2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 512

Commending the Roanoke Star.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 27, 2025

Agreed to by the Senate, January 30, 2025

WHEREAS, the Roanoke Star, an iconic, giant neon star atop Mill Mountain, has illuminated the Roanoke skyline and charmed the city's residents and visitors for the past 75 years; and

WHEREAS, reaching more than 88 feet into the air with 2,000 feet of neon tubing and weighing more than 10,000 pounds, the Roanoke Star is the largest, free-standing, man-made, illuminated star in the world and one of the top tourist destinations in the Roanoke Valley; and

WHEREAS, with support from the Roanoke Merchants Association, the Roanoke Star was designed and built by Roy C. Kinsey of Kinsey Sign Company, with help from his sons Roy Jr., Bob, and Warren and the assistance from Roanoke Iron and Bridge Works on the design of the steel structure; and

WHEREAS, Jefferson Electric company was awarded the wiring of the Roanoke Star, whose installation team was led by electrician William Henry Booth of Vinton, who previously served in the civilian Conservation corps to help electrify the South; and

WHEREAS, many local steel workers, excavators, and other laborers worked to erect the 60,000 pound, 100 foot steel structure that rests on a base of 500,000 pounds of concrete to support the Roanoke Star; and

WHEREAS, initially envisioned as a marketing event to mark the holiday shopping season, the Roanoke Star's original light bulbs were illuminated for the first time on November 23, 1949; and

WHEREAS, following the outpouring of support from the Roanoke community, the Roanoke Star remained, growing into a lasting and endearing symbol of the city and the surrounding region; and

WHEREAS, over several generations, the Roanoke Star has become a beloved fixture in the Roanoke community and an emblem of the camaraderie and bonhomie that makes the “Star City of the South” a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Roanoke Star on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Roanoke City Council as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the Roanoke Star's significance to the history and culture of Roanoke.