[1] Geographically, downtown Roanoke is defined by the city as the area bound by Interstate 581 on the east, 5th Street to the west, the Norfolk and Western railroad tracks to the north and Day Avenue to the south.

[4] The first structures of today's downtown area, then dubbed Big Lick, were built after the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad line arrived in 1852.

[5] In 1886, citizens approved a $90,000 bond issue for infrastructure, which in turn fostered rapid expansion outward from the present-day intersection of Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street.

Many new structures were constructed in a variety of contemporary styles, including the nine-story Boxley Building in 1921, the 11-story Patrick Henry Hotel in 1925 and the 12-story Colonial National Bank in 1927, which stood as the city's tallest through the 1970s.

[7] In the early 2000s, many former office buildings, stores, and warehouses in the neighborhood were converted into residential living units.