The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - 68

Mill
Mountain Star
Platinum Winner: You're Not a Real Roanoker Until You Visit...

Y

ou know you're home as soon as the
brightly-lit Mill Mountain Star winks
at you from the horizon, welcoming
you into Roanoke with open arms. It's
no wonder our readers chose it as the
Platinum winner for " You're Not a Real
Roanoker Until You Visit..., " seeing as it's
not only a tourist attraction, but a wellknown spot for locals, too.
Drive (or bike or walk) up Mill Mountain
and head to the overlook, where you'll
get a beautiful view of our city, featuring
homes, businesses, roadways and
more as the past and present overlap.
Easily recognizable sights include the

68 MAY/JUNE 2021

Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center,
St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Carilion
Roanoke Community Hospital, the 21story Wells Fargo and the Taubman
Museum of Art.
The star, which turns 72 in November,
was created by the Kinsey Sign Company,
run by Roy C. Kinsey and his sons,
Warren, Roy, Jr. and Bob. Kinsey Sr. was
driving through Tennessee one day when
he noticed star-shaped light fixtures
on the mountainsides, using the cliffs
as support structures. Back home in
Roanoke, the Merchants Association's
Christmas Street Decorations Committee

had discussed the idea of a star atop
Mill Mountain to promote downtown
holiday shopping, and the two ideas came
together at just the right time.
In August 1949, Kinsey Sign Company
received the building contract for the Mill
Mountain Star. The contract called for the
work to be completed by Thanksgiving
Eve for a total of $28,000. Roanoke Iron
and Bridgeworks built the steel structure
to support the star, while Kinsey Sign
created the star itself, using three star
panels that hold 2,000 feet of neon
tubes. An astronomical time clock would
automatically light the star and turn it off
when daylight arrived.
The Thanksgiving Eve dedication was
invitation-only, with Roanoke Mayor A.R.
Minton prepped to throw the illumination
switch for the first time in its history. The
catch? Everything was ready-except the
wiring to that switch! Roy Kinsey's son,
Bob, hid behind the star and activated
the power at the exact moment the
mayor " threw " the switch, swathing the
mountain in white lights.
While the Roanoke Star was originally
all white, City Council has only chosen
to change the star's colors on three
occasions (red, white and blue to honor
those affected by the 9/11 attacks; it
remained white for a month in 2007 to
honor the Virginia Tech shooting victims;
and went dark on the first anniversary
of the shooting in 2008). Nowadays, the
Roanoke Star is white year-round, with
the exception of Memorial Day, Flag
Day, Independence Day, Patriot Day and
Veteran's Day, when it's illuminated in red,
white and blue to showcase the region's
patriotism.
Our beloved star stands at 88.5 feet
tall, weighs 10,000 pounds and can be
seen from 60 miles in the air. Originally
intended for only the holiday season, the
Star became a permanent fixture, and is
now an enormous draw for everyone, no
matter the season. Whether you visit for
the first time or your thousandth, the Star
continues to awe - and the surrounding
area offers plenty of fun, too, with trails
for hiking and biking, the Mill Mountain
Zoo and Discovery Center and easy
access to the Blue Ridge Parkway. -LL

TheRoanoker.com

AARON SPICER

Best Of 2021  The Winners
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker - May/June 2021

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