
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1990                   TAG: 9007180377
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JACQUELINE B. JAMES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HENRY STREET CLOSER TO REALITY

Katherine McCain has fond memories of the days when the buildings on Henry Street were anything but closed and neglected structures . . . days when entertainers such as Lena Horne, Count Basie and Cab Calloway performed at the Ebony Club.

McCain's fond memories of the "black mecca of Roanoke" could again be a reality if Henry Street revitalization plans are completed. In fact, the first phase of those plans - the center for musical entertainment - may be open as early as December.

Tuesday night, at a public meeting held by Total Action Against Poverty to discuss the progress of the Henry Street music center, community residents offered ideas.

Eldon Karr, architect for the project, said he believes the center is the seed for the revitalization of Henry Street. The new center will be located at the site of the former Dumas Hotel.

McCain reminisced during the meeting about the old Henry Street, talking about the businesses that thrived in the area. There were two churches, beauty shops, barber shops, a YWCA, taxi companies and much more.

TAP says the center will be the source of musical entertainment and education for people of all ages in the valley.

Judy Mason, director of planning for TAP, said a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will allow the first floor of the center for musical entertainment to be opened in December. The grant also will pay for costs for a kitchen to be built onto the old Dumas Center.

Despite those funds, however, Mason said an additional $800,000 to $900,000 is still needed to complete the project, which has been in the planning stages for four years.

Over the next 18 months, Mason said, proposals will be sent out to corporations throughout the United States requesting the additional funds needed.

The project has been delayed three times, most recently because asbestos had to be removed from the building. The city provided money out of a community development block grant for the work.

by CNB