The story below is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
The beloved Roanoke Public Library had modest beginnings, continuing to provide a community space after all these years.
The city’s pride.
These headliner words in a Roanoke Times article describe the Roanoke Public Library at its 40th anniversary.
The library, a consistent city icon, has a storied history.
Pictured here is the library in its earliest form at the Terry House in Elmwood Park. The city purchased the park and house in 1911.
The library opened there to the public in 1921. It remained at the Terry House until relocating to a new and larger building at the northwest corner of Elmwood Park in 1950. Its construction and design was approved before World War II, but the war’s shortages and challenging finances pushed back the construction timeline.
In the years following, there were various changes and expansions at the library, including the addition of a second building in 1982 with a bridge connecting the two structures. The new 15,500-square-foot addition housed a research area, including the Virginia Room and reference department, which remain today.
Fast forward to 2014 when the library reopened after an 11-month closure and a $3 million renovation. The work made way for a new children’s mezzanine and yellow slide, new computer terminals and books, self-checkout stations and about 2,500 square feet of additional space for books and patrons.
Today’s library, still operating at its longtime spot on Jefferson Street, serves as a symbol of the city’s past and its evolving present.
The story above is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
