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Norwich Historic District

Historic districts in VirginiaHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in VirginiaNational Register of Historic Places in Roanoke, VirginiaVernacular architecture in Virginia
Shotgun Style Housing (residential)
Shotgun Style Housing (residential)

The Norwich Historic District is located in the southwest section of Roanoke, Virginia, US. It consists of 55 acres (22 ha) of primarily residential housing and industrial buildings and is situated immediately south of the Roanoke River and west of the city's downtown. The district's historical significance dates to the 1890 establishment of the Roanoke Development Company, a real estate firm that developed the neighborhood and lured industry to the area. One such factory was the Norwich Lock Company, which along with later area businesses built housing for its employees. The majority of these houses, many of which are near-identical shotgun style cottages, still stand in the 21st century. The district is the only intact collection of late-1800s workers' housing in the city and a rare extant example in the American South. It consists of 116 contributing resources including two sites and one structure, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.

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

Norwich Historic District
Roanoke Avenue Southwest, Roanoke West End

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Wikipedia: Norwich Historic DistrictContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 37.270277777778 ° E -79.976111111111 °
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Address

Roanoke Avenue Southwest 2101
24015 Roanoke, West End
Virginia, United States
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Shotgun Style Housing (residential)
Shotgun Style Housing (residential)
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Memorial Bridge (Roanoke, Virginia)
Memorial Bridge (Roanoke, Virginia)

The Memorial Bridge is a two-lane, 785-foot-long (239 m) bridge spanning the Roanoke River along U.S. Route 11 (Memorial Avenue) in Roanoke, Virginia. The bridge serves as a connection between the southwestern areas of the city (including the Grandin Village area) with central Roanoke. Built by contractor W.W. Boxley, the bridge consists of five 120 feet (37 m) spans, with construction commencing in summer 1925. The bridge officially opened to traffic on May 6, 1926, at a final cost of $282,750.Although officially open to traffic for over four months, its official dedication occurred on August 30 with U.S. Representative Clifton Woodrum in attendance. The delay in its dedication was attributed to delays involving the creation of the bronze, dedication plaques. It is officially dedicated to Roanoke's veterans of World War I.The bridge features five plaques, with their contents determined by the Roanoke City Council. Four of them feature quotations from notable historic figures: Patrick Henry, Theodore Roosevelt, Stonewall Jackson and Thomas Jefferson; with the fifth containing the names of all the soldiers from Roanoke who died in World War I. Although dedicated to the veterans who fought in World War I, many did not attend the dedication ceremony due to its not being originally conceived as a monument to former servicemen. The bridge was officially rededicated on November 11, 1991, sixty-five years after its original dedication.Due to its deteriorating state as a result of corrosion from salt used for deicing in the winter, in April 2002 a major restoration of the span commenced. Costing $1.17 million and completed by spring 2003, the restoration included the replacement of corroded elements, removal of the original Roanoke Street Railway Company streetcar tracks from the roadbed and a resurfacing of the pavement. Additionally, the restoration project incorporated traffic calming principles in reducing the number of vehicular travel lanes from four to two. In addition to the removal of a pair of lanes, both a median and two bike lanes were incorporated onto the bridge.