Roanoke, VA City Market Building

The International Food Court
Dec. 14, 2006

Remember the food court before recent renovations?
A look back at how it was.

The market building was built in 1922
It provides an array of cuisine and specialty retail shops from various vendors. The three-story building offers vendors and seating on the main floor, with additional seating available on the mezzanine.

John and Charlie - we met up with one of our formal postal co-workers we both know from our days employed by the USPS in Roanoke before retiring. This is outside doors of Food Court Building.

Our old market. We loved the neon lights and now they are gone! The high tables and benches down the center of the vendor isle are gone. (click on pic to enlarge)

Ceiling view. The red tubing circle on the outside edge was mostly out as seen here. Other sections were not lit either. Having burned out and not been replaced.

Chico's Big Lick Pizza - run by New Yorker, David Estrada (aka Chico)

The original seating consisted of small square tables with wooden benches for seats.

These lighted vendor signs have been removed as well.

A view of the mezzanine. Carpeting was removed though nothing was laid in it's place yet so it's just a cement floor

Another view of the mezzanine

Notice the little stars at the end of each arm leading up to the ceiling lights. A touch of our Star City.

More of the ceiling with some of the red encircling it lit up.

The now very popular high tables and benches favored by the fast food restaurants no longer exist in the market.

The future of the Roanoke City Market building remains uncertain. They are taking proposals for other possible uses for this building.

These pics were taken in Oct & Nov 2008 after the two week closing for renovations
The Downtown skyline has changed as is evident by the peak of the atrium on the Taubman Art Museum in the background. I took this picture out the window of the old art museum when we visited there one last time before it closed.

The "arms" from the neon lighting were left in place and wrought iron lanterns were hung instead. They do look very nice - but nothing compares to the novelty of the neon lights it had!

Tables and benches were replaced with metal tables and chairs which are the same as you see in Valley View Mall. They do look very pretty and it's a nice improvement - though some of us loved the tables/benches, too!

It's just a "plain old food court" now without the neon lights. Nothing special about it anymore. It used to be such a novel, fun place to see and show friends and family. We enjoyed eating here because it was so different. Not anymore!

Seems it would have been better to keep this historic landmark building as it was and restore it to it's former self - tables, benches and especially the colorful neon lights.

The row of high tables and benches are gone. Makes it easier to maneuver around people on lines for different vendors. They also removed the lighted signs in front of each vendor.

The single table upstairs on the narrow "bridge" across the room is always occupied. It seems to be a favorite spot :)

Once the City shuts it down in March, it may never again be a Food Court and will only exist as a Memory and in photos like these.