Architecture· 1890· Old Southwest

Old Southwest Historic District

National Register of Historic Places

The best-preserved Victorian residential neighborhood in southwestern Virginia — six blocks of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman houses built between 1890 and 1930 for the railroad managers, doctors, and merchants who ran the boomtown. The neighborhood went on the National Register as a district in 1985. The annual holiday parlor tour each December opens private interiors — original tile, leaded glass, carved staircases — that you'd never see otherwise.

Quick facts

·The best-preserved Victorian residential neighborhood in southwestern Virginia.
·Six blocks of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman houses built between 1890 and 1930 for railroad managers and merchants.
·Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.
·The annual holiday parlor tour opens private interiors to the public.
·Walk the district along Day Avenue and Allison Avenue. Self-guided tour maps available at the Roanoke visitor center.