The story below is a preview from our January/February 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Visitors will find a surprising relic beneath the well-known city bridge.
Ana Morales / Archival image courtesy of the Virginia Room, Roanoke Public Libraries
When you visit the area underneath Memorial Bridge in Roanoke, you won’t find children playing on swings and slides as is pictured here in a photo that dates back to the 1920’s. But you will find a restored relic from this past scene - a gigantic sandbox.
In 2020, as part of the Arches project, local artist Polly Branch and Roanoke stonemason, John Tanner, restored and transformed the sandbox into a 17-foot diameter sand-filled octagon, covered on the exterior with rocks laid in a mosaic pattern, according to local media reports.
Along with the restored sandbox, students from Patrick Henry High School painted colorful images on six columns under the bridge. The pastel paintings represent some of the classic architecture housing styles in Roanoke.
These restorations were planned to give new life to the park and its former identity as a playground. A section of the Roanoke River Greenway now also runs under the bridge, past the sandbox and the painted columns.
Memorial Bridge’s origins date back to 1926, when the bridge was constructed by W.W. Boxley and Co. It replaced the adjacent Woodrum Bridge.
The new bridge was conceived as a memorial for Roanoke’s military servicemen. A plaque on the bridge contains the names of 25 soldiers from Roanoke who were killed in World War I.
The story above is a preview from our January/February 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!