Its not your parent’s Roanoke any more

Our Take: commentary from the Star-Sentinel staff

What’s going on in Roanoke? What with world-class art museums going up, retro-looking trolley buses running up and down Jefferson St. to the Carilion Clinic from the market area, big renovation plans in the works for Center in the Square and a City Market building makeover on the horizon, downtown Roanoke is not the same place it was a decade or so ago.

That’s good. There are now more signs of life at night and on the weekends in Roanoke and not just from those out for an evening of carousing at Corned Beef. And downtown now stretches past the city market area, past the courthouse and municipal buildings, to Jefferson Center, the Kirk Family YMCA, Ed Walker’s new music bistro on Kirk Avenue and the funky Water Heater venue on 5th Street Southwest. A new amphitheater capable of welcoming larger acts to the valley could be coming down the road if people figure out where they want it - and if taxpayer money is available to help fund it.

There’s temporary public art all over the city, a new permanent sculpture outside the Roanoke Civic Center complex that classes up the joint and something dubbed the “West Campbell Arts District,” a nod to the handful of galleries that have opened there in recent years, in part to feed off the anticipated excitement of the new Taubman Museum of Art.

Speaking of the Taubman, have you been yet? Even if you’re not a big fan of the exterior architecture, inside the dramatic second floor galleries and sweeping staircase will win you over. Note to the Taubman folks: think about later hours on weekends, maybe 9-10pm on Fridays? Would make for a great “date night”, especially when live music is offered downstairs and the café is open. Then patrons could spill out into downtown Roanoke to continue their night out and everybody wins.

On its first day the Taubman Museum was open to 11pm and the place – and downtown Roanoke – was hopping. Now if they can just get food court vendors at the market building to stay open at night …at least some of them. “It’ll be an economic stimulus [for the city], at least the equivalent of renewing Hotel Roanoke, if not greater than that,” predicted former Roanoke City Councilman Rupert Cutler on the day they cut the Taubman’s ribbon.

Okay, its never going to be confused with New York, LA or Chicago, a different mix of jobs are needed to attract more young folks here and it will take a whole lot of money in some circumstances to keep moving Roanoke forward…but one has to admit the Star City is a bit cooler these days.