Williamson Road is an approximately 8.0 mi (12.9 km) long road in Roanoke City and

Roanoke County, Virginia Roanoke County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the unincorporated Cave ...

. The road runs from downtown Roanoke in the south through the

Botetourt County Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mou ...

line in the north. For the majority of its length Williamson Road carries U.S. Route 11. The road was named after the former Williamson farm through which a portion of the road was constructed after Virginia obtained the land through

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

Route

Williamson Road begins in the south at an interchange with Jefferson Street near the boundary of downtown Roanoke with the

Old Southwest Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

neighborhood. For the next couple of blocks, Williamson Road passes through an area consisting largely of parking garages for downtown Roanoke. The road enters the business district of downtown Roanoke at its intersection with Elm Avenue ( State Route 24), which is also the location of the former Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital. For the next several blocks, Williamson Road generally marks the eastern edge of commercial development in downtown Roanoke. Williamson Road also picks up the US 11 and, briefly, the

U.S. Route 221 U.S. Route 221 (US 221) is a Spur route, spur of U.S. Route 21. It travels from Perry, Florida, at U.S. Route 19 in Florida, US 19/U.S. Route 98 in Florida, US 98/U.S. Route 27 Alternate (Florida), US 27 Alternate to Lyn ...

designations in downtown. After crossing

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

railyard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or ...

on the Hunter Viaduct, Williamson Road passes the

Hotel Roanoke The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center is a historic hotel located in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. Originally built in 1882, the hotel has been rebuilt and expanded many times. The central wing dates to 1938. The hotel is cur ...

before an interchange with

Interstate 581 Interstate 581 (I-581) is a spur off I-81 into Roanoke, Virginia, completely overlapping US Route 220 (US 220). It is planned to be connected to I-73. Future I-73 Corridor signs are marked on I-581 on the southbound side just ...

. The

Roanoke Civic Center Berglund Center (originally called the Roanoke Civic Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road, Roanoke, Virginia, Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to ...

is located just beyond I-581 at the intersection of Williamson Road and Orange Avenue, which carries

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

and also picks up US 221 here. The 460-221 concurrency continues through

Bedford, Virginia Bedford is an incorporated town and former Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city located within Bedford County, Virginia, Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the ...

. The approximately three mile segment of Williamson Road between Orange Avenue and Hershberger Road ( State Route 101) developed into Roanoke's first major automobile centered commercial strip during the middle of the 20th century. Retail establishments such as

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, restaurants,

motels A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

, and car dealerships were mainstays of Williamson Road. Cruising Williamson Road became a favored Saturday night activity for Roanoke's teenagers. The road still maintains some remnants of this history though most major retail has left for malls with largely small, locally owned businesses remaining. Magic City Ford, a dealership located across from the Roanoke Civic Center and on the corner of Orange Avenue and Williamson Road is one of only two large dealerships on Williamson Road. The other dealership being Berglund, originally a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

dealership that now sells several other makes, which maintains its original location near Orange Avenue. Other new dealerships have left for larger spaces, though there are still some used car dealers. Williamson Road still has many restaurants with both

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

and sit down establishments. The area has also seen the establishment of businesses catering to Roanoke's growing number of

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and

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History

In the early 1980s, Williamson Road was home to

massage parlor A massage parlor (American English) or massage parlour (Canadian/British English) is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel. Context In 1894 ...

s, which were frequently raided by police as suspected

brothels A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub pa ...

, until neighborhood pressure and police action led to their closure. However, an adult bookstore remains open. In addition to businesses, Williamson Road has churches, schools, and a library. A business association has promoted a number of projects to improve the appearance of sections of the road. The ultimate goal is to develop Williamson Road and the surrounding

neighborhoods A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

into an

urban village In urban planning and design, an urban village is an urban development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianization and public space. Contemporary urban village ide ...

akin to the

Grandin Village The Grandin Road Commercial Historic District, also referred to as Grandin Village, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places located in the Raleigh Court neighborhood of the independent city of Roanoke, Virgini ...

area of southwest Roanoke. Williamson Road maintains largely the same character after its intersection with Hershberger Road. The best known business on this stretch is Happy's

Flea Market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

which opened in the 1970s but is now closed. Happy's featured a large indoor building, formerly a department store, with rented stalls and an outdoor area which had vendors every Saturday and Sunday. Williamson Road crosses into Roanoke County shortly after Happy's. Peters Creek Road ( State Route 117) terminates at its intersection with Williamson Road. Plantation Road ( State Route 115) provides access to

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...

and several industries, most notably ITT. The gateway to

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

connects to Williamson Road near its northern terminus at the Botetourt County line.

References

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External links

Williamson Road Area Business Association
Roanoke, Virginia