Editing Roanoke, Virginia (section)

=== 20th century {{Endash}} present ===
Despite these and other setbacks, the city grew through the early 20th century, both in area and population.{{r|White-1982|p=84}}<ref name="Smith-1985">{{cite thesis |last=Smith |first=Leslie F. |date=August 5, 1985 |title=The Political Geography of Annexation--Roanoke, Virginia |url=https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/45738 |journal=Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertations |access-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-date=July 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722003303/https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/45738 |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to the land gained in its 1882 town charter, relatively unopposed annexations occurred five more times by 1926, though Roanoke County would become less agreeable to later attempts.{{r|Smith-1985}} Mill Mountain became a popular entertainment locale for early residents; an observation tower and the Rockledge Inn each opened atop the mountain in 1892.{{r|Barnes-1968|p=250}} Mountain Park, an early amusement center complete with a [[casino]] and [[roller coaster]], opened at the foot of the mountain in 1903,{{r|Barnes-1968|p=205}} and beginning in 1910 visitors could pay a quarter to ride an [[Mill Mountain Incline|incline railway]] to the top of Mill Mountain and back.{{r|Barnes-1968|p=473}}

Another mainstay at the base of the mountain was Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Completed in 1900 as Roanoke Hospital,{{r|Barnes-1968|p=341}} the building has undergone many expansions and today is the flagship of the [[Carilion Clinic]] healthcare group.<ref name=Chittum1>{{cite news |last=Chittum |first=Matt |date=December 9, 2018 |title=Research district transforms Roanoke $50 million gift bolsters health campus that was years in the making |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1A}}</ref> The hospital joined some manufacturing operations that were established along the banks of the Roanoke River in the early 20th century, including the [[American Viscose Corporation]].<ref name=Hammack1>{{cite news |last1=Hammack |first1=Laurence |last2=Hunter |first2=Molly |date=March 26, 2023 |title=Past pollution a present concern for Riverdale plans |work=The Roanoke Times |pages=}}</ref> That company built a [[American Viscose Plant Historic District|plant]] in 1917 that by a decade later employed 5,000 and was reportedly the largest [[rayon]] producing mill in the world.{{r|White-1982|p=96}}

The city leased land for an airfield beginning in 1929.{{r|Barnes-1968|p=570}} Still, its development into the [[Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport|region's primary airport]] did not begin until its designation as a defense project provided federal funding in 1940.{{r|White-1982|p=103}} That same year, N&W donated the fairground, Maher Field, to the city to build a stadium and [[Arsenal|armory]].{{r|White-1982|p=103}} [[Victory Stadium]] {{Endash}} optimistically named upon its completion in 1942<ref name=Colorful>{{Cite news |date=November 27, 1942 |title=Colorful Crowd Attends Dedication of Stadium |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1}}</ref> {{Endash}} played host to the annual Thanksgiving Day [[American football|football]] game between [[Virginia Tech]] and [[Virginia Military Institute]] for years afterward.<ref name="Cox1">{{cite news |last=Cox |first=Ray |date=February 9, 2015 |title=Military Classic was Thanksgiving fare |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1B}}</ref>

By the mid-20th century, Roanoke was increasingly losing population and businesses to a Roanoke County that had become less rural and more [[Suburbanization|suburban]] in nature and consequently more resistant to annexation attempts by the city.{{r|White-1982|p=109}}{{r|Smith-1985}} The city was nevertheless successful in annexing additional land in 1943, 1949, three small acquisitions in 1965, 1967, and 1968, and once more in 1976.{{r|Smith-1985}} The county won immunity from further annexations in 1980, but by then, the city had grown from its original size of {{Convert|0.5|sqmi|km2|1}} to {{Convert|42.9|sqmi|km2|1}}.{{r|Smith-1985}}
[[File:Roanoke Star (wide view).jpg|right|thumb|The [[Roanoke Star]] is the origin of the city's nickname ''Star City of the South.''|205x205px]]In 1949, the local merchants association erected an {{Convert|88.5|ft||adj=mid|-tall}} [[Roanoke Star|illuminated star]] at the top of Mill Mountain in celebration of the upcoming Christmas shopping season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roanoke Star in Virginia's Blue Ridge |url=https://www.visitroanokeva.com/things-to-do/attractions/roanoke-star/ |access-date=June 12, 2023 |website=www.visitroanokeva.com |language=en-us |archive-date=June 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612202756/https://www.visitroanokeva.com/things-to-do/attractions/roanoke-star/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The star was an immediate hit among the city's population, leading to its illumination year-round and earning the city its nickname of "Star City of the South".<ref name=Berrier1>{{cite news |last=Berrier, Jr. |first=Ralph |date=November 23, 2014 |title=Our star turns 65 |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1E}}</ref> Despite the popularity boost for the merchants association, shopping habits in Roanoke were becoming more fractured as suburban [[shopping center]]s drew patrons away from an increasingly vacant downtown.<ref name=Valentine>{{cite news |author=The Roanoke Times Editorial Board |date=February 14, 2017 |title=A valentine for an astronaut |work=The Roanoke Times |page=5B}}</ref> Crossroads Mall, the first enclosed shopping center in Virginia,<ref name=Fabris1>{{cite news |last=Fabris |first=Casey |date=January 2, 2021 |title=Roanoke developer dies at 93 |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1A}}</ref> and Towers Mall, at the time one of the largest shopping centers in the state,<ref name=Firms>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1961 |title=Two Firms Will Share Managing Duties |work=The Roanoke Times |page=58}}</ref> were each completed in 1961.<ref name=Valentine /> In later years, [[Tanglewood Mall]] (1973)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cockerham |first=Amy |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Roanoke County's Tanglewood Mall under new ownership |url=https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/07/roanoke-countys-tanglewood-mall-under-new-ownership/ |access-date=June 14, 2023 |website=WSLS |language=en |archive-date=July 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722003306/https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/04/07/roanoke-countys-tanglewood-mall-under-new-ownership/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Valley View Mall (Roanoke, Virginia)|Valley View Mall]] (1985)<ref name=Codispoti2>{{cite news |last=Codispoti |first=Amanda |date=September 8, 2013 |title=Changes under way at Valley View Mall |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1}}</ref> contributed to Roanoke's status as the region's retail hub.<ref name=Codispoti1>{{cite news |last=Codispoti |first=Amanda |date=June 9, 2013 |title=Making the Star City the right fit |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1}}</ref>

Mid-century change to the city came in the form of a massive "[[urban renewal]]" effort that saw the construction of both the Roanoke Civic Center (now [[Berglund Center]]) as well as an [[Interstate 581|interstate spur]] into [[downtown Roanoke]].<ref name="Bishop" /> Much of the land for these projects was in Northeast Roanoke, a community of primarily African American citizens who had been largely [[Redlining|redlined]] from the rest of the city.<ref name=Chittum2>{{cite news |last=Chittum |first=Matt |date=August 14, 2005 |title=When segregation ruled the streets |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1A}}</ref> City officials gained the land through [[eminent domain]] and proceeded to clear over 1,000 buildings, often through widescale burning.<ref name="Bishop" /> Later projects in the largely black Gainsboro neighborhood removed hundreds of homes and businesses there as well, and late-20th and early-21st century revitalization efforts by the city's government have been met with distrust and varied success.<ref name="Bishop" /><ref name=Adams1>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Mason |date=August 31, 2008 |title=Troubled legacy |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1B}}</ref><ref name=Campagna>{{cite news |last=Campagna |first=Mary E. |date=July 26, 2017 |title=Sale of Dumas is a stab wound to the heart |work=The Roanoke Times |page=9B}}</ref><ref name=Adams2>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Mason |date=August 8, 2008 |title=Residents argue for renewal program |work=The Roanoke Times |page=5B}}</ref>

The second half of the 20th century ushered in a change of identity for Roanoke.<ref name="Lowe-1999">{{cite news |last=Lowe |first=Cody |date=November 7, 1999 |title=Our past 100 years |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1}}</ref> In 1982, the N&W completed a merger with the [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]] to form the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]], which then relocated their headquarters from Roanoke to [[Norfolk, Virginia]].<ref name="Lowe-1999" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Railroad company Norfolk Southern is moving its headquarters from Norfolk to Atlanta |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2018/12/12/railroad-company-norfolk-southern-is-moving-its-headquarters-from-norfolk-to-atlanta/6672445007/ |access-date=June 14, 2023 |website=The Florida Times-Union |language=en-US |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208044037/https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2018/12/12/railroad-company-norfolk-southern-is-moving-its-headquarters-from-norfolk-to-atlanta/6672445007/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The company closed their regional headquarters in Roanoke in 2015, and in 2020 shuttered the locomotive shops.<ref name=Era>{{cite news |date=May 18, 2020 |title=Editorial: End of an era for Roanoke |work=The Roanoke Times |page=5A}}</ref><ref name=Sturgeon1>{{cite news |last=Sturgeon |first=Jeff |date=December 21, 2018 |title=Norfolk Southern to repay grant |work=The Roanoke Times |page=1A}}</ref> The railroad's departure and a string of manufacturing plant closures left a hole in the city's economic base.<ref name="Lowe-1999" />

In 1987, however, the merger of two of the area's largest hospitals created the forerunner of Carilion Clinic, a medical group that is the largest employer in the state west of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].<ref name=Rife1 /> The group's partnerships with Virginia Tech and [[Radford University]] have created two colleges and a [[Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute|research facility]] in what was formerly an industrial [[Brownfield land|brownfield]] area, but has since been termed the city's "innovation corridor".<ref name=Rife2 /><ref name=Chittum3 /> These developments, along with the city's decision to improve its parks and recreation amenities and market itself as an outdoor tourism hotspot, have helped reverse its decades-long loss of young adults,<ref name=Success>{{cite news |date=March 28, 2021 |title=Editorial: The valley's success story |work=The Roanoke Times |page=5B}}</ref><ref name=Decade>{{cite news |date=December 30, 2019 |title=A consequential decade |work=The Roanoke Times |page=50B}}</ref> and in 2020 Roanoke's population passed 100,000 for the first time since 1980.<ref name=Lessons>{{cite news |date=August 17, 2021 |title=Five lessons from the census |work=The Roanoke Times |page=7A}}</ref>