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

DATE: THURSDAY, May 5, 1994                   TAG: 9405050166
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GIVE HOST A BREAK FOR LAPSE IN LORE

Q: One of the questions Michael Feldman, the public radio celebrity, posed during his show last weekend in Roanoke was, "In the basement of what building in Roanoke does the flow from Crystal Spring become a mere trickle?" No one answered, and he said the building was the Crystal Tower.

I don't know who composed the questions he used, but I think the water beneath the Crystal Tower is the stream that flows underground pretty much the length of Campbell Avenue. Is that right?

V.R., Vinton

A: The spring you mention is called Trout Run. It is more trickle than stream, but several downtown buildings have to accommodate its presence under their foundations.

Trout Run could be seen when a legendary tavern called the Pipe Room operated in the basement of the Crystal Tower, or Ponce de Leon at the time. As the story goes, this restaurant served the best hamburgers and coldest draft beer anywhere.

Customers watched trout swim in a concrete pool fed by Trout Run. Supposedly, a newspaper editor once joined the fish after working in the building across the street and stopping by the Pipe Room's substantial bar.

The Pipe Room is history, its quarters used for storage and the pool covered by a screen for safety reasons.

Michael Feldman did some serious preparation for his Roanoke appearance, subscribing to the newspaper for a month and digging up a history of the city. He also got hold of the book "Give Me a Break. Buy this Book," by former World-News columnist Mike Ives.

How he got the wrong clue about Crystal Spring is a mystery, but no big deal.

The building and Crystal Spring have similar names because developer Richard Hamlett used a corporation he'd already set up, called the Crystal Spring Corp., to buy the Ponce de Leon in 1969. He used the corporate name for the refurbished building.

For the thorough research Feldman put into his Roanoke appearance, let's give him a break.

Double duty for 29

Q: Recently I traveled U.S. 29 through Charlottesville and Danville, and there were several signs designating it as the 29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway. When did that come about, and wasn't there some other designation for the highway?

E.B., Roanoke

A: Last July, the highway was given memorial status for Western Virginia's activated National Guard division, whose numeric name it already shared.

The General Assembly bestowed the infantry memorial status on the highway in honor of the soldiers from this area who helped lead the D-Day charge on the beaches of Normandy.

U.S. 29 retains the name Seminole Trail, which was given years ago by the Transportation Department. The reason for calling it the Seminole Trail is unclear, because that Indian tribe resided in Georgia and points south.

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by CNB