Ariel Clark, 38 / Owner/Class A Contractor, Southwest Restoration
Ariel Clark
Ariel Clark is a certified Virginia Class A Building contractor, having relaunched her family business in 2020. She is a 2021 award recipient for Preservation from the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation for her work on a privately-owned historic smokehouse at Monterey plantation. Clark also restored both the historic Clay Street House and the Monterey Slave Quarters for Roanoke College. She is project supervisor on historic preservation projects with HistoriCorps, including work at National Park Service’s Bodie State Historic Park in California and the New Bern Academy Museum for Tryon Palace in North Carolina. She spent five years restoring historic wooden windows of old VMI barracks in Lexington, as well as the decorative masonry restoration along its parapet walls. “Roanoke has a rich and diverse history woven through two centuries and across 49 neighborhoods. Those histories are reflected in many ways, including through its architecture, our parks, the city streets and even in my neighbors. I hope the work I have done and any work I may one day complete helps those neighbors and carries forward our shared histories to the future.”
- Board Member of the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, Fundraising Chair 2017-2019, Current Trustee 2021-2023
- Award recipient for Preservation from the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, 2021, 2019, 2016
- Previously worked as an art director with tba: the becher agency, ND&P, and as a freelancer; awarded multiple ADDY awards over those years including 2013’s Howard Packett Award for Creative Excellence; served on both the AD2 and AAF boards (2007-2012)
- Member of Window Preservation Alliance, Preservation Trades Network, Virginia Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation Virginia, Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, Working America
From the Nomination: “Became owner of Southwest Restoration when her dad, Mark Clark, retired. ... Two years ago, independently, she added to the former restoration by her dad 20 years ago of a Railroad Car owned by the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, VA. Clark just finished restoring a privately-owned historic 1830-1840 tobacco shed that included restoring the foundations with authentic materials of stone and slate, wood keyhole and intersecting joiner in the foundation and framing logs, cedar siding and a metal roof. ... Clark has been an asset in the continuing need to preserve our historic houses and institutions. Her expertise, learned working side-by-side with her father and with multiple independent projects gives hope and inspiration to locations all over the Commonwealth of Virginia that old structures need not be demolished, but, instead, restored as monuments to our historic past, and now continuing on making a difference in other States and our National Parks. …”
What do you love about Roanoke?
Clark: “I moved to Roanoke in 2002 from Northern Virginia, and fell in love with the mountains, the pace, and the friendly energy of its people. Through the years, as more people and businesses have been attracted to those same qualities, I’ve enjoyed watching it grow into a fun and (dare I say) hip Appalachian city. It’s been a wonderful place to grow myself, as well.”
How does your passion impact our community?
Clark: “Roanoke has a rich and diverse history woven through two centuries and across 49 neighborhoods. Those histories are reflected in many ways, including through its architecture, our parks, the city streets, and even in my neighbors. I hope the work I have done and any work I may one day complete helps those neighbors and carries forward our shared histories to the future.”