{"nrhp_refnum":"99001375","name":"Roanoke Star","other_names":["Mill Mountain Star","128-0352"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Mill Mountain","address_restricted":false,"city":"Roanoke (Independent City)","county":"Roanoke (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.25098349500007,"lon":-79.93240394099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A man-made, illuminated neon star mounted on a steel tower atop Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia. It was erected and first lit on November 23, 1949, and is owned and operated by the City of Roanoke.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for community planning, since it was conceived and erected as a symbol of Roanoke's postwar prosperity and became the city's emblem. Under Criterion C it is significant for engineering as the largest man-made illuminated star in the world. Its significance is local, and its period of significance is 1949.","narrative":"Perched atop 1,746-foot Mill Mountain, this neon star towers over Roanoke, Virginia. Standing 88.5 feet tall and weighing about 10,000 pounds, it is mounted on a 100-foot steel tower set in a concrete base. The Roy C. Kinsey Sign Company designed and erected the star, and Robert R. Little of the Roanoke Iron and Bridge Works designed the steel structure. The Roanoke Merchants Association planned it as a Christmas decoration and a symbol of postwar prosperity, with more than $27,000 raised from local businesses and the city. It was first lit on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 1949. Residents quickly asked that it stay lit every night, and Roanoke became known as the Star City of the South. It is described as the largest man-made illuminated star in the world, and the city has owned it since 1982. Its listing rests on its role as a civic symbol and on its engineering. A major renovation in 1997 replaced the neon tubing and wiring and repainted the structure.","period_of_significance":"1949","architect_builder":"Roy C. Kinsey Sign Company; Roanoke Iron and Bridge Works","architectural_style":"OTHER","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Stated to be in excellent condition after a 1997 renovation; it is lit every night until midnight.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.826129-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/43/6833/41683343/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/99001375.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001375/b9f6f4db0c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001375/b9f6f4db0c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ben Schumin","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roanoke_star.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ben Schumin</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roanoke_star.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683343","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Star","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7339809"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/roanoke/roanoke-star-99001375/"}