The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center is a luxury hotel located in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. Originally built in 1882, the hotel has been renovated many times. It is currently owned by Virginia Tech and operated under the Curio - A Collection by Hilton brand. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
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History
The Hotel Roanoke was built in 1882 by the Norfolk and Western Railway (now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway), which had recently constructed its administrative offices in the city, bringing in over a thousand railroad workers. It officially opened on Christmas Day, 1882. In July, 1898, a fire started in the kitchen which shut down the hotel for several months. The hotel was reopened in January, 1899, restored with a few additions.
The next major renovation took place in 1938, remodeling the hotel to have a more Tudor look. Additional new wings were added in 1947 and 1955.
In 1989, Norfolk Southern deeded the Hotel Roanoke to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) for $65,000 (USD). After the flag lowering ceremony on November 30, the hotel was closed. Sale of the contents began and continued for 17 days.
In 1992, the "Renew Roanoke" campaign was launched to raise enough money to reopen the hotel. Virginia Tech had set a deadline of December 31, 1992 to have enough money. By late fall, the campaign was still short $1,000,000. In an unprecedented Christmas-time fundraiser, the campaign succeeded, raising $5,006,000. Norfolk Southern then donated an additional $2,000,000; 30 times what it received for the hotel. The Hotel Roanoke was completely remodelled and restored and a new conference center was built directly adjacent. A pedestrian bridge was also constructed over Norfolk Southern's railroad tracks to link the hotel and conference center to downtown Roanoke near the Wachovia Tower. The Hotel Roanoke reopened on April 3, 1995, managed by the DoubleTree chain.
Roanoke's landmark former passenger rail station was built across the street from the hotel. In 2004, it was converted in a museum devoted to the photography of O. Winston Link as well as housing the Roanoke Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau.
On February 28, 2016, The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center transferred within Hilton from the DoubleTree to the Curio - A Collection by Hilton brand.
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Famous guests
In addition to hosting many conventions, the Hotel Roanoke has also had a number of famous guests, including:
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Richard Nixon
- Gerald Ford
- Jimmy Carter
- Ronald Reagan
- George H. W. Bush
- Douglas MacArthur
- Mahalia Jackson
- Aerosmith
- Spiro Agnew
- Dick Cheney
- Hilary Duff
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Ric Flair
- Shania Twain
- George Takei
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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