Old Southwest is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

of the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Roanoke,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. Located geographically near the center of the city, Old Southwest was annexed from Roanoke County in 1890 and developed as one of Roanoke's more affluent residential areas. Today the majority of the neighborhood falls within the Southwest Historic District listed on both the

Virginia Landmarks Register The Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is a list of historic properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state's official list of important historic sites, it was created in 1966. The Register serves the same purpose as the National Registe ...

and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Location

Geographically, Old Southwest is defined by the city as the area bound by Jefferson Street (

Virginia State Route 116 State Route 116 (SR 116) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from Virginia State Route 122, SR 122 at Burnt Chimney, Virginia, Burnt Chimney north to Virginia State Route 101, SR 101 in Roanoke, Vir ...

) on the east, 10th Street to the west, the

Norfolk and Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

railroad tracks to the south and both Day and Marshall Avenue to the north. It borders the neighborhoods of the Mountain View on the west, Wasena on the south and west, South Jefferson on the south and east,

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

on the north and east and West End on the north.

History

Annexed from Roanoke County in 1890, the area now defined as Old Southwest was developed primarily between the years 1882 and 1930, to the southwest of

Downtown Roanoke Downtown is the central business district of Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Located geographically at the center of the city, Downtown began its development with the completion of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in 1882. Today the Downtown co ...

. The neighborhood is predominantly residential with commercial generally concentrated along and east of Franklin Road. The neighborhood features a variety of architectural styles including but not limited to Queen Anne,

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

, Neoclassical,

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

American Foursquare The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian architecture, Victorian and other Revival styles popul ...

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

and Shingle, in addition to Roanoke's first public park, Highland Park, opened in 1901. Old Southwest would grow to become one of Roanoke's premier residential areas from its initial establishment through the years following World War Two when it would see the beginnings of a decline. By the 1970s, the neighborhood would begin to see a turnaround and the subsequent establishment of the Southwest Historic District in 1985. The neighborhood boasts a number of carefully preserved historic buildings, including the Beth Israel Synagogue. More recent improvements to the neighborhood include the completion of the Highland Park dog park, Roanoke's first off-leash fenced dog park, which opened in May 2009, and the opening of the Cotton Mill downtown housing project. The neighborhood's non-profit civic organization
Old Southwest, Inc
has received several national awards, including the Grand Prize 2010 National Neighborhood of the Year award and First Place in the Social Revitalization category from Neighborhoods USA. It was previously recognized in 2008 with a second place award in the Social Revitalization category from Neighborhoods USA.

References

{{Roanoke neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia