The story below is from our May/June 2021 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Mill Mountain Star is the Platinum winner for “You’re Not a Real Roanoker Until You Visit…,” in the Best of Roanoke 2021 Reader Awards.
Mill Mountain Star
Platinum Winner: You’re Not a Real Roanoker Until You Visit…
You know you’re home as soon as the brightly-lit Mill Mountain Star winks at you from the horizon, welcoming you into Roanoke with open arms. It’s no wonder our readers chose it as the Platinum winner for “You’re Not a Real Roanoker Until You Visit…,” seeing as it’s not only a tourist attraction, but a well-known spot for locals, too.
Drive (or bike or walk) up Mill Mountain and head to the overlook, where you’ll get a beautiful view of our city, featuring homes, businesses, roadways and more as the past and present overlap. Easily recognizable sights include the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital, the 21-story Wells Fargo and the Taubman Museum of Art.
The star, which turns 72 in November, was created by the Kinsey Sign Company, run by Roy C. Kinsey and his sons, Warren, Roy, Jr. and Bob. Kinsey Sr. was driving through Tennessee one day when he noticed star-shaped light fixtures on the mountainsides, using the cliffs as support structures. Back home in Roanoke, the Merchants Association’s Christmas Street Decorations Committee had discussed the idea of a star atop Mill Mountain to promote downtown holiday shopping, and the two ideas came together at just the right time.
In August 1949, Kinsey Sign Company received the building contract for the Mill Mountain Star. The contract called for the work to be completed by Thanksgiving Eve for a total of $28,000. Roanoke Iron and Bridgeworks built the steel structure to support the star, while Kinsey Sign created the star itself, using three star panels that hold 2,000 feet of neon tubes. An astronomical time clock would automatically light the star and turn it off when daylight arrived.
The Thanksgiving Eve dedication was invitation-only, with Roanoke Mayor A.R. Minton prepped to throw the illumination switch for the first time in its history. The catch? Everything was ready–except the wiring to that switch! Roy Kinsey’s son, Bob, hid behind the star and activated the power at the exact moment the mayor “threw” the switch, swathing the mountain in white lights.
While the Roanoke Star was originally all white, City Council has only chosen to change the star’s colors on three occasions (red, white and blue to honor those affected by the 9/11 attacks; it remained white for a month in 2007 to honor the Virginia Tech shooting victims; and went dark on the first anniversary of the shooting in 2008). Nowadays, the Roanoke Star is white year-round, with the exception of Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Patriot Day and Veteran’s Day, when it’s illuminated in red, white and blue to showcase the region’s patriotism.
Our beloved star stands at 88.5 feet tall (the Star itself at the top point is 100 feet tall including the base), weighs 10,000 pounds and can be seen from 60 miles in the air. Originally intended for only the holiday season, the Star became a permanent fixture, and is now an enormous draw for everyone, no matter the season. Whether you visit for the first time or your thousandth, the Star continues to awe – and the surrounding area offers plenty of fun, too, with trails for hiking and biking, the Mill Mountain Zoo and Discovery Center and easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The story above is from our May/June 2021 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
