128-5432

Norfolk & Western Railway Company Historic District

VLR Listing Date

09/14/1998

NRHP Listing Date

01/27/1999

NRHP Reference Number

99000076

Norfolk & Western Railway Company Historic District in the city of Roanoke contains three buildings unified by their historical connection to the Norfolk & Western Railway. The district lies north of the principal Roanoke business core, situated adjacent to the railroad tracks and the Hotel Roanoke. The 1896 General Office Building-South (GOB) is a sophisticated example of neoclassical architecture, while the 1931 GOB-North represents the Art Deco period and mirrors certain details of the Chrysler Building in New York City. Similarities include its vertical emphasis, geometrically patterned brickwork, and pre-cast stone and cast-aluminum details. The neoclassical 1905 Passenger Station was a brick, symmetrical, structure with a central portico and a terra-cotta hipped roof. In 1949, the internationally respected industrial designer Raymond Loewy redesigned the station into a hybrid Moderne-style structure retaining the footprint and the roof, and renovated the portico. The three buildings within the Norfolk & Western Railway Company Historic District stand as visual, commercial, and architectural landmarks to the history of the railroad in southwestern Virginia.

Last Updated: January 4, 2025

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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

128-6478

Norwich Historic District

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Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 Locomotive

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128-6477

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