The Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation has selected Mark Clark for his work on a wide variety of historic projects in the region.
Among Clark’s projects, which won him a Lifetime Achievement in Historic Restoration, are the chaplain’s house and windows at Virginia Military Institute, store fronts in Bassett, historic building surveys for three Southwest Virginia towns, preservation planning for Marion, a log building at Elliston and a current project on a building at Monterey in Salem. He had a long career of restoration in Northern Virginia before he came to Roanoke 17 years ago.
The Preservation Foundation, founded in the 1970s as a response to the razing of the lovely old American Theater, has a history of honoring the good work being done in the region in preservation and handing its yellow Bulldozer Award to those it considers harmful.
The Preservation Foundation presented its awards Tuesday at the Culinary Institute—an honoree–in Roanoke.
This year’s bulldozer award goes to Robert A. Gilmer for razing the Huff-Rutrough home at 1905 Riverdale Rd. in Southeast Roanoke. Gilmer and his family lived there until it was rented, then abandoned and razed last April 25.
In addition to those awards, eight others were presented Tuesday at the Culinary Institute in downtown Roanoke, an award-winner itself. Those include:
The Culinary Institute at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, which worked with Virginia Western Community College to expand the Culinary Institute on Henry Street in 2016, was cited as the Heritage Education site.
Michael Grosso and his son, Joseph Grosso, used stone from the old Roanoke post office (at Church Avenue and First Street, SW) to build a big stone house on 13th Street, SW. It was renovated into a guest house for Black Dog Salvage.
Another Heritage Education project was the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ History Project initiated by Roanoke College students. They established an archive of regional material, among other things.
Bob Clement received an award for Historic Neighborhood Advocacy. He served 15 years as Roanoke’s neighborhood coordinator.Â
David Perry, executive director, and Megan Cupka, assistant director, of Blue Ridge Land Conservancy won Environmental Preservation awards.Â
Roanoke minister and historian Nelson Harris was cited for Publications and Speaking, having written 10 books about the Roanoke Valley, among other things.Â
Light Well Lofts was cited for its efforts in Adaptive Reuse, mostly for work on the Renaissance Revival building at 105 Campbell Ave.
Chloe Shelton of the Grandin Theatre Film Laboratory was another Heritage Education winner. She is a home-schooled student who has written and directed two films based on local history.
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).
