The Hotel Roanoke was built in 1882 by the Norfolk and Western 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 1983, employees of Hotel Roanoke went on strike for 6 months after union negotiations broke down. After the strike was concluded, the hotel refused to recall 36 of the striking workers but was ordered to reinstate them when the NationalLabor Relation Board found that their dismissal violated labor law. In 1989, Norfolk Southern deeded the Hotel Roanoke to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for $65,000. 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 million. In an unprecedented Christmas-time fundraiser, the campaign succeeded, raising $5.006 million. Norfolk Southern then donated an additional $2 million; 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 Collection by Hilton brand.
Famous guests
In addition to hosting many conventions, the Hotel Roanoke has also had a number of famous guests, including:
