Mountain View, Roanoke, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Mountain View is a Roanoke
, Virginia
neighborhood located in central Roanoke north of the Roanoke River
. It borders the neighborhoods of Norwich
on the west, West End
on the east, Hurt Park
on the north and Raleigh Court
and Wasena
on the south.
In March 2011, This Old House, America’s most respected home improvement authority, selected Mountain View as Virginia’s “Best Old House Neighborhood 2011” in its annual list of “North America’s most timeless neighborhoods—places where lovingly crafted old houses have extraordinary pasts and unarguably promising futures.”
Mountain View was one of 64 neighborhoods in the U.S. and Canada recognized by This Old House, which distributed nomination forms to more than 14,000 historical societies, neighborhood groups, and preservation nonprofits to compile its “biggest-ever list of off-the-beaten-path places that are worth eyeing for a great old home.”
The neighborhood is named after Mountain View (Roanoke, Virginia)
, a Georgian Revival home in the area, built in 1907, that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
.
, and since the mid-20th century many have been subdivided into multi-family units.
The neighborhood is named for Mountain View, a Georgian Revival mansion built in 1907 by Junius Blair Fishburn, a prominent publisher, banker, entrepreneur and philanthropist in Roanoke in the first half of the 20th century. The home, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was undergoing extensive exterior renovations in winter 2011.
Mountain View, a 42-room mansion, was donated to the City of Roanoke in 1955 by Junious Fishburn to be used for recreational activities. It was placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1981. This facility is currently used by numerous groups, used as location for Personal Enrichment classes and activities (such as Bridge, dance, movies, art, music, and self-improvement), and is a popular rental facility for weddings, receptions, special occasion family gatherings, etc. The capacity for the entire house is 200 people.
Vic Thomas Park / Roanoke River Greenway
The 16-acre Vic Thomas Park, opened in Fall 2010, adds a twist to the Roanoke River Greenway’s gentle system of 10 milies of paved trails. The park features exercise stations, with signs posted along the path, suggesting exercises to work the entire body. The park also offers large areas for gatherings and will soon add picnic tables. The plan is to keep the park as natural as possible, said Donnie Underwood, the city’s parks and greenways planner. A 250-foot-long steel pedestrian bridge spans the Roanoke River from Wasena Park to the new Vic Thomas Park, which was named after the late state delegate who represented parts of Roanoke and Roanoke County in the House of Delegates for 30 years and was known for conservation issues.
West End Community Market
The West End Community Market (WECM) debuted on June 2, 2010, in the parking lot of the West End Center for Youth at the corner of 13th Street and Patterson Avenue. This farmers’ market, planted by The Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP), is open every Wednesday, June through September, from 4 to 7 p.m. The WECM switches to winter hours (3 to 6 p.m.) the first week of October, and the market moves inside the adjacent building the first week of November and continues through the holiday season every Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. The market operates under the 100-mile rule: All items sold at the market must originate within 100 miles of the market location. And although it is not a rule, the majority of the products sold at the market are produced with organic methods.
West End Center for Youth
With the help and support of the Roanoke Valley, the West End Center for Youth has provided safety and stability to over 2,000 youth in one of Roanoke’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. We proudly serve over 125 children and teens per year, helping each to become a productive citizen of the Roanoke Valley by keeping him/her focused on positive efforts and smart decision making. And the West End Center’s programs work: The high school graduation rate is 80 percent compared to the current inner-city rate of 67 percent, and the teen pregnancy prevention program boasts a 99.3% success rate.
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
neighborhood located in central Roanoke north of the Roanoke River
Roanoke River
The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 mi long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont...
. It borders the neighborhoods of Norwich
Norwich, Roanoke, Virginia
Norwich is a Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood located in west central Roanoke, immediately south of the Roanoke River. It borders the neighborhoods of Mountain View on the east, and Raleigh Court on the south. The northern and western reaches of the neighborhood are bound by the Roanoke River...
on the west, West End
West End, Roanoke, Virginia
West End is a Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood located in central Roanoke south of the Norfolk Southern railyard. It borders the neighborhoods of Hurt Park and Mountain View on the west, Downtown on the east, Gilmer on the north across the Norfolk Southern railyard and Old Southwest on the...
on the east, Hurt Park
Hurt Park, Roanoke, Virginia
Hurt Park is a Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood located in central Roanoke between the Norfolk Southern railyard and the Roanoke River. It borders the neighborhoods of Cherry Hill on the west, West End on the east, Gilmer, Loudon-Melrose and Shenandoah West on the north across the Norfolk Southern...
on the north and Raleigh Court
Raleigh Court, Roanoke, Virginia
Raleigh Court is a Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood located in southwest Roanoke along U.S. 11 . It borders the neighborhoods of Greater Deyerle on the west, Wasena on the east, Cherry Hill, Mountain View and Norwich on the north and Franklin-Colonial and Grandin Court on the south...
and Wasena
Wasena, Roanoke, Virginia
Wasena is a Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood located in south, central Roanoke bisected by U.S. Route 221 , immediately to the south of the Roanoke River...
on the south.
In March 2011, This Old House, America’s most respected home improvement authority, selected Mountain View as Virginia’s “Best Old House Neighborhood 2011” in its annual list of “North America’s most timeless neighborhoods—places where lovingly crafted old houses have extraordinary pasts and unarguably promising futures.”
Mountain View was one of 64 neighborhoods in the U.S. and Canada recognized by This Old House, which distributed nomination forms to more than 14,000 historical societies, neighborhood groups, and preservation nonprofits to compile its “biggest-ever list of off-the-beaten-path places that are worth eyeing for a great old home.”
The neighborhood is named after Mountain View (Roanoke, Virginia)
Mountain View (Roanoke, Virginia)
Mountain View, also known as the Fishburn Mansion, in Roanoke, Virginia, is a Georgian Revival house that was built in 1907. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.The mansion is in the Mountain View, Roanoke, Virginia neighborhood....
, a Georgian Revival home in the area, built in 1907, that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
The majority of the homes within the neighborhood were constructed in the late 19th century and early 20th century as mansions for railroad executives based in Roanoke. The residential design of the neighborhood is dominated by the two-story American FoursquareAmerican Foursquare
The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was...
, and since the mid-20th century many have been subdivided into multi-family units.
The neighborhood is named for Mountain View, a Georgian Revival mansion built in 1907 by Junius Blair Fishburn, a prominent publisher, banker, entrepreneur and philanthropist in Roanoke in the first half of the 20th century. The home, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was undergoing extensive exterior renovations in winter 2011.
Neighborhood Amenities
Mountain View Center (Fishburn Mansion)Mountain View, a 42-room mansion, was donated to the City of Roanoke in 1955 by Junious Fishburn to be used for recreational activities. It was placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1981. This facility is currently used by numerous groups, used as location for Personal Enrichment classes and activities (such as Bridge, dance, movies, art, music, and self-improvement), and is a popular rental facility for weddings, receptions, special occasion family gatherings, etc. The capacity for the entire house is 200 people.
Vic Thomas Park / Roanoke River Greenway
The 16-acre Vic Thomas Park, opened in Fall 2010, adds a twist to the Roanoke River Greenway’s gentle system of 10 milies of paved trails. The park features exercise stations, with signs posted along the path, suggesting exercises to work the entire body. The park also offers large areas for gatherings and will soon add picnic tables. The plan is to keep the park as natural as possible, said Donnie Underwood, the city’s parks and greenways planner. A 250-foot-long steel pedestrian bridge spans the Roanoke River from Wasena Park to the new Vic Thomas Park, which was named after the late state delegate who represented parts of Roanoke and Roanoke County in the House of Delegates for 30 years and was known for conservation issues.
West End Community Market
The West End Community Market (WECM) debuted on June 2, 2010, in the parking lot of the West End Center for Youth at the corner of 13th Street and Patterson Avenue. This farmers’ market, planted by The Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP), is open every Wednesday, June through September, from 4 to 7 p.m. The WECM switches to winter hours (3 to 6 p.m.) the first week of October, and the market moves inside the adjacent building the first week of November and continues through the holiday season every Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. The market operates under the 100-mile rule: All items sold at the market must originate within 100 miles of the market location. And although it is not a rule, the majority of the products sold at the market are produced with organic methods.
West End Center for Youth
With the help and support of the Roanoke Valley, the West End Center for Youth has provided safety and stability to over 2,000 youth in one of Roanoke’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. We proudly serve over 125 children and teens per year, helping each to become a productive citizen of the Roanoke Valley by keeping him/her focused on positive efforts and smart decision making. And the West End Center’s programs work: The high school graduation rate is 80 percent compared to the current inner-city rate of 67 percent, and the teen pregnancy prevention program boasts a 99.3% success rate.