The Royal Flush

A Roanoke novelty company once caused an international stir with the House of Windsor.

A Beacon on Mill Mountain

The second observation tower on Mill Mountain stood from 1914 until 1936.

Before the Roanoke Star, there was another lighted structure that captured Roanoke’s attention and imagination.

Reagan in Roanoke

Future President Ronald Reagan meets with  station manager John Harkrader (second from right) and others at the studios of WDBJ TV.

In 1957, General Electric brought the future President to the Roanoke Valley.

Let’s Do a Zoo!

“Willie” was typical of the brightly-colored exhibit spaces used in the original design of the zoo on Mill Mountain.

One man, a civic club and a bold idea changed Mill Mountain forever.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’

The cast for “Thy Kingdom Come” portrays a scene in the summer of 1958.

For three summers in the 1950s, the Roanoke Valley was home to the nation’s only outdoor religious drama.

The Search for Flight 349

A 1950s Piedmont Airlines postcard shows a DC-3 used by the company during that decade.

In 1959, a Piedmont Airlines flight bound for Roanoke disappeared from radar. The doomed plane was found 36 hours later.

The Voice That Awed Roanoke

Mayor A. R. Minton (center) greets Marian Anderson (center, holding coat) along with Rev. William Simmons (right) and others from Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Roanoke was once privileged to host Marian Anderson, who had “a voice that only comes along once in a hundred years.”