On your right, look for a sturdy eight-story beige-brick building with lots of evenly spaced windows and a slightly fancier top edge that reads like an old-school crown.
This is the Boxley Building, raised in 1922 when Roanoke was on a post-World War One building spree and optimism was basically a construction material. If it feels a little “formal,” that’s on purpose: the design follows the classic skyscraper trick of pretending it’s a giant column. Down low, you’ve got a one-story granite “base” that looks ready to take a hit. Then come six stories of beige, enameled brick-the “shaft”-all business, all repetition, like the city’s steady heartbeat. And up top, the eighth floor is dressed up with decorative terra cotta panels and a crisp copper cornice, the architectural equivalent of putting on a nice hat before you head out.
The man behind it was William Wise Boxley-local builder, developer, and, conveniently, Roanoke’s mayor at the time. Because if you’re going to run the city, you might as well improve the skyline while you’re at it. He helped launch Shenandoah Life Insurance and Colonial American Bank, and served on boards at Roanoke College and Virginia Military Institute. The architect, Edward G. Frye, was a familiar name downtown too-his firm handled big civic projects, so this building arrived with serious credentials.
For decades, Boxley’s own materials company worked from inside. Then, after sitting empty for a stretch in the late 2000s, the building got a second act in 2016: lower floors became dorm-style housing for international students, and the upper floors turned into luxury apartments. Same address, very different lifestyles.
When you’re set, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is a 4-minute walk heading north.
