Take a look into Roanoke College history with new virtual tour
November 10, 2021
If you take a walk around Roanoke College’s campus, you’ll see breathtaking beauty and a vibrant campus community.
You might walk right past the Tree of 40 Fruit without realizing it carries 40 different types of fruit. You might miss the indentation in the ground on the Front Quad where clay was excavated to make the bricks for our early buildings. You might not see the bronze artwork done by Salvador Dali.
On our new Historical and Cultural Virtual Tour, you’ll see these gems. Our experts will guide you through a close-up examination of many of the artifacts and pieces of art we have to offer.
“It’s not a normal tour. There are some really unusual parts to it,” Roanoke College President Michael C. Maxey said. “...Part of what makes it fun and fascinating is that there are so many different kinds of things that are included.”
Access, an advertising and public relations firm in Roanoke, led the design and development of the virtual site with video assets and content creation in collaboration with a wide array of Roanoke College subject-matter experts. In addition to being a longtime partner of Roanoke College, the Access team contains three Roanoke College alumni who contributed to the project (Rachel Spencer '04, Robyn Lewis '16, and Lucas Weaver '20) and a former Roanoke College staff member (Chris Henson).
It’s not a normal tour. There are some really unusual parts to it. ...Part of what makes it fun and fascinating is that there are so many different kinds of things that are included.
President Michael C. Maxey
The virtual tour is specially designed to tell the storied history of Roanoke College, our traditions, the role we continue to play in the greater community and some of the major artistic and historical artifacts that make up our identity. On this tour, you’ll:
- Learn about the College’s founding, development, growth and triumphs over the years.
- Get an exclusive peek into groundbreaking research that’s going on right now into the College’s connections to legacies of slavery in the Roanoke Valley.
- Examine items in our archives including a Bible made in the 1470s, a book with hidden artwork on its pages, a cane that tells a story, and more.
- Dive into the College’s permanent art collection, including pieces by Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol along with specially commissioned pieces by renowned artists from all over the country.
- Walk around campus with Dr. Mark Miller, the former College Historian who quite literally wrote the book on Roanoke College history.