Tag Archives: Roanoke

Wells Avenue in Roanoke, Virginia, March 2026

There is just something about Virginia skies, even during a frigid March day.

That antiquated building you see is the historic Hotel Roanoke, the original iteration of which was erected in 1882 (before being rebuilt).



Roanoke, Virginia, March 2026

Looking south and west from above Shenandoah Avenue.

Roanoke, Virginia, looking south from above Shenandoah Avenue, March 2026

Sealed-off door at 8 North Jefferson Street in Roanoke, Virginia.

Facing Shenandoah Avenue.  2026.

The building was originally constructed at the start of the 20th Century as office space for Norfolk & Western Railroad.

Intersection of Shenandoah Avenue and North Jefferson Street in Roanoke, Virginia, 2026

The building on the corner is 8 North Jefferson Street.

North Jefferson Street in Roanoke, VA, 2026

Looking south.

Nolan vs. The Bird Bullies!

Avian altercation!  A chirpity-chirpity ruckus erupted at my fifth floor windowsill this morning … two sparrows were biting and plucking at a third.  The aggressors had darker head coloring; the victim’s was lighter — I’m guessing this means it was either a female or a juvenile?

I tapped the glass pretty hard, and the bad birds took off.  Then this beleaguered bird-twerp hung out for a minute and actually looked at me as if in acknowledgment.  (Yeah, the picture quality is cruddy, but you can see the little fluff-nugget looking at me.)

I started searching my memory for a bird-themed superhero I could then proclaim myself to be … but both Marvel’s “Falcon” and Michael Keaton’s “Birdman” (2014) seemed fairly lame.  My girlfriend, who is ever more cultured than I am, invoked Walt Whitman instead:

“I sound my barbaric ‘YAWP’ over the roofs of the world!!!”



North Jefferson Street in Roanoke, Virginia, looking south, 1951

The original source for this photo is the National Archives; I found it via the cool people at Virginia Life Stories.

A misty Roanoke morning, November 2025