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

DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995                   TAG: 9504150002
SECTION: HOTEL ROANOKE                    PAGE: 5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ATLANTAN HAS STAKE IN PRESERVATION

Mary Ann Sikes was a late convert to the Hotel Roanoke, an out-of-town convert, and somewhat of an expert in renovation.

That's why she thought a letter of support and a token pledge to the Renew Roanoke campaign was important: to show that there was love for the hotel outside Roanoke, she said.

"I thought it might make a difference."

Sikes, 50, is an Atlanta interior designer who works on many historical preservation projects, but discovered the Hotel Roanoke only when she escorted a niece to visit Roanoke College in 1988.

By then, the hotel was on the decline. Yet Sikes said the hotel still reminded her of the old hotels in Europe. "It just seemed to make people behave differently. It made people more genteel. It was a symbol of a finer day."

Those sorts of symbols and traditions are worth preserving, she said. Sadly, the prevailing philosophy in Atlanta, she added, has been to tear down the old and build anew. As a result, in her mind, Atlanta has lost much of its charm and character.

She is happy Roanoke is holding that line.

by CNB