Historic Blacksburg Driving Tour

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1. Blacksburg Motor Company Building (Stop C)

Brothers Robert and Mason Heavener, from a significant Montgomery County family, built the Blacksburg Motor Company and opened a shop at this 400 South Main Street location in 1924. The company was at the forefront of the transition to automotive transportation in Blacksburg. The building was damaged by fire in 1933, but despite the Great Depression, the company was able to quickly rebuild. The rehabilitated structure took on elements of the art deco style. For the rest of the twentieth century, the building served as a variety of automotive businesses. The city of Blacksburg purchased the building in 2007, undertook an environmentally-conscious historic rehabilitation of the building, and added a historic marker telling the history of the Blacksburg Motor Company.

2. Alexander Black House & Cultural Center

The Alexander Black House & Cultural Center is a museum, gallery, and meeting facility operated by the Blacksburg Museum & Cultural Center. The historic home was constructed in 1897. It was once the residence of Alexander Black—a descendent of William Black, whose land was used to establish the town of Blacksburg, Virginia. In 2002, the Queen Anne Victorian style home was relocated to its current location on Draper Road. It was moved in order to prevent its destruction during development activity on Main Street.

3. Christ Episcopal Church

Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, Christ Episcopal Church was built as part of missionary efforts to establish Episcopal churches west of the Blue Ridge Mountains during the mid-1800s. This particular church was founded in 1858, though the outbreak of the Civil War delayed construction on the edifice until circa 1874. The building has seen a number of additions over the years, including a 1934 bell tower erected under the supervision of noted collegiate and ecclesiastical architect, Ralph Adams Cram. Christ Church is a contributing structure within the Blacksburg Historic District.

4. Old Town Hall

The Old Town Hall in Blacksburg, Virginia is a historic structure dating back to the 1920s. It was constructed on the site of a log house owned by William Black (for whom Blacksburg is named). The structure was originally built to be a general store. Prior to the 1960s, it housed all the government offices for the town.

5. Old Armory/Armory Gallery of Art

Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936 during the Great Depression as a National Guard Armory, Blackburn's armory has served as a place for military training, a high school auditorium, community function venue, and a public gymnasium over the past several decades. For a time Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg jointly owned the building, but it is now owned solely by the university, which renovated it in 2007 as part of an Arts Initiative. Today, the building is home to one of Virginia Tech's art galleries and features exhibits drawn from the work of students, faculty, and area artists.

6. The Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre is a movie house located in Downtown Blacksburg, Virginia. This beloved Art Deco landmark, which opened in 1930, was one of the first theaters in Virginia to screen "talkies". Since 1998, the Lyric has operated as a not-for-profit movie theater and community center. It hosts live performances, presents feature films, and encourages residents to partner with or rent the venue for community events.

7. St. Luke's & Old Fellows Hall

St. Luke's & Odd Fellows Hall, also known as Tadmore Light Lodge, No. 6184, is a historic Grand United Order of Odd Fellows meeting hall in Blacksburg, Virginia. The two-story framed structure served as the social center of the African-American community throughout the early- to mid-20th Century. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Virginia Historic Landmark in 2005. Today, the hall is a museum stewarded by the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation; it can also be rented as meeting and event space.

8. Solitude

Solitude is a historic home, NHRP site, Virginia Landmark, and the oldest structure still standing on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. It was originally constructed as a log cabin in 1801 by James Patton Preston, though over the years it has been used for a wide variety of functions. VT has used the building as a clubhouse, human nutrition and food laboratory, interior design studios, offices, and more. Restored in 2011, Solitude serves as a fine example of mid-to-late 19th Century Greek Revival architecture. The interior is not yet open for tours, but visitors can view the exterior from the campus duck pond.

9. Duck Pond

The Duck Pond is situated at the confluence of three spring-fed streams that originate in Blacksburg and flow into Stroubles Creek. Located within Virginia Tech's campus grounds, the park around the Duck Pond serves to unify the university's campus and provides opportunities for a variety of recreational activities. It features pedestrian paths, picnic tables, seating areas, and a gazebo. Artificially created in the 1930s, the pond's serene waters, roaming waterfowl, and lush tree cover makes the Duck Pond a scenic spot—popular amongst students and visitors alike. Near the park is a woodland amphitheatre; "The Grove," home of Virginia Tech's President; and Solitude, a historic home and NRHP site.

10. Peggy Lee Hahn Horticulture Garden

The 7-acre Peggy Lee Hahn Horticulture Garden, formerly known as the Virginia Tech Horticulture Garden, is the largest public garden in western Virginia. This horticultural garden is open to the public daily for no charge. Established in 1984, it was renamed in honor of Thomas Marshall Hahn Jr. (former president of Virginia Tech) and his wife, Peggy Lee Hahn. All features in the garden are built and planted by students, faculty, staff, and volunteers.

11. Historic Smithfield

This historic colonial home located in Blacksburg, a community that was previously known as the town of Smithfield, was designed in the Colonial style and was built in 1773 for Colonel William Preston (1729-1783). This was one of the first large plantations constructed west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The home is open for tours and is managed by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. This organization is working to study and share the story of the enslaved people who lived and labored at the plantation. For more information about this and other aspects of Smithfield, be sure to explore the resources listed at the bottom of this entry.

12. Coal Mining Heritage Park and Loop Trail

Coal Mining Heritage Park and Loop Trail is located in the middle of the Huckleberry Trail, between the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Virginia. Previously occupied by the Merrimac mining community, the 30-acre track once hosted a mining tipple, hotel, general store, and residential housing for the miners. In 2000, the park opened as part of an applied anthro-planning project developed by the Anthropology Program at Radford University, the Montgomery County Planning Office, the Coal Mining Heritage Association of Montgomery County, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Within the park is a 1.5-mile path called the Coal Mining Loop Trail, opened in 2010.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Historic Blacksburg Driving Tour

Created by Angelica Garcia on February 26th 2017, 3:08:42 pm.

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Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, and home to Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University). In 2011, readers of Southern Living Magazine named Blacksburg the "Best College Town in the South." The town has a long history; it was established on January 13, 1798, following a petition by William Black (whose property would become most of the central downtown area of Blacksburg) to the state legislature. A year earlier, Black had laid out a small grid of streets and lots. These 16 blocks, which served as the total area of the original town, are represented in the town's logo.

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Historic Blacksburg Driving Tour

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