Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9410270103
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
There it's stood on downtown's edge, the electric orange and blue visage rising above Interstate 581 like a ripe, grinning Great Pumpkin for the better part of a decade. Lately, the color has faded to bright Pepto-Bismol, a hue that still leaves some sick.
The four-story warehouse has been called a joke, an oil-based monstrosity, a crude monument to bad taste, a gaudy architectural horror that has sent tourists into fits of laughter and left area aesthetes trembling in neon rage.
Let's face it: If the building were a duck, its mother would have driven it into exile long ago.
"I think it's won all sorts of awards for the most unpleasing building in Roanoke," said owner Georgia Anne Snyder-Falkinham, a Blacksburg-based commercial and residential developer.
On the other hand, the paint job has won some praise. Enthusiasts have lauded its "creative ugliness," its former owner's sense of humor, and welcomed the respite from comparatively sterile glass and concrete towers erected over the city's skyline in recent years.
A Patterson Avenue antique store owner liked it so much that he imitated it, buying up 42 gallons of unused pigment from American Chemical after the controversial 1987 facelift.
Love it or hate it, you'd better move quick to get one final last look. It may soon fall prey to sandblasters and painters.
City Council on Monday approved a zoning change that's likely to see the building's exterior sandblasted while the interior is renovated as offices and expensive, upscale apartments. An adjacent, three-story brick building may be torn down to provide parking.
The only question about the project came from Councilman Jack Parrott during an Oct. 10 preliminary vote.
"Are you gonna paint it?" he asked.
"Do I have to answer that one?" replied attorney Joseph Anthony, who represented Snyder-Falkinham the hearing. "If you've got any suggestions ..."
Which raises the question: what color should it be? What colors would you paint it?
Timm Jamieson, a local architect and harsh critic of the last paint job, would like the "disaster" sandblasted down to its natural brick.
Jamieson said he wasn't as upset with the colors in 1987 as he was with the quality of work. Back then he said it looked as if his young daughter had painted it.
"It's so prominent in the city that's it's got to be taken seriously," said Jamieson, who designed Center in the Square. "You can't make something like that look like a circus building. It says as much about downtown Roanoke as the Norfolk-Southern Building, as the First Union Tower."
Humbug, says Tony Whitwell, an art professor at Hollins College and chairman of the city's Architectural Review Board. He is also a co-author of "The Architectural Heritage of the Roanoke Valley."
"I think Roanoke architecture needs a little fun. Throw some color at it, some wild color scheme - and don't be afraid of your inhibitions. Just don't mess with the historic district," Whitwell said.
Among other brainstorms, Whitwell suggests painting the building in stars, to complement the lighted star atop Mill Mountain. Perhaps the owners could also install mural-style window shades to entertain motorists.
"How about a gorilla, a nude woman and a guy sticking his tongue out?" Whitwell quipped.
How about the members of city council, life size, looking out the windows down on the interstate?" the professor said.
Of course, the building could also play off the mildly lewd, black and pink former Virginia Hooters billboard across the street that features a nearly naked woman in a suggestive pose, he added.
For now, Snyder-Falkinham is keeping mum on possible color changes. She'll say only that it's unlikely to remain UVa orange-and-blue. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, she suggested that orange and maroon might be a better choice.
"Give Virginia Tech equal time," she said.
B So, what color do you think it should be?
Here are some options.
Give us a call on Infoline (981-0100 in the Roanoke Valley, 382-0200 in the New River Valley), then press 7655 to register your vote. Unlike the election coming up in November, on this one you can vote as often as you want.
1. Keep it the way it is
Advantage: Hey, it's tradition now. Roanokers love tradition. Besides, now that the colors have faded, they're not as garish as they used to be.
Disadvantage: It was bad enough having the University of Virginia's colors so close to Tech-town. But now that they've faded, how long do we have to put up with flamingo pink?
2. The lemon tree look
Advantage: Keeps with the old color pattern, with a fresh new look. Shows a sense of humor without getting too wild.
Disadvantage: Would fit in great on ``The Simpsons.'' But in Roanoke?
3. The comic-book look
Advantage: It's likely to be the only polka-dotted building in Western Virginia, and a great landmark to give directions by.
Disadvantage: Looks like it has chicken pox.
4. The Miami Vice look
Advantage: Absolutely avant-garde. Would definitely put Roanoke on the map.
Disadvantage: May cause accidents by rubber-necking motorists.
5. Basic blank
Advantage: Take out your Crayolas and try your own color scheme. Then mail it to us at Paint Job, c/o Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box. 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. Don't forget to include your name, address and phone number. If we like the ones we get, we may share 'em with all our readers.
Disadvantage: There's no accounting for taste. You think it's bad now? Who knows what you might get this way.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***