Written by Elizabeth Parsons
Photography by Doug Miller

The 1100 block of Roanoke’s Main Street has long housed an eclectic hodge-podge of businesses: antique shops, their windows overflowing with towers of dusty tables and chairs; a concrete mixing shop; a photography studio; and a mysterious storefront labeled “The Inferno: Private,” its blinds perpetually drawn. Across the street, the Getty Mart convenience store offers blunts, cigarettes, and an impressive selection of cheap alcohol; and behind the residential streets that feed Main, old warehouses and factories loom, reminders of more prosperous times. Main Street rambles over the Wasena Bridge; the eclectic strip is a gateway to old Southwest and downtown Roanoke.

But change is in the air, according to neighborhood resident Sonya Chappelear. Chappelear is opening a new art space right in the heart of Main Street, the Cheshire Gallery. The gallery focuses on the work of women artists, including Lynn Clayton, Mary Bullington, Julie Gale, Dreama Kattenbraker*, and Chappelear herself. (Landscape painter Ross Arquel is the current male exception at the Cheshire). Soon, Chappelear hopes to host various classes, fundraisers, and events at the gallery, making it a center of neighborhood activity. “I want my gallery to give back to the community in some way,” says Chappelear, “to help support artists in the area, especially women artists.”

Chappelear is not the only one who has high hopes for the gallery. Vice president of the Wasena Neighborhood Association James Settle says his group is “thrilled” about the Cheshire’s Main Street arrival. He sees it as one step in a process of neighborhood revitalization; like the successful Grandin Village project, Settle’s vision for the “Main Street Village” is that it function as the commercial and social hub of the neighborhood. “I once talked to a friend’s dad who grew up on Winona Avenue,” says Settle, “and he told me that there was a drugstore, a grocery store, a butcher, a gas station, and a few neighborhood watering holes down there. While the proposed business mix might not be what they had in the 1940s, we still see a mixture of neighborhood-centered businesses.” These include coffee shops, second floor apartments, professional offices, hair salons, and art/specialty shops like the Cheshire.

Developed in the 1920s as growth spread from downtown, Wasena is one of Roanoke’s first and oldest suburbs. The neighborhood is named after its views of the surrounding valley and mountains; in the language of Native Americans who once lived there, “Wasena” translates to “beautiful view.” Wasena Park, on the northern edge of the neighborhood along the Roanoke River, is one of the city’s most popular. The area is home to many long-time homeowners and renters, including several young families. According to Settle, Main Street’s potential was sidetracked in the 1960s due to policy decisions that emphasized getting “as many cars through as possible so they can get [from downtown] home to the suburbs.” These are decisions the association is now working to reverse—“The paradigm is changing to ‘let’s make our neighborhoods livable first,’” says Settle. “I am very pleased [with] what the city has done on the Memorial Bridge and hope to see our bridge updated the same way.” He adds that the city has so far been very amenable to the association’s requests.

Using a $7500 grant from the Roanoke Neighborhood Services Office, the association recently purchased 25 cherry trees to install along Main Street and the bridge. The trees have various functions: “the beautification of the gateway to the neighborhood, the obvious environmental benefits, and my favorite neighborhood cause: traffic calming,” Settle continues.

With its wealth of amenities, proximity to downtown, and strong community of active, long-time residents, the Main Street area seems ripe for sensible, neighborhood-focused growth.

And Chappelear is ready to seize this opportunity; the founding of the Cheshire is just one in a series of bold decisions that eventually brought the artist and entrepreneur to Roanoke. A long-time resident of Houston, Texas, there she ran a graphics and design company. After 13 years in the business, however, Chappelear suffered from burnout. Hoping to start a new chapter in life, she first followed her passion for cooking and landed a job working in the prestigious kitchen of the Houston Country Club—only to realize that despite her talents, she wasn’t suited for the “military-like” atmosphere of a professional kitchen.

So Chappelear began investigating writing programs instead, and her search led to the Hollins University Horizon program. Although she is currently on leave from the program, she is in Roanoke to stay. Soon after arriving one and a half years ago, Chappelear jumped into the art scene and began showing work at the downtown Market Gallery; when she heard about the Main Street space for lease, she decided it was time to launch her own. The building was “rough,” and took several months of labor to update old wiring, repair damaged walls, and strip away layers of ancient paint. With the help of friends such as artist Lynn Clayton, Chappelear successfully transformed the former concrete shop into an inviting and non-pretentious art space. The walls of the cozy two-room gallery are faux-painted warm, crackling yellow; the effect is reminiscent of Tuscany. In a basket in the corner, Chappelear has collected a mound of plush toys to entertain younger visitors. She has water, juice, coffee, and tea available for guests.

Current gallery pieces include Lynn Clayton’s jewelry and wearable art pieces; Mary Bullington’s abstract impressionist paintings and art cards; Dreama Kattenbraker’s whimsical sculptures and oil paintings; and Chappelear’s own photography, jewelry, and abstract acrylic paintings. Artists and neighbors have been eager to contribute to the project, according to Chappelear. As they should be—following the model of small and mid-sized cities like Asheville, Austin, and others, residents are realizing just how important the arts can be in a city and neighborhood’s growth and viability. Says Susan Jennings, Roanoke City Public Art Coordinator and former Executive Director of the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge, “Art has varying benefits to a community… It stimulates the vitality and economy, for example, as it is a major component in making a region a dynamic and diverse tourist destination.”

Chappelear believes in Main Street and Wasena—she lives just down the street from her new gallery and “loves” her unique neighborhood. But will Cheshire become the hub of artistic and community activity the owner intends? Will it breathe new life into an aging neighborhood? Time will tell—but for the sake of Main Street’s reemergence as a bright spot on the city map; and for the sake of the Roanoke art scene as a whole, City is rooting for it.

Stop by the new Cheshire Gallery at 1116 Main Street in the historic Wasena neighborhood of Southwest Roanoke. The Cheshire’s hours are Thursday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm, and Sunday, 12 to 5 pm. For more information on the gallery, visit www.cheshiregallery.com or call 540.400.8037. To learn more about the Wasena neighborhood, visit http://members.cox.net/wasena. Neighbors and the general public are invited to join Sonya Chappelear and gallery artists at the Cheshire’s holiday party, December 15. You can find more information on this event and others by calling or visiting the website.