Editor's Note: Read our feature on Center in the Square celebrating 40 years, as seen in our Sept/Oct 2023 issue, HERE!
Roanoke was born in 1882, and grandly celebrated its centennial in 1982.
But it was not until 1983 — at the end of its hundred and first year — that Roanoke found its cultural heart.
Center in the Square, with its spiraled climb, its rounded, nooked interior, its confident and relaxed gathering of the arts of the Valley, is a rarity of late twentieth century American life — something which only lives up to, but exceeds its advance publicity.
The Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, the Roanoke Valley Historical Society, the Mill Mountain Theatre and the Roanoke Valley Science Museum & Hopkins Planetarium are nestled sweetly into the first four floors of the Center. Each looks out onto the natural light and green of the atrium — the Center's version of the village common. Each organization reaps tangible benefits from its proximity to sister organizations and from the surroundings.
There is a true and exciting synergism to Center in the Square. Each aspect is carefully planned and striking in appearance. The total effect goes well beyond the attributes of the parts. And it is most fitting that the Roanoke Valley Arts Council, the advisor and catalyst to the arts in general, should rest atop the others on level five, as if in pleasant vigil or almost parental watch and encouragement.
Herewith are the impressions of writers Kurt Rheinheimer and Carl Hayslett and the photographs of Richard Boyd. Our hope is to bring you as much of the essence of Center in the Square as paper can carry, and to whet your appetite to taste the rest in person.
Fine Arts Museum
In their new headquarters the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts is better than ever. Some high points to notice:
- Take a look at the reception desk in the main gallery on the first floor. Artisan Kim Warner of Hillsville made the 875-pound desk which is "a work of art in its own right" according to curator Masters. The top is white oak, the base red oak and in back are lockers for storage of visitor's packages.
- On the second floor, adjoining the Decorative Arts gallery is an exact copy of the Priscilla Young Gallery from Cherry Hill. The room, complete with the intricate molding, was painstakingly copied by C.K. Lemon, president of Valley Lumber Co. The gallery holds the Fisher Print Collection which includes prints by the American Regionalist, Thomas Hart Benton.
- Most famous is the Museum's permanent collection which reads like a Who's-Who of local artists. It encompasses works by J.M. Yeatts, Joni Pienkowski, Peyton Klein, P. Buckley Moss, Harold Little, Victor Huggins, Peter Wreden and many more. The collection also includes ceramics by Sue Chapman Mattox and sculpture by Paul Ostaseski. For the first time a large selection of the permanent collection will be on display.
- For a glimpse of innovative and untraditional art check out the Alternative Gallery on the fifth floor. It is open to exhibits of new and different forms of art that may not be successful enough on a commercial level to be handled by other galleries. It promises to be Roanoke's avanle-garde art voice.
- Local artists will be discoursing on their style and technique as part of the Docent Guild's Lecture Series. Scheduled are Victor Huggins (Jan. 19) and J.M. Yeatts (April 19).
- A not to be missed attraction is the Gallery Shop, adjacent to the Tea Room, which handles museum quality ceramics, decorative arts and so forth.
- Lastly, check out the studios on the fifth floor. Even if you can't paint or draw they're worth locating just for the sweeping view of the surrounding mountains.
- Just off the first floor, main gallery, is the Mediterranean Collection which has work from Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Egypt and Rome. Notice the Egyptian amber beads and miniature tomb statues, but don't skip the exquisite pottery either.
- Showcasing over 200 years of American glass, the Decorative Arts Gallery is on the second floor. Primarily glass from the 19th century, there are examples of pressed glass and blown glass, both of which are beautiful in their simplicity.
- With Mandarin orange walls as a backdrop, the Japanese Gallery, next door to the Mediterranean Collection, holds forth a small Shinto temple, a gold silk kimono, ivory carvings and other objects d'art from the Orient.
Science Museum
The Science Museum has expanded and grown. Here are a few highlights:
- Check out the fish tanks first. The salt water tanks serve as home to Moray eels, anemones, lionfish, crabs, living sponges while the freshwater tanks hold turtles, frogs, toads and other aqueous critters.
- Nearby is the reptile display. There's a glistening black snake, an iguana and a slick looking rattlesnake who will rattle on cue. Actually this is a rather friendly corner of the Museum.
- Not to be missed at the Science Museum is the Hopkins planetarium. Designed by Small Moon Enterprises of New York, it is the only planetarium in Southwestern Virginia. Shows and times will vary but a typical week's schedule will include a laser show, astronomy classes, movies and, of course, the main stellar feature which highlights the cosmos in a multi-media presentation. The first feature at the planetarium is called "Crossroads" and relates the natural history of the Valley to its human history.
- The simulated coal mine, a solar water heater and a bicycle that turns a small generator to create electricity are all part of the energy exhibit.
- A simulated television studio allows kids to see themselves as weather casters. Complete with closed circuit television, the exhibit has a standard meteorological station with thermo meters, barometers and so forth.
- A favorite with the kids ought to be the science "Arcade." It has, in addition to computer games and a sense tunnel, a flying saucer disk that creates synthesized sounds when touched by hands.
- "Curiosity Corner" is a reading and reference area that allows visitors to sit down and closely investigate a special interest such as geology, wild flowers or fossils.
- Kids can play doctor in an area that is aptly titled the "Doctor's Corner." The purpose of the area is to show kids what the physician looks for when he gives various tests.
Admission to the Science Museum, including the planetarium is:
- Members - free
- Non-member adults - $2.75
- Senior citizens and children - $2.00 Admission to the exhibits only: Adults $1.50
- Senior citizens and children - $1.00
WRSM-TV, complete with state and national weather maps and all the little weatherman symbols, employs only very young weatherpeople to present its predictions. Both the forecasts and the cameramen tend to be mildly unpredictable.
The Virginia Showcase slide presentation glides almost musically through an overview of Virginia. The small, informal room — seating perhaps 40 people — and the beautiful fading between slides contribute to an intimate glimpse of the Commonwealth. One tidbit: Virginia is closer to the Equator than it is to the North Pole.
The first mural anywhere to depict the full span of organisms — from plants on up, both marine and terrestrial, has its own special nook in the Museum. It was designed and painted by Doris Tischler, an artist/ paleontologist from Texas.
Atrium
a.tri.um. I. the main or central room of an ancient Roman house, open to the sky at the center; 2. either of the two upper chambers of the heart that receive blood from the veins.
The Center in the Square's centerpiece, in several senses of the word, is the white-fenced climb of the atrium. The coiled staircase, looked upon by the variegated green of golden pothos and white poinsettias, is indeed the core of the building, and its symbiotic, sympathetic relationship with each organization around it does suggest the pump of blood to and from the heart.
There are so many individual plants — the pothos and poinsettias as well as the needle point ivy and heartleaf philodendron — that even though they are all new greenery, the total age of the plants on the day of installation was more than 100 years.
"It's our biggest job ever in terms of excitement, visibility and involvement with the community. We wanted it very very much, and it was wonderful to be a part of something so new and so different." — Cindy Quick, Interior Landscaper at The Gazebo, on the firm's installation of the plants in the atrium.
Mill Mountain Theatre
Jim Ayers, producer-director of Mill Mountain Theatre, lists his all-time favorite productions of the organization.
- Summer and Smoke - 1970, 1983
- Camelot - 1972
- Anything Goes - 1973, 1983
- Guys and Dolls - 1976, 1983
- The Birthday Party - 1971
Ayers also has high hopes for new favorites. These are plays not currently scheduled that he would most like to bring to the new theatre.
Musicals
- Carousel
- Brigadoon
- My Fair Lady
- Hello Dolly
Others
- The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
- Tribute
- Crimes of the Heart
- Agnes of God
Holt Woodbury, Director of Marketing and Audience Development for Mill Mountain, sees the organization as one which can dispel the many myths about live theatre.
- Going to the theatre is not a rent-a-tux, take a-limo experience. Stereotyped images of Broadway have instilled that mistaken formal image.
- Ticket prices are not astronomical. Again, Broadway, with its $100 seats, has given a false impression. The top Mill Mountain ticket is $11.50, and prices start at $7.50.
- A theatre is not, by definition, an unreachable place. The new building has a parking garage next door, and is fully wheelchair accessible. Each of the 438 seats has a perfect view of the stage.
- Theatre is not necessarily an actor-dominated medium. Mill Mountain sees its first obligation as being to its audience.
- The 98% of the population which generally does not attend live events such as theatre may well not have a full sense of the dynamism of audience participation in a production that is unique each time it is performed.
Historical Society
The Roanoke Valley Historical Society presents more immediately accessible renderings of the Roanoke Valley than any other aspect of the Center. Eighty-five percent of the artifacts, documents, photographs and texts are from the Roanoke area, and the museum as a whole follows the history of the Valley. A few area highlights:
- The earliest pieces are Indian implements from the 1200s. The latest is a 100% Wool dress from 1983/84.
- A deed to land in what is now Vinton is made out to Christian Vinyard, whose name later formed half of the name of the town. The deed is signed by Thomas Jefferson, "Govemour of the commonwealth of Virginia" and is dated April 10, 1781.
- One exhibit includes a horse collar, a harness and a feeding trough which were found on the land of the old Huff Farm. That same land will soon be filled with many new artifacts, as Valley View Mall is completed, but it is a good bet that no shop will carry a horse collar, a harness, or a feeding trough.
- A huge photograph from before the turn of the century carries as much essence of Roanoke as any item displayed. In the background, alone on a rise, sits the massive, pre-fire Hotel Roanoke. In the foreground, heavy railroad cars with "Norfolk and Western" on their sides move along the tracks.
- A letter from Thomas Jefferson to a Mr. Clay makes favorable comments on the Peaks of Otter, which Jefferson had just visited.
- The city really was called Big Lick, and really did almost take the name Kimball before becoming Roanoke.
Future Events
In the past Roanokers have been forced to drive to Washington or Richmond for a dose of real "haut monde," leisure activity. Center In The Square's calendar of coming events changes that once and for all.
From February 8th through the 12th a group of visiting lecturers from the Smithsonian Institute will be in Roanoke. The subjects to be discussed include "The Biographer's Art" at the Historical Society, "Beyond the Ocean: Beneath a Leaf" at the Science Museum, and "The Age of Jefferson" at the Museum of Fine Arts. The Fine Arts Museum will also be exhibiting a collection from the National Museum of American Art entitled "More Than Land or Sky: Art From Appalachia."
The Museum of Fine Arts is bringing a show by Robert Rauschenberg to town from April 11 to May 9. Rauschenberg is nationally known as one of the founding fathers of the "Pop Movement" that started in the 1960's, and he also studied at the Black Mountain School in North Carolina. The show is borrowed from the Art Museum Association in San Francisco. A collection of Art Nouveau, which is on loan from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will be on display from April 6 to May 2. The show will include works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Lalique and Galle.
This is just the beginning. There are laser shows planned, "Reptile Expos" is in the works and artist lectures are being scheduled for 1984. All of this and more, right here in Big Lick.
Public Hours
Museum of Fine Arts
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday-Wednesday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Thursday-Friday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday: 1-5 p.m.
Science Museum Galleries
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday-Wednesday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Thursday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Sunday: 1-5 p.m.
Science Museum Planetarium
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday-Wednesday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Thursday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 1-5 p.m.
Historical Society Reading Room and Galleries
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Sunday: 1-5 p.m.
Mill Mountain Theatre Box Office
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday: 1-5 p.m.
(The box office will be open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. when evening performances are scheduled.)