Slow rolling train wreck

She's a beauty, no?

Sad news out of Southeast Roanoke.

Jackson Park, the jewel of Southeast, holds many secrets - from the pristine tennis courts, to the sandlot ballfields, and the age-appropriate playgrounds. But the biggest secret is death.

Buena Vista, the historic 1870 mansion and once the only house "on the block" (if you count a block as nearly everything from 13th to 9th, south of Montrose and north of Wilson). The home of the Roanoke Regional Preservation Office, the Community Center, and all around stunning building - is dying.

With all the recent publicity of Mountain View's roofing problems, I thought it only appropriate to bring Buena Vista into the public's eye.


The rot is extreme to the point that the plaster is falling off, exposing brick.The areas around the downspouts are trashed.


Slow rot is claiming chunks of the soffits.


The tin roof has been painted many times, and if you walk around the building, you can find slabs of paint chips which have fallen over the years. And you can see the direct effects of the rainwater on the building.
And these are just the easy photos, the obvious to anyone ones. I have more, many more - showing brick mortar crumbling, shutters in severely bad condition, and more - including some.. ahem; illegal housing going on? Not to mention the toll the local 'youtz' have taken on the picnic area (one has to wonder where they get a straw for spitballs that big).

This issue will be brought up at the next Southeast Action Forum meeting, and hopefully we will do what we can to bring some form of resolution to this grand ol' lady of Southeast.