square. This thriving area of downtown
is home to Center in the Square
(1 Market Square SE, 540-342-5700,
www.centerinthesquare.org), which
houses a number of museums and
music venues, including the
Harrison Museum of African
American Culture, History
Museum of Western Virginia,
Science Museum of Western
Virginia, Mill Mountain
Theatre, and Roanoke
Symphony Orchestra.
Adjacent to Center in the
Square is the Historic Roanoke
City Market (213 Market Street,
540-342-2028, www.downtown
roanoke.org/city-market), the oldest
continuously operating openair
farmers market in Virginia, where
you can purchase locally grown fruits,
vegetables, and flowers seven days a
week except major holidays.
While there are a host of restaurants
in Market Square, if you want to
try something a bit more innovative,
check out The River and Rail (2201
Crystal Spring Ave., 540-400-6830,
www.riverandrailrestaurant.com), a
short drive from downtown. Located in
the renovated former Lipes Pharmacy
building, the restaurant features weekly
changing menus made from fresh
and local ingredients prepared by
Chef Aaron Deal. 
explode with his unusual flavor combinations
like veal sweetbread with pumpkin sauce and
coconut jalapeño sorbet for dessert, tells me
his inspiration for mixing so many food
metaphors comes from a childhood as what
he laughingly calls " the ultimate fat kid. " This
trim chef is anything but today, though he
credits childhood attempts " to figure out how
many ways to put marshmallows, peanut
butter, and chocolate together " as the real
inspiration for his River and Rail menu,
which he calls " classic
comfort food with a
twist. " 
Chef Aaron Deal strives
for " classic comfort food
with a twist " at The River
and Rail Restaurant.
Roanoke's thriving downtown Market Square is
home to Center in the Square, which houses a
number of museums and music venues.
Cooperative Living/September 2014
http://www.hotel http://www.visit http://www.roanoke.com http://www.roanokeva.com http://www.riverandrailrestaurant.com http://www.linkmuseum.org http://www.centerinthesquare.org http://www.vmt.org http://www.downtown http://www.roanoke.org/city-market
Cooperative Living September 2014

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