Going Home | Michelle Shail | November 2011
We had not been together in probably 10 years. It used to be that we came together for the obligatory events like weddings, graduations and baby showers. But this time we communed because we longed for one another’s company, to celebrate our journeys traveled thus far and to determine how we will define and measure our futures. We met in the Pine Room of the Hotel Roanoke, which has retained its charm, warmth and delicately carved pine walls through the centuries. This former World War II Officers Club was the perfect spot to kick off the adventures of our girl’s weekend. We, three girls from Virginia, shaped by our pasts returning to a place we thought we knew.
The Roanoke Valley is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley. During colonial times the valley was a crossroads, and remains the transportation, healthcare and cultural hub for much of western and southern Virginia and parts of West Virginia. Home base for the weekend was the Hotel Roanoke. Affectionately referred to as “The Grand Old Lady” she was originally constructed for weary travelers seeking solace from rail journey. What began as 36 rooms in the late 1880’s evolved into the Tudor style landmark we see today: boasting 330 guest rooms and 20 suites accompanied by a 63,000 square-foot conference center with state of the art technology and the award winning Regency Room restaurant. Among the many elements that distinguish the Hotel Roanoke is the miraculous 1993 restoration of the original ceiling painted to show the constellations as they appeared in the skies the first day the train came to Roanoke. The distinctive façade of the Hotel, her grand entrance with antique furnishings, and glistening original Czech-made chandeliers illuminating her grand ballrooms define a grandeur that have been meticulously preserved by time.
We crossed the bridge connecting the Hotel Roanoke with the City Market and toured a landmark that seems new since our more youthful years. Coinciding with the latest updates to the Hotel, the Taubman Museum of Art was completed in 2008 and is a continuation of over 50 years of dedication to the arts in Roanoke. The “Taubman” can feel imposing and contradictory at first, seemingly out of place, jetting up and hovering over its historical registry neighbors. This 81,000 square foot landmark is Roanoke’s most contemporary and sophisticated structure. Not only sophisticated in size and design, the Taubman Museum of Art tells the story of Roanoke’s evolution. Every detail from the form, the position of the windows, and lighting that reflect city icons honor the city’s cultural heritage and challenges her comfort zone in order to realize her full potential.
On our visit to the city we found wisdom from our friends from the Convention and Visitors Bureau who experience first hand what it means to be responsible for the connectedness of hotels, restaurants, museums and business growth and development. They work tirelessly to revitalize the treasures of the city, to collaborate with neighboring communities, and to create opportunities for visitors to bask in the natural resources and splendor of the region. For example, The Blue Ridge Parkway is minutes away and hosts travelers along a scenic route 200 miles each direction. Greenways provide residents and visitors the opportunity to bike, ride and walk through the tree filled city while the more adventuresome are steps away from hiking, rock climbing and kayaking.
As we visited over coffee we talked about the Roanoke we knew as children. The railroad city turned slowly to a health care hub and tourist destination and the culture by which we first understood the world. We reminisced and in some ways re-lived our youthful follies by strolling the City Market Streets, danced to the beat of a new city drum and dined in staple restaurants and in those new to the scene. I had the surreal moment of feeling the past while also seeing the future. It’s interesting how the three of us each blended, shaped and molded our Virginian upbringing together with our experiences as adults to create unique lives. Blurry-eyed one morning, I was stunned to discover my friend’s bible on the table; sure the hotel staff accidently misplaced the book, which generally lives in the nightstands. But no, she finds refuge in her daily scriptures and devotions, while I, raised protestant, turned Catholic on the account of marriage only to become ambivalent to the subject of organized religion. Still another, raised Catholic, married a Mormon, and in the effort to find common ground is trying the Methodist variety. Our internal processes of surviving and getting along in the world are different but the ways in which we value one another is perfectly consistent. In this, love grows and possibilities abound.
In our girl’s weekend we got to experience the city as visitors, as women and professionals and to establish a new bond with home. The evolution of time marching forward implores us to acknowledge the past; select that which we wish to hold onto and edit the things that need to change as we work towards a life well lived. As we crossed over the bridge that connects the Hotel Roanoke to the historic City Market, I was struck by the cathedral image of St. Andrews Church in one corner of my mind and the Taubman Museum of Art in the other corner. And could not help but smile at the way home was attempting to honor the past while striving for the future.
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
