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Gainsboro Historic District

African-American history of VirginiaBuildings and structures in Roanoke, VirginiaHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in VirginiaNRHP infobox with nocatNational Register of Historic Places in Roanoke, Virginia
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Registered Historic Place stubsUse mdy dates from August 2023
GAINSBORO HISTORIC DISTRICT, ROANOKE CITY
GAINSBORO HISTORIC DISTRICT, ROANOKE CITY

Gainsboro Historic District is a national historic district located of Roanoke, Virginia. It encompasses 202 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in the African-American neighborhood of Gainsboro in Northwest Roanoke. They include single- and multiple-family dwellings, three churches; one parish hall, the Gainsboro Library, a theater, a hotel, two medical office buildings, six commercial buildings, one industry and one bridge. The buildings were primarily built between 1890 and 1925. Located in the district are the separately listed Gainsboro Branch of the Roanoke City Public Library and Henry Street Historic District.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gainsboro Historic District (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Gainsboro Historic District
Gilmer Avenue Northwest, Roanoke Rugby

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Wikipedia: Gainsboro Historic DistrictContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 37.276388888889 ° E -79.942222222222 °
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Address

Gilmer Avenue Northwest 101
24016 Roanoke, Rugby
Virginia, United States
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GAINSBORO HISTORIC DISTRICT, ROANOKE CITY
GAINSBORO HISTORIC DISTRICT, ROANOKE CITY
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Gainsboro Branch of the Roanoke City Public Library
Gainsboro Branch of the Roanoke City Public Library

The Gainsboro Branch of the Roanoke City Public Library, also known as the Gainsboro Library, is a historic library building located in the African-American neighborhood of Gainsboro in Northwest Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1941–1942, and is a one-story, seven-bay, L-plan Tudor Revival style brick building. The library provided African-American residents of Roanoke's segregated Gainsboro neighborhood with a library facility where children and adults could pursue self-education with advice and assistance from competent and dedicated librarians. It replaced Roanoke's first African-American library which had been established in 1921 in a rented commercial storefront space. Land for the new building was purchased from St. Andrew's Catholic Church. "...Mrs. Lee asked Father Thomas of St. Andrew's Catholic Church about leasing church land in the Gainsboro area for a library. He didn't have the authority to do that himself, but instead helped Mrs. Virginia Dare Young Lee draft a letter to Pope Pius XII in Rome about the matter. The Pope's response was beyond all expectations. Land was granted '...for ninety-nine years for the use of the Public Library.'"The deep slate roof and large bay windows give the library building a home-like appearance, as does the high ceilings and large rooms.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, and is part of the Gainsboro Historic District. It underwent significant renovations in 2009 and 2020.

St. Andrew's Catholic Church (Roanoke, Virginia)
St. Andrew's Catholic Church (Roanoke, Virginia)

The Basilica of St. Andrew, also known as St. Andrew's Catholic Church, is a historic Roman Catholic church and rectory in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It was built in 1900-1902, and is a buff brick church on a stone foundation in the High Victorian Gothic style. It has a cruciform plan and features two tall Gothic towers which flank the main entrance and are square in plan. On each tower are two small lancet windows, two large pointed-arch stained-glass tracery windows, and sets of double pointed-arch openings at the belfry. Also on the property is a rectory built in 1887. The church replaced an earlier small brick church built in 1883.The building cost $60,000 to construct, with another $40,000 budgeted for interior appointments and trim. "The buff brick edifice with stone trimming, designed by W. P. Genter of Akron, Ohio, would become a Roanoke landmark."It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.The church has had two major renovations since its completion. The first renovations took place after the Second Vatican Council authorized certain liturgical alterations. A freestanding altar was installed so that Mass could be celebrated versus populum, the priest facing the people. The ornate high altar was left in place and intact. Later, the original freestanding altar was replaced with a more ornate, marble one that remains in use to this day. At the same time the interior was radically modified to remove two side altars, a long altar rail, and a select portion of iconography. The lighting of the church was also renovated to allow a brighter hue. From 2010 to 2014, St. Andrew's saw its most expensive long-term renovation. The large pipe organ, being an object of much effort to maintain, was replaced with an electric organ. The pipes, however, were retained for decoration. In 2014, the steeples, originals from the construction of the church, were removed and renovated. On September 6, 2023, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments granted the title of minor basilica to the parish.