ROANOKE, Va. – The area under one of Roanoke’s Memorial Bridge is now a space for children to use their imagination.
Artists from Patrick Henry High School spent the summer painting the bridge’s columns along the Roanoke River Greenway. The formerly bare concrete now features pastel-colored murals of Roanoke architecture.
Additionally, volunteers unearthed and restored a stone-walled sandbox that had been derelict for decades.
“I’ve had many people stop by, especially older people saying they used to play here when they were little," said Patrick Henry art teacher Dan Kuehl, who led the artistic direction of the project. "There was a playground and a baseball field over there...just to hear the history, they’re very happy to see it.”
The Memorial Bridge artwork, officially entitled the Arches project, was sponsored by the Roanoke Arts Commission.