I thought this Campbell Avenue storefront display was pretty cute. What you see is a gargoyle overlooking one of those quaint ceramic villages. (Sorry for the terrible picture … there were reflections in that glass.)
I don’t know if this diorama is an intentional reference to the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” (1940), but that’s what it makes me think of. It would make it a really clever homemade Halloween decoration.
Pictured after the first photo are the rears of buildings that face Rorer Avenue to the north.
That building you see in the distance in the last photo before the video is the Wells Fargo Tower.
Regarding the black-and-white shots here — Roanoke is actually a very cheery place, and a clean and well kept city. I just like draining the light and color from photos and then boosting their clarity through the roof.
The front of these buildings face Campbell Avenue to the south.
Looking north toward Salem Avenue. October 2021.
Looking toward Salem Avenue SW and Norfolk Avenue SW. October 2021.
So I can return these Bat-Books to the Bat-Library!
I’m not real clear on why the drop box in front of the Roanoke Public Library has a bat symbol on it. If I had to guess … it’s warning people about bats who might roost under its protruding slot at night? That kinda makes sense.
Downtown Roanoke is no stranger to wildlife. Just last night I saw a mid-sized raccoon scuttle up a tree right off Campbell Avenue — to the delight of a bunch of Labor Day weekend revelers returning from a bar. They were filming its hasty ascent with their cellphones. That raccoon got a lot of laughs.
My cellphone camera is truly, categorically awful when it comes to shooting at night. Sorry, folks.
Campbell Avenue at Roanoke City Market.
Salem Avenue.
Jefferson Street.
Elmwood Park.
Sorry about the shaky cam. And my cellphone camera is obviously not high quality.
Fountain beside Hampton Inn & Suite (facing Church Avenue).
Looking north up Market Street.
The Roanoke Times.
A Banksyesque painting in front of Wok-ology on the corner of Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street.
Campbell Avenue. February 2019.
My cell phone camera is kinda terrible at night. Sorry.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 