192-522: The Roanoke Star , also known as the Mill Mountain Star , is the world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star. It was constructed at the top of Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia in 1949 by the local merchants association to draw publicity and trade to the city. The star was initially intended to be lit only during Christmas seasons, but was popular enough with the citizens of Roanoke that it
384-401: A plant in 1917 that by a decade later employed 5,000 and was reportedly the largest rayon producing mill in the world. The city leased land for an airfield beginning in 1929. Still, its development into the region's primary airport did not begin until its designation as a defense project provided federal funding in 1940. That same year, N&W donated the fairground, Maher Field, to
576-434: A research facility in what was formerly an industrial brownfield area, but has since been termed the city's "innovation corridor". These developments, along with the city's decision to improve its parks and recreation amenities and market itself as an outdoor tourism hotspot, have helped reverse its decades-long loss of young adults, and in 2020 Roanoke's population passed 100,000 for the first time since 1980. Roanoke
768-483: A First World nation by the 1990s; President Carlos Andrés Pérez of Venezuela likewise launched his Le Gran Venezuela project intended to make Venezuela into a First World nation; and President Yakubu Gowon of Nigeria told his people that henceforward Nigeria's main problem would be "managing abundance". After the oil shock, Nigeria presented itself as the first African nation that would reach First World status and in Lagos
960-756: A Saudi leader since 1953 as he met King Faisal to ask him to end the embargo. Within two week of the embargo being launched, all of the foreign ministers of the nations of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) met in a conference to issue a statement calling for Israel "to end the territorial occupation which has maintained since the conflict of 1967". On December 11, 1973, the Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ōhira flew in to Riyadh to meet King Faisal for "talks on improving bilateral relations". Shortly afterwards,
1152-504: A committee to review the Eisenhower-era quota program. Shultz's committee recommended that the quotas be abolished and replaced with tariffs but Nixon decided to keep the quotas due to vigorous political opposition. Nixon imposed a price ceiling on oil in 1971 as demand for oil was increasing and production was declining, which increased dependence on foreign oil imports as consumption was bolstered by low prices. In 1973, Nixon announced
1344-638: A conference in Vienna when it was announced the price for a barrel of oil was to from $ 5 US dollars per barrel to $ 11.65 US dollars per barrel. Faisal was opposed to the price increase, which was largely the work of the Iranian delegation. Over the long term, the oil embargo changed the nature of policy in the West towards increased exploration, alternative energy research, energy conservation and more restrictive monetary policy to better fight inflation. For further details see
1536-710: A division called the Roanoke Outside Foundation that seeks to recruit businesses and talent based on the strength of the region's natural amenities. The organization also puts on annual events such as the Blue Ridge Marathon and the GO Outside Festival. Other areas of strength in the region's economy include manufacturing and retail, each comprising over ten percent of the valley's industry. Transportation manufacturers such as Yokohama Tire , Volvo , Mack Trucks , Metalsa, and Altec contribute to
1728-489: A female householder with no spouse or partner present. In total, 42.3% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. 24.0% of the population were under the age of 20, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.1 years. According to the unofficial American Community Survey , the median household income in Roanoke
1920-513: A few months. Most scholars agree that the 1967 embargo was ineffective. Although some members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) supported the use of oil as a weapon to influence the political outcome of the Arab–Israeli conflict , Saudi Arabia had traditionally been the strongest supporter of separating oil from politics. The Saudis were wary of the tactic due to
2112-727: A fixed amount of gold. After 1971, OPEC was slow to readjust prices to reflect this depreciation. From 1947 to 1967, the dollar price of oil had risen by less than two percent per year. Until the oil shock, the price had also remained fairly stable versus other currencies and commodities. OPEC ministers had not developed institutional mechanisms to update prices in sync with changing market conditions, so their real incomes lagged. The substantial price increases of 1973–1974 largely returned their prices and corresponding incomes to former levels in terms of commodities such as gold. Arab oil producing countries had attempted to use oil as leverage to influence political events on two prior occasions—the first
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#17328589507162304-659: A global leader, courted by elites in both the First World and the Third World. The oil embargo led a sudden interest in the Palestinian issue. Between 1973 and 1981, Saudi Arabia donated a sum worth $ 1 billion US dollars to the Palestine Liberation Organization , which thus had a budget that exceeded that of many Third World nations. On November 8, 1973, Kissinger became the first Secretary of State to meet with
2496-598: A global recession and increased tension between the United States and several of its European allies, who faulted the US for provoking an embargo by providing what many viewed as unconditional assistance to Israel. OAPEC demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from all territories beyond the 1949 Armistice border . The embargo lasted from October 1973 to March 1974. During a summit in Cairo on November 6, Kissinger asked Sadat what Faisal
2688-415: A law stating that the city must set aside 1% of its capital improvements budget for the purchasing of public art – stands before the theater. Dedicated in 2008 to celebrate the city's 150th anniversary, the 30-foot (9.1 m) stainless steel sculpture, "In My Hands", is one of over 160 public works of art in Roanoke. The Jefferson Center is a former city high school that saw extensive renovation during
2880-598: A local furniture showroom, restaurant, and boutique hotel . Two blocks west on the same street is Texas Tavern , an "iconic" ten-seat greasy spoon restaurant that the same family has operated since its establishment in 1930. Roanoke features several annual festivals and events of various types. A parade for St. Patrick's Day occurs every March, and Pride in the Park is an LGBTQ+ community celebration that draws thousands of visitors every April. Several events occur in May, including
3072-402: A number of occasions. The steel structure has been painted and received minor repairs in 1971 and 1987. The star itself was painted in 1979 and 1998, and electrical repairs were performed in 1997 and 2007. A 2019 inspection determined that the steel structure was in excellent shape for its age; however, in 2021, an internal study done by the city showed significant rust and damage to the anchors of
3264-559: A plan to invade Abu Dhabi , Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Kissinger publicly threatened "countermeasures" in a Nov 21st, 1973 press conference if the embargo was not lifted, and the Saudis responded with threatening further oil cuts and to burn their oil fields if the US military invaded. After the CIA confirmed these threats, Kissinger gave up military intervention and decided that dealing with Israel's troop withdrawals and settled on diplomatic solutions to
3456-467: A popular entertainment locale for early residents; an observation tower and the Rockledge Inn each opened atop the mountain in 1892. Mountain Park, an early amusement center complete with a casino and roller coaster , opened at the foot of the mountain in 1903, and beginning in 1910 visitors could pay a quarter to ride an incline railway to the top of Mill Mountain and back. Another mainstay at
3648-488: A series of stately modernist buildings were erected as appropriate for a nation that saw itself as the leader of all black Africa. Much of the oil wealth in Nigeria was stolen by corrupt politicians. However, at least some of Nigeria's new oil wealth went to rebuild the areas devastated by the civil war of 1967-1970 and to address the complaints that too much of Nigeria's oil wealth went to the federal government in Lagos instead of
3840-457: A sign of the pro-Israeli slant of American foreign policy. Faisal also felt insulted that Nixon had just promised Saqqaf a "honorable" peace the day before he submitted the request to Congress for some $ 2.2 billion worth of arms for Israel, which he saw as an act of duplicity on Nixon's part. Faisal had been opposed to a total embargo and only agreed to the 5% cut on October 17 under pressure from other Arab states. Faisal felt his efforts on behalf
4032-542: A single one of its stated objectives. The ceasefire which the USA and the USSR together imposed two days later upon Israel, Syria and Egypt would have been imposed in any case; Israel ended the October war, thanks to US aid, better equipped militarily than she had ever been before, and Faisal's ambition to shrink Israel back inside her pre-1949 boundaries remains unfulfilled to this day. Nor did
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#17328589507164224-535: A smaller black box theatre called Waldron Stage, which hosts both newer and more experimental plays along with other live events. Roanoke has been home to the Showtimers Community Theatre since 1951, and since 2008, the Virginia Children's Theatre has presented shows aimed at a younger audience, often based on children's literature. Originally formed as Roanoke Children's Theatre and housed in
4416-539: A symbol of Roanoke and the source of its nickname "Star City of the South", and it along with its accompanying scenic overlook are popular tourist destinations in the area. Mill Mountain is a 1,703-foot-tall (519 m) peak that stands detached from surrounding ranges and lies fully within Roanoke's city limits. The mountain has been used for recreation nearly since the city's beginnings; a resort hotel and observation tower each opened at its top in 1892, an early amusement park
4608-467: A symbol of healing and hope" after the Virginia Tech shooting . Red, white and blue colors were restored May 24, 2007 and remained that way until returning to all white on September 12, 2011. The star has remained white since, with the exception of switching to red, white, and blue each Memorial Day , Flag Day , Independence Day , September 11 , and Veterans Day . The star has undergone maintenance on
4800-719: Is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River , in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains . Roanoke is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia– North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C. , along Interstate 81 . At the 2020 census , Roanoke's population
4992-431: Is considered the largest free-standing, man-made, illuminated star in the world, and when lit, can be seen from 60 miles (97 km) away. The star's debut was planned for November in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas shopping season, but construction and weather delays threatened to push the opening back. The star was completed on time, however, and on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 1949, Roanoke mayor A.R. Minton hit
5184-587: Is divided into 49 separate neighborhoods. The city has incorporated into its comprehensive plan the goal of developing these neighborhoods into "villages", each with their own village center , and with the Downtown neighborhood acting as the village center for the city as a whole. The Raleigh Court neighborhood has been cited as a model for such development, consisting of a variety of residential settings located around Grandin Village , an active commercial hub anchored by
5376-463: Is illuminated every night year-round. It stands 88.5 feet (27.0 m) tall and weighs 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg), rests 846 feet (258 m) above the city of Roanoke, and is visible for 60 miles (97 km) from the air. Its 2,000 feet (610 m) of neon tubing are typically lit entirely in white, but have the ability to shine solely in red (historically for tragic events), or in red, white, and blue (for patriotic holidays). The star has become
5568-605: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The former Norfolk and Western Passenger Station hosts two museums: the O. Winston Link Museum , dedicated to the late steam-era railroad photography of O. Winston Link , and the History Museum of Western Virginia. Originally built in 1905, the station underwent a 1949 renovation in the Moderne style by designer Raymond Loewy , and is one of four contributing structures to
5760-483: Is located in USDA hardiness zone 7b, with the suburbs falling in zone 7a. Extremes in temperature have ranged from 105 °F (41 °C) (as recently as August 21, 1983) down to −12 °F (−24 °C) on December 30, 1917. However, neither 100 °F (38 °C) nor 0 °F (−18 °C) are reached in most years; the most recent occurrence of each is July 20, 2020, and February 20, 2015, respectively. More typically,
5952-592: Is the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond and is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains , a range which is part of the greater Appalachian Mountains . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 42.9 square miles (111.1 km ), of which 42.5 square miles (110.1 km ) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km ) (0.8%) is water. It is located in the center of
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6144-475: The "drain America first" policy. Some scholars believe the policy contributed to the decline of domestic US oil production in the early 1970s. The cheapness of oil compared with coal led to the decline of the coal industry. In 1951, 51% of America's energy came from coal, and by 1973, only 19% of America's industry was coal-based. When Richard Nixon became president in 1969, he assigned George Shultz to head
6336-404: The 1218 and 611 steam engines. A 2013 fundraising campaign led to the engine's refurbishment, and it now does tourist excursion runs when not home at the museum. In addition to its rail exhibits, the museum also displays a US Army Jupiter rocket and houses exhibits covering aviation as well as automobiles . The museum is located in the former Norfolk and Western freight depot which
6528-625: The Bar Lev Line in the Sinai Peninsula and Syria launched an offensive in the Golan Heights , both of which had been occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War . The war began during the height of the Watergate scandal and Nixon largely let Kissinger manage foreign policy as he was distracted by the scandal. On 8 October 1973, Faisal told two Egyptian envoys: "You have made us all proud. In
6720-642: The Middle East , including several wars . The Suez Crisis , also known as the Second Arab–Israeli war, was sparked by Israel's southern port of Eilat being blocked by Egypt , which also nationalized the Suez Canal belonging to French and British investors. As a result of the war, the Suez Canal was closed for several months between 1956 and 1957 . The Six-Day War of 1967 included an Israeli invasion of
6912-776: The Mill Mountain Theatre . It has since expanded to five buildings, providing rent-free space to twelve institutions, including the Science Museum of Western Virginia and Hopkins Planetarium , the Harrison Museum of African American Culture, and the Roanoke Pinball Museum. One of the original tenants of Center in the Square, the Art Museum of Western Virginia, moved to a downtown Salem Avenue facility in 2008. The move
7104-572: The Netherlands , the United Kingdom , and the United States . This list was later expanded to include Portugal , Rhodesia , and South Africa . In March 1974, OAPEC lifted the embargo, but the price of oil had risen by nearly 300%: from US$ 3 per barrel ($ 19/ m ) to nearly US$ 12 per barrel ($ 75/m ) globally. Prices in the United States were significantly higher than the global average. After it
7296-460: The Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The two companies also relocated their respective headquarters to the town (the two lines would officially merge in 1890). Big Lick's relatively small size compared to the nearby county seat, Salem , worked in its favor as a draw for the companies. Big Lick's ample farmland and nearby water sources were well suited to the railroads' goal of building much of
7488-531: The Norfolk and Western Railway Company Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Berglund Performing Arts Theatre is a 2,150-seat venue within the larger Berglund Center complex. It regularly hosts concerts, touring Broadway theatre performances, stand-up comedy shows, and the Miss Virginia pageant. The city's first permanent artwork funded by the Percent for Art ordinance –
7680-654: The Poor Mountain Natural Area Preserve in neighboring Roanoke County protects the world's largest collection of piratebush , an exceedingly rare parasitic plant endemic to the Appalachians. Roanoke is the largest city along both the Appalachian Trail , which runs through Roanoke County just north of the city, and the Blue Ridge Parkway , which runs just south of the city. Carvins Cove ,
7872-532: The Roanoke Valley makes it a popular destination for area residents to take visiting friends and family. The star, overlook, and Mill Mountain Zoo are accessible both from Roanoke and from a spur of the Blue Ridge Parkway , and the mountain features a network of trails for hiking , mountain biking , and horseback riding . Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( / ˈ r oʊ . ə ˌ n oʊ k / ROH -ə-nohk )
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8064-526: The Taubman Museum of Art , designed by architect Randall Stout , and the city's farmer's market , the oldest continuously operating open-air market in the state. The Roanoke Valley features 26 miles of greenways with bicycle and pedestrian trails, and the city's location in the Blue Ridge Mountains provides access to numerous outdoor recreation opportunities. The current site of Roanoke lies near
8256-401: The "Energy crisis" series by Facts on File. The effects of the embargo were immediate. OPEC forced oil companies to increase payments drastically. The price of oil quadrupled by 1974 from US$ 3 to nearly US$ 12 per 42 gallon barrel ($ 75 per cubic meter), equivalent in 2018 dollars to a price rise from $ 17 to $ 61 per barrel. Saudi Arabia had 25% of the world's oil, but only 4% of the oil used in
8448-525: The "oil weapon". It came in the form of an embargo and production cutbacks from the Arab states. The weapon was aimed at the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands. These target governments perceived that the intent was to push them towards a more pro-Arab position. Production was eventually cut by 25%. However, the affected countries did not undertake dramatic policy changes. The risk that
8640-508: The "peace of the brave" (i.e. a victorious leader being magnanimous to his defeated opponents) meant there was a possibility that Sadat at least would make peace with Israel provided that the war ended in such a way that Egypt was not perceived to be defeated. Likewise, Kissinger regarded Meir as being rather arrogant and believed that an armistice that ended the war in a manner that was not an unambiguous Israeli victory would make her more humble. As both Syria and Egypt lost much equipment during
8832-421: The $ 850 million worth of arms requested sent a request to Congress for some $ 2.2 billion worth of arms to Israel, which was promptly approved. Nixon, whose administration was being badly battered by the Watergate scandal, felt that a bold foreign policy move might resuscitate his administration. Nixon later boasted in his memoirs that the U.S. Air Force flew more sorties to Israel in October 1973 than it had during
9024-694: The 1973 "oil price shock" and the accompanying 1973–74 stock market crash as the first discrete event since the Great Depression to have a persistent effect on the US economy. The embargo had a negative influence on the US economy by causing immediate demands to address the threats to U.S. energy security. On an international level, the price increases changed competitive positions in many industries, such as automobiles. Macroeconomic problems consisted of both inflationary and deflationary impacts. The embargo left oil companies searching for new ways to increase oil supplies, even in rugged terrain such as
9216-542: The 1990s, turning it into a mixed-use building including office space for non-profits and city departments, event space for meetings and receptions, and the Shaftman Performance Hall, a 925-seat theatre created from the original high school's auditorium. In 2006, the former Dumas Hotel was reopened as the Dumas Center for Artistic and Cultural Development. The center is located on Henry Street, which served as
9408-509: The 2000s, which ended in December 2009 when 17 inches (43 cm) of snow fell on Roanoke in a single storm . Winter snowfall has ranged from trace amounts in 1918–19 and 1919–20 to 62.7 inches (159 cm) in 1959–60; unofficially, the largest single storm dumped approximately three feet (0.9 m) from December 16−18, 1890. Historically, flooding has been the primary weather-related hazard faced by Roanoke. Heavy rains, most frequently from
9600-411: The 20th century, Roanoke's boundaries expanded through multiple annexations from the surrounding Roanoke County , and it became Southwest Virginia's economic and cultural hub. The 1982 decision by N&W to relocate their headquarters out of the city, combined with other manufacturing closures, led Roanoke to pivot to a primarily service economy . In the 21st century, a robust healthcare industry and
9792-485: The 69-room Hotel Roanoke – designed originally in the Queen Anne style before numerous rebuilds and expansions gave it its current Tudor Revival appearance – opened its doors in 1882. With the rapid influx of railroad employees and others in associated industries, Roanoke's population soared and, by the end of 1883, had passed 5,000. That milestone made the town eligible for a city charter , and on January 31, 1884,
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#17328589507169984-700: The Algerian state to end many of its more generous social policies between 1986 and 1988, leading to an unemployment rate of 30% by 1988 along with the knowledge that the FLN regime had stolen millions. In the aftermath of the October riots, President Chadli Bendjedid began a transition to democracy. The first free elections in Algeria in January 1992 were won by the Islamist FIS, which led to a military coup and an outbreak of civil war that
10176-547: The American nuclear industry as a way to achieve "energy independence" from the Middle East. On 7 November 1973, Nixon in an address to Congress called for Project Independence to make the United States self-sufficient in energy by 1980, which called for a massive investment in the nuclear industry. Nixon seems to have assumed that nuclear energy was economical, and was encouraged by the faddish enthusiasm of many officials who more on
10368-427: The American oil imports came from the Middle East. Throughout the 1960s, the price for a barrel of oil remained at $ 1.80, meaning that with the effects of inflation considered the price of oil in real terms got progressively lower and lower throughout the decade with Americans paying less for oil in 1969 than they had in 1959. Even after a price for a barrel of oil rose to $ 2.00 in 1971, adjusted for inflation, people in
10560-459: The Americans simply imported more oil from nations that were not part of the embargo such as Iran, but the 400% increase in the price of oil caused by the embargo did damage the American economy. A number of nations such as Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran and Iraq increased their oil production during the embargo, but just sold their oil at a higher price. The leader who pushed the most for higher oil prices
10752-491: The Arab oil embargo of 1973–74 that for people in the West life suddenly become "slower, darker and chiller" as gasoline was rationed, the lights were turned off in Times Square, the "gas guzzler" automobiles suddenly stopped selling, speed limits became common and restrictions were placed on weekend driving in a bid to conserve fuel. As the American automobile industry specialized in producing heavy "gas guzzler" vehicles, there
10944-798: The Arctic. Finding oil and developing new fields usually required five to 10 years before significant production. The average US retail price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose 43% from 38.5¢ in May 1973 to 55.1¢ in June 1974. State governments asked citizens not to put up Christmas lights. Oregon banned Christmas and commercial lighting altogether. Politicians called for a national gasoline rationing program. Nixon asked gasoline retailers to voluntarily not sell gasoline on Saturday nights or Sundays; 90% of gas station owners complied, which produced long lines of motorists wanting to fill up their cars while they still could. The "oil shock" provided considerable impetus to
11136-614: The Atlantic Ocean near Roanoke Island . The Roanoke Valley itself was originally home to members of the Tutelo tribe, a Siouan -speaking people who were gradually pushed out of the area by advancing European settlers. Many of those settlers were Scotch-Irish who arrived in the region during the 18th and early 19th centuries following the Plantation of Ulster . They were followed by significant numbers of Germans from Pennsylvania via
11328-425: The Berlin Airlift of 1948–49, flying in a gargantuan quantity of arms, though he also admitted that by the time the arms lift had begun, the Israelis had already "turned the tide of battle" in their favor, making the arms lift irrelevant to the outcome of the war. In an interview with the British historian Robert Lacey in 1981, Kissinger later admitted about the arms lift to Israel: "I made a mistake. In retrospect it
11520-432: The Egyptian Sinai Peninsula , which resulted in Egypt closing the Suez Canal for eight years . Following the Yom Kippur War , the canal was cleared in 1974 and opened again in 1975. OAPEC countries cut production of oil and placed an embargo on oil exports to the United States after Richard Nixon requested $ 2.2 billion to support Israel's war effort. Nevertheless, the embargo lasted only until January 1974, though
11712-407: The French foreign minister Michel Jobert arrived to sign an agreement that provided oil for France for the next twenty years. On January 24, 1974, as the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , was coming off the ski slopes of St. Moritz , he was met by the British Chancellor of Exchequer, Anthony Barber , and the Trade Secretary, Peter Walker . In a role-reversal, Barber and Walker paid homage to
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#173285895071611904-419: The Grand Mosque and the surviving "renegades" as the rebels were labelled were executed. Likewise, the perception that that most of the wealth being generated by the now higher price of oil was being stolen by a corrupt Shah along with the unfulfilled promises of the "Great Civilization" project played a major role in causing the Iranian Revolution of 197–1979 that toppled the Shah and led to the establishment of
12096-445: The Grandin Theatre, the city's only surviving historic theater. That commercial district is one of the city's eight neighborhoods (or portions thereof) that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Though located along the Blue Ridge Mountains at elevations exceeding 900 ft (270 m), Roanoke lies in the humid subtropical climate zone ( Köppen Cfa ), with four distinct, but generally mild, seasons. It
12288-417: The Great Wagon Road. By 1838, the area was populated enough that Roanoke County was created out of parts of Botetourt and Montgomery Counties, and the area's first railroad, the Virginia and Tennessee , arrived in 1852. The railroad built its new depot just south of a small town named Gainesborough, but named the depot after Big Lick, another small community located just to the east, which itself
12480-435: The Iranian delegation left Kuwait City as the Shah of Iran was only interested in higher oil prices. The Oil Minister of Iraq, Sa'dun Hammadi demanded the "total nationalization" of all assets of American oil companies in the Middle East, the withdrawal of all Arab funds from the United States and for all Arab states to break diplomatic relations with the United States. The Libyan Oil Minister, Izz al-Din al-Mabruk, called for
12672-618: The Iraqi and Libyan demands for an embargo as Yemani maintained that forcing through an increase in the price of oil was the best way to influence the United States. Hammadi and the rest of the Iraqi delegation left in a huff as Yemani had won over the majority of the delegations to the Saudi viewpoint. The statement issued after midnight at the Sheraton Hotel was handwritten and reflecting the tense talk had several paragraphs crossed out while other paragraphs were written in by different hands. On October 17, Arab oil producers cut production by 5% and instituted an oil embargo against Israel's allies:
12864-428: The Islamic Republic of Iran in February 1979. In Algeria, the "oil shock" led to the establishment of a welfare state where none had existed previously. The lower oil prices of the 1980s along with cutbacks and the belief that the FLN regime was corrupt helped cause the riots of October 1988 against the FLN regime that killed at least 500 people. The riots were largely caused by the fact that the low oil prices had forced
13056-725: The Juniata Locomotive Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania . With Norfolk Southern's departure, Roanoke's economy has since the mid-1990s shifted to become dominated by the healthcare industry. As of 2023 the city's top employer – and the largest private employer west of Richmond – is Carilion Clinic, which developed from the 1987 merger of two of the area's largest hospitals. The non-profit group employs over 13,000 people. It operates nine hospitals in Western Virginia, along with public-private partnerships with Virginia Tech (Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute) and Radford University (Radford University Carilion). The clinic's expansions have spurred considerable development in
13248-436: The Local Colors festival celebrating the cultures of the area's diverse ethnicities, the city's Strawberry Festival, the Down by Downtown music festival which coincides with the Blue Ridge Marathon, and Memorial Day weekend's Festival in the Park, which brings music and vendors to downtown Elmwood Park. 1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it
13440-446: The Middle East could become another superpower confrontation with the USSR was of more concern to Washington than oil. Further, interest groups and government agencies more worried about energy were no match for Kissinger's dominance. In the US production, distribution and price disruptions "have been held responsible for recessions, periods of excessive inflation, reduced productivity, and lower economic growth." Some researchers regard
13632-412: The Middle East. In the early 1960s Libya , Indonesia and Qatar joined OPEC. OPEC was generally regarded as ineffective until political turbulence in Libya and Iraq strengthened their position in 1970. Additionally, increasing Soviet influence provided oil producing countries with alternative means of transporting oil to markets. Under the Tehran Price Agreement of 1971 , signed on February 14,
13824-757: The October War more in terms of the Cold War rather than Middle Eastern politics, both seeing the Soviet arms lifts to Egypt and Syria as a Soviet power play that required an American answer. On October 12, 1973, US president Richard Nixon authorized Operation Nickel Grass , a strategic airlift to deliver weapons and supplies to Israel in order to replace its materiel losses, after the Soviet Union began sending arms to Syria and Egypt. The first American weapons to Israel arrived only on 15 October 1973, and despite Nixon's orders
14016-686: The Red Sea port of Jeddah , there were so many ships queuing up laden with cement for the construction boom in Saudi Arabia that construction contractors hired helicopters to fly the cement in, twenty bags per flight. A number of families engaged in the Saudi construction industry such as the Juffali, Alireza, al-Khasshoggi and the bin Laden families all become very wealthy as a result of the construction boom. The period after
14208-555: The Roanoke Civic Center (now Berglund Center ) as well as an interstate spur into downtown Roanoke . Much of the land for these projects was in Northeast Roanoke, a community of primarily African American citizens who had been largely redlined from the rest of the city. City officials gained the land through eminent domain and proceeded to clear over 1,000 buildings, often through widescale burning. Later projects in
14400-561: The Roanoke Star, an 88.5-foot-tall (27.0 m) illuminated star sitting atop a mountain inside the city's limits. Also on the mountain's summit is Mill Mountain Zoo, a Zoological Association of America -accredited facility housing over 170 animals. The Basilica of St. Andrew rests on a hill overlooking downtown and has been called "one of Virginia’s foremost examples of the High Victorian Gothic". The church dates to 1900, and
14592-521: The Shah, who promised them that his nation would sell the United Kingdom 5 million tons of oil in exchange for some £100 million of British goods to aid his plans to industrialize Iran. Saudi Arabia experienced an upsurge of prosperity and affluence after the oil embargo whose consequences horrified King Faisal. Faisal who was devoted to a harsh puritanical strain of Sunni Islam known in the West as Wahhabism
14784-444: The South. The local press, for its part, stoked the white population's fears and anxiety with near-constant reports of African American "savagery". In September 1893, tensions boiled over when a white woman was allegedly robbed and beaten by an African-American man, Thomas Smith, near the city's market. Smith was held in the city jail; a mob of hundreds surrounded the building and demanded " lynch justice ". A shootout between
14976-532: The Soviet military personnel in Egypt in a signal that he wanted better relations with the United States. Kissinger was taken completely by surprise by Sadat's move, saying: "Why has he done me this favor? Why didn't he demand all sorts of concessions first?" Sadat expected as a reward that the United States would respond by pressuring Israel to return the Sinai to Egypt, but after his anti-Soviet move prompted no response from
15168-651: The Suez War. If the United States had done the same after 1967, we would not have witnessed the this deterioration... Before the Jewish State was established, there existed nothing to harm good relations between Arabs and Jews. There were many Jews in Arab countries. When the Jews were persecuted in Spain, Arabs protected them. When the Romans drove the Jews out, Arabs protected them. At Yalta, it
15360-703: The Taubman Museum at that building's opening, the theatre expanded into the Dumas Center in 2013, and in 2016 moved to its current home in the Jefferson Center. Opera Roanoke is Southwest Virginia's only professional opera company, established in 1976 as the Southwest Virginia Opera Society. It has performed under its current name since 1991, and its official orchestra since 2004 has been the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra . That group
15552-502: The Town of Roanoke on February 3, 1882. The new charter also annexed nearly two and a half square miles of additional land, including the Town of Gainesborough (later shortened to Gainsboro ), which by that point had already become the center of the area's African American community. Kimball chose a wheat field north of the railroad tracks and east of Gainsboro for the N&;W's new hotel, and
15744-448: The United States forced prices to raise, which in turn led prices to rise everywhere all over the world as oil producers that had not joined the embargo such as Iran, Venezuela, Libya and Iraq demanded higher prices in Japan and Europe as an initiative to ship oil to those places instead of the United States, thus settling off a worldwide inflationary spiral. The only European nations subject to
15936-419: The United States in 1973 came from the kingdom. However, Saudi Arabia plays an over-sized role within the Arab world, and as a Beirut oil consultant noted in 1974: "If Saudi Arabia moves from A to B, then every other oil producer must move at least as far, if not to C." In 1973, about 25% of the oil used in the United States came from Arab countries. The mere shortage of oil caused by the Arab oil embargo within
16128-570: The United States were not being appreciated in Washington, which increased his fury at Nixon. Saudi Arabia only consented to the embargo after Nixon's promise of $ 2.2 billion in military aid to Israel. On the afternoon of October 19, 1973, Faisal was in his office when he learned about the United States sending $ 2.2 billion worth of weapons to Israel, and discussed the issue with two of his closest advisers, Abdullah ibn Abdul Rahman and Rashad Pharaon. The king called Yamani at about 8 pm, and told him he
16320-582: The United States, by November 1972 Sadat moved again closer to the Soviet Union, buying a massive amount of Soviet arms for a war he planned to launch against Israel in 1973. For Sadat, cost was no object as the money to buy Soviet arms came from Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Faisal promised Sadat that if it should come to war, Saudi Arabia would embargo oil to the West. In April 1973, the Saudi Oil Minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani visited Washington to meet Kissinger and told him that King Faisal
16512-478: The United States, the Netherlands, Rhodesia , South Africa, and Portugal. On October 17–19, 1973, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Omar Al Saqqaf , visited Washington together with the foreign ministers of Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco to warn that there was a real possibility of an oil embargo being imposed. Saqqaf complained to King Faisal that Nixon seemed more interested in a dispute about "a burglary" (i.e.
16704-462: The Watergate scandal) than about the October War. During a press conference, an American reporter mocked the threat, contemptuously saying the Saudis "could drink their oil", leading Saqqaf to reply in anger "All right, we will!". Joined by the foreign ministers of Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco, Saqqaf met with Nixon in the Oval Office who promised him that the United States would mediate a settlement to
16896-513: The Western nations were paying less for oil in 1971 than they had in 1958. The extremely low price of oil served as the basis for the " long summer " of prosperity and mass affluence that began in 1945. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was founded by five oil producing countries at a Baghdad conference on September 14, 1960. The five founding members of OPEC were Venezuela , Iraq , Saudi Arabia , Iran and Kuwait . OPEC
17088-522: The area as the American frontier pressed westward. In 1882, the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) chose the small town of Big Lick as the site of its corporate headquarters and railroad shops . Within two years, the town had become the City of Roanoke. With a 2,300% population growth rate in the decade from 1880 to 1890, the young city experienced the advantages and disadvantages of its boomtown status. During
17280-458: The area records an average of 6.1 days where the temperature stays at or below freezing and 30.5 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs annually. The monthly mean temperature ranges from 37.9 °F (3.3 °C) in January to 77.8 °F (25.4 °C) in July. Based on the 1991−2020 period, the city averages 14.8 inches (38 cm) of snow per winter. Roanoke experienced a mild snow drought in
17472-471: The area. Ten people drowned in the Roanoke Valley and others were saved by rescue personnel. That incident prompted a major flood reduction effort completed in 2012 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , which has limited the damage caused by subsequent storms. At the 2020 census , there were 100,011 people residing in 44,411 households in the city, 21,199 of which housed families. The population density
17664-459: The attraction's 75th anniversary in 2024. While at its inception the star had its detractors, including those who thought it tacky or believed the money could be spent in more constructive ways, it has since become a fixture for Roanokers and is considered "the city's front porch light". The star's scenic overlook rises 846 feet (258 m) above the Roanoke River below, and its dramatic views of
17856-551: The availability of oil from non-Arab oil producing countries, and in the decades leading up to the crisis, the region's conservative monarchies had grown dependent on Western support to ensure their continued survival as Nasserism gained traction. On the other hand, Algeria, Iraq and Libya had strongly supported the use of oil as a weapon in the conflict. Arab newspapers like the Egyptian Al-Ahram , Lebanese An-Nahar and Iraqi Al-Thawra had historically been supportive of
18048-538: The base of the mountain was Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Completed in 1900 as Roanoke Hospital, the building has undergone many expansions and today is the flagship of the Carilion Clinic healthcare group. The hospital joined some manufacturing operations that were established along the banks of the Roanoke River in the early 20th century, including the American Viscose Corporation . That company built
18240-501: The basis of faith than rationality saw nuclear energy as the technology of the future. By the late 1960s, a lively environmentalist movement had emerged in the United States, and the Project Independence nuclear program was the subject of much debate in both the media and Congress. The ensuing debates revealed that many of the claims made for nuclear power vast underestimated the true costs of nuclear reactors. Equally problematic
18432-612: The building is a contributing structure to the Henry Street Historic District , listed in 2004 to the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1964, the Roanoke Valley has hosted performances by the Mill Mountain Theatre, a regional theatre that has been located in Center in the Square since its original home atop Mill Mountain burned down in 1976. The theatre has both a main stage for mainstream performances and
18624-403: The case for nuclear power in the ensuring debates. By 1989, only 18% of American energy came from nuclear power plants, which was a faction of what Project Independence had envisioned in 1973. The "oil shock" led to anti-Arab feelings becoming common. Cartoons published in American newspapers during the "oil shock" depicted Arabs as disgusting, ugly, obese, corrupt and greedy. In the cartoons,
18816-474: The city to build a stadium and armory . Victory Stadium – optimistically named upon its completion in 1942 – played host to the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between Virginia Tech and Virginia Military Institute for years afterward. By the mid-20th century, Roanoke was increasingly losing population and businesses to a Roanoke County that had become less rural and more suburban in nature and consequently more resistant to annexation attempts by
19008-487: The city voluntarily left the star dark during the 1973 energy crisis . As part of the bicentennial celebration in 1976, the design was changed to an outer single star of red encompassing inner double-stars of white and blue. After the September 11 attacks , the star was kept in a red, white, and blue configuration for nearly six years, until April 22, 2007. On that day, officials changed the color configuration to all-white "as
19200-415: The city's historic market building and farmers' market, the latter of which dates to 1882 and is the oldest continuously operating open-air market in Virginia. Near the terminus of the market is Fire Station No. 1 , which for a time was the oldest continuously operating station in the state. The Georgian Revival structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and currently houses
19392-547: The city, as the African American community – roughly 30 percent of Roanoke's population in 1891 – opposed the measures because the money would only be used to improve white neighborhoods. Black neighborhoods in Roanoke typically received public amenities such as running water and paved roads only after their white counterparts, and Roanoke was among the first to adopt the Jim Crow laws that were becoming increasingly popular in
19584-459: The city. The city was nevertheless successful in annexing additional land in 1943, 1949, three small acquisitions in 1965, 1967, and 1968, and once more in 1976. The county won immunity from further annexations in 1980, but by then, the city had grown from its original size of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km ) to 42.9 square miles (111.1 km ). In 1949, the local merchants association erected an 88.5-foot-tall (27.0 m) illuminated star at
19776-438: The commercial and cultural center of Roanoke's African-American community before a mid-20th century urban renewal project that saw much of the historic Gainsboro neighborhood razed or relocated. The Dumas Hotel hosted such guests as Louis Armstrong , Ethel Waters , Count Basie , Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole when they performed in Roanoke. The renovated Dumas Center features an auditorium with more than 200 seats, and
19968-575: The dedication was actor and Roanoke native John Payne . Payne had a close connection to another Roanoke landmark; as a child growing up in the city, he provided the winning entry in a contest to name the Patrick Henry Hotel . While it was originally planned for the star to be illuminated only during Christmas seasons, it was popular enough with the city's population that the Merchant's Association decided to keep it lit year-round. The association paid
20160-453: The demand being made that the government find some other community to store the rods. Many of the nuclear reactors ordered in 1973 were cancelled due to the horrendous cost overruns while over 100 nuclear plants were shut down as uneconomical over the next 10 years. Unlike nations that tried to use nuclear power as a way for "energy independence" such as France and Sweden, the United States had substantial reserves of its own oil, which weakened
20352-553: The development and increased marketing of its outdoor amenities have helped reverse prior declining population trends . Roanoke is known for the Roanoke Star , an 88.5-foot-tall (27.0 m) illuminated star that sits atop a mountain within the city's limits and is the origin of its nickname, "The Star City of the South". Other points of interest include the Hotel Roanoke , a 330-room Tudor Revival structure built by N&W in 1882,
20544-537: The dollar inconvertible to gold directly, except on the open market, and was soon dubbed the Nixon Shock , leading eventually to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1976. Because oil was priced in dollars, oil producers' real income decreased when the dollar started to float free of the old link to gold. In September 1971, OPEC issued a joint communiqué stating that from then on, they would price oil in terms of
20736-482: The electric bill until 1955 when the city began assuming the cost. Initially, the star was illuminated entirely white. From 1957 until 1976, the star's color changed from white to red for a period of two nights to indicate a traffic fatality in the city. It remained red for three nights following the assassination of John F. Kennedy , and for five after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster . Additionally,
20928-417: The embargo of 1973–1974 had caused about 500,000 Americans to lose their jobs and caused a GNP loss between $ 10 billion–$ 20 billion. This price increase had a dramatic effect on oil exporting nations, for the countries of the Middle East who had long been dominated by the industrial powers were seen to have taken control of a vital commodity. The oil-exporting nations began to accumulate vast wealth. Some of
21120-610: The embargo was a failure because the countries that were targeted by the embargo did not change their policies on the Arab–Israeli conflict. Licklieder believed that any long term changes were caused by the OPEC increase in the posted price of oil, and not the OAPEC embargo. Daniel Yergin , on the other hand, has said that the embargo "remade the international economy". Lacey wrote: "King Faisal's momentous oil embargo of 20 October 1973 did not achieve
21312-521: The embargo. The crisis eased when the embargo was lifted in March 1974 after negotiations at the Washington Oil Summit, but the effects lingered throughout the 1970s. The dollar price of energy increased again the following year, amid the weakening competitive position of the dollar in world markets. The Arab oil embargo ended the long period of prosperity in the West that had begun in 1945, throwing
21504-407: The end of the quota system. Between 1970 and 1973 US imports of crude oil had nearly doubled, reaching 6.2 million barrels per day in 1973. Until 1973, an abundance of oil supply had kept the market price of oil lower than the posted price. In 1970, American oil production peaked and the United States began to import more and more oil as oil imports rose by 52% between 1969 and 1972. By 1972, 83% of
21696-454: The fact that The Protocols had been exposed as a forgery in 1921. Initially, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger suggested to Kissinger that the USA invade Saudi Arabia and another Arab countries and seize their oil fields. Kissinger stated in a private state department meeting that it's “ridiculous that the civilized world is held up by 8 million savages... Can’t we overthrow one of the sheikhs just to show that we can do it?” They formed
21888-548: The fighting, the Soviet Union began to fly new equipment in starting on October 12, and the Soviet flights to Syria and Egypt were recorded by the British radar stations in Cyprus. Though the Soviets were flying in an average of 60 flights per day, exaggerated accounts appeared in Western newspapers speaking of "one hundred flights per day". At this point, both Nixon and Kissinger began to see
22080-521: The fighting. So we agreed to cut back production by just 5 percent per month. A full embargo, we agreed, was something we would implement only if we felt that things were absolutely hopeless". At an OPEC summit at the Sheraton Hotel in Kuwait City on October 16, 1973, it was announced the price of oil would go from $ 3.01 U.S. dollars per barrel to $ 5.12 per barrel. After agreeing to the price increase,
22272-414: The first enclosed shopping center in Virginia, and Towers Mall, at the time one of the largest shopping centers in the state, were each completed in 1961. In later years, Tanglewood Mall (1973) and Valley View Mall (1985) contributed to Roanoke's status as the region's retail hub. Mid-century change to the city came in the form of a massive " urban renewal " effort that saw the construction of both
22464-522: The followers of the Mahdi (a messianic figure said to appear at the dawn of every Muslim century to strike down the enemies of Islam). The leader of the uprising, Juhayman al-Otaybi , read out a list of grievances as he accused the House of Saud of being corrupt and degenerate as he listed by name a number of Saudi princes who were engaged in dubious business dealings and/or who drank alcohol. The Saudi Army recaptured
22656-425: The former brownfields located south of Roanoke's downtown, turning the once-abandoned industrial sites into an area called the "innovation corridor" by the city. Another driving factor in the region's economy has been a push during the 21st century to market the area's outdoor recreation potential. The Roanoke Regional Partnership, an economic development group representing the area's municipalities, has created
22848-447: The greater Roanoke Valley and is bisected by the Roanoke River, which flows west-to-east through the city. Within the city limits is Mill Mountain, a 1,700-foot-tall (520 m) mountain and 500-acre municipal park which stands detached from the surrounding ranges. Roanoke's location in the Blue Ridge Mountains makes it proximate to hundreds of species of plants and wildlife. The area is home to at least 43 species of salamander , and
23040-451: The host of several festivals, many centering around Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke. Center in the Square, an arts and culture organization located near downtown's historic market building and farmers' market , was developed alongside the city's "Design '79" downtown revitalization effort and opened in 1983. The center, located in a converted warehouse, originally housed the city's arts council and museum, history and science museums, and
23232-485: The idea to erect a giant illuminated star on the top of Mill Mountain, overlooking the city's downtown . The group began a fundraising drive with downtown merchants (the anticipated beneficiaries of the plan), with the goal of raising $ 25,000. After contributions from the city and the Merchants Association itself, the final cost of $ 28,000 was raised, and work on the project commenced. The Roy C. Kinsey Sign Company
23424-477: The income was dispensed in the form of aid to other underdeveloped nations whose economies had been caught between higher oil prices and lower prices for their own export commodities, amid shrinking Western demand. Much went for arms purchases that exacerbated political tensions, particularly in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia spent over 100 billion dollars in the ensuing decades for helping spread its fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, known as Wahhabism , throughout
23616-567: The intersection of the Great Wagon Road and the Carolina Road , two branches of a network of early colonial roads that developed from Native American trails in the Appalachian region. While the name Roanoke is said to have originated from a Native American word for shell beads used as currency , that word was first used 300 miles (480 km) away, where the Roanoke River empties into
23808-403: The king end the oil embargo after Sadat, whom he trusted, reported to him that the United States was being more "evenhanded" and after Kissinger had promised to sell Saudi Arabia weapons that it had previously denied under the grounds that they might be used against Israel. More importantly, Saudi Arabia had billions of dollars invested in Western banks, and the massive bout of inflation set off by
24000-717: The largely black Gainsboro neighborhood removed hundreds of homes and businesses there as well, and late-20th and early-21st century revitalization efforts by the city's government have been met with distrust and varied success. The second half of the 20th century ushered in a change of identity for Roanoke. In 1982, the N&W completed a merger with the Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway , which then relocated their headquarters from Roanoke to Norfolk, Virginia . The company closed their regional headquarters in Roanoke in 2015, and in 2020 shuttered
24192-426: The locomotive shops. The railroad's departure and a string of manufacturing plant closures left a hole in the city's economic base. In 1987, however, the merger of two of the area's largest hospitals created the forerunner of Carilion Clinic, a medical group that is the largest employer in the state west of Richmond . The group's partnerships with Virginia Tech and Radford University have created two colleges and
24384-410: The long hooked Semitic noses that had traditionally been featured in anti-Jewish cartoons were applied to the Arab sheiks as a way to illustrate their supposed greed. American public opinion did not see the use of the "oil weapon" as due to politics, and tended to explain the embargo as only due to the excessive greed of King Faisal and the other Arab leaders, hence the use of the hooked Semitic nose in
24576-544: The mob and an undermanned militia ensued, leaving eight dead and thirty-one more injured. Included among the wounded was the city's mayor, the previously widely admired Henry S. Trout , who had vowed protection of the prisoner. The rioting mob was eventually successful in gaining control of Smith. They proceeded to hang him and mutilate his body, which was eventually burned when the mob was deterred from its initial plan to bury it in Mayor Trout's front yard. The mayor himself
24768-561: The nationalization of all the assets of all Western oil companies in the Middle East. The news about the war on October 16 was grim from the Arab viewpoint with the Syrians steadily being pushed back while Israelis had opened a counter-offensive against the Egyptians and crossed the Great Bitter Lake. The Saudi delegation led by Yemani, supported by the Algerian delegation, fought hard against
24960-622: The number of American planes flying into Tel Aviv were initially limited. After the first week of the war, the Israelis had halted the Syrian offensive in the Golan Heights and were pushing back the Syrians back towards Damascus, but along the Suez canal, there was heavy fighting with the Egyptians holding their own. Yamani stated in a 1981 interview: "The king still wanted to give America a chance to stay out of
25152-446: The odds of making peace along the lines of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 calling for a "land for peace" deal if an armistice was signed with Egypt and Syria gaining some territory in the Sinai and the Golan Heights respectively. Nixon had ordered an arms lift to Israel on 12 October 1973, but Kissinger used the excuse of bureaucratic delays to limit the amount of weapons and ammunition sent to Israel. The Arab concept of
25344-487: The oil embargo was a threat to this fortune as inflation eroded the value of the money, giving Faisal a vested interest in helping to contain the damage he himself inflicted on the economies of the West. Since Israeli forces did not withdraw to the 1949 Armistice Line, the majority of scholars believe that the embargo was a failure. Roy Licklieder, in his 1988 book Political Power and the Arab Oil Weapon , concluded that
25536-573: The oil embargo were the Netherlands (because the Dutch Foreign Minister Max van der Stoel was strongly pro-Israeli) and Portugal (in a support of show for the independence movements in Portugal's African colonies), but the shortage of oil in the United States led to sharp price rises in all of the European nations. The embargo itself did not cause much economic difficulty in the United States as
25728-469: The oil embargo, oil exports from the Middle East to the West were down by 60–70% by November 1973. Japan and the nations of western Europe imported some 75% of their oil from the Near East, and the embargo led to immediate and sharp price raises as Lacey noted that "competing desperately for dwindling supplies, consumers showed themselves willing to pay unparalleled money for their oil". Saudi Arabia had 25% of
25920-520: The oil embargo. On November 7, 1973, Kissinger flew to Riyadh to meet King Faisal and ask him to end the oil embargo in exchange for promising to be "evenhanded" with the Arab-Israeli dispute. As the plane carrying him prepared to land in Riyadh, Kissinger was clearly nervous at the prospect of negotiating with the stern Wahhabi Faisal who had a marked dislike of Jews. Kissinger discovered that King Faisal
26112-478: The oil shock of 1973–1974 is still fondly remembered in Saudi Arabia as the "age of abundance" where nearly everyone had a significant increase in their standard of living. The wealth and corruption generated by the oil shock led to a fundamentalist backlash in Saudi Arabia. On 20 November 1979, Islam's most holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque of Mecca, was seized by a group of fanatics who proclaimed themselves to be
26304-539: The past we could not lift our heads up. Now we can". Faisal promised to give to Egypt a quality of aid worth $ 200 million US dollars to assist with the war effort, and stated he was willing to use the "oil weapon" if necessary to support Egypt. Kissinger promised the Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir the United States would replace its losses in equipment after the war, but sought initially to delay arm shipments to Israel as he believed it would improve
26496-433: The people. In Iran, the Shah who was aware by 1974 that he had developed the cancer that was to ultimately kill him in 1980 pushed very strongly for his "Great Civilization" for rapid modernization not the least because he wanted to see the "Great Civilization" before his death, which explained his grandiose announcements. The new wealth generated by the "oil shock" allowed for Chairman Houari Boumédiène of Algeria to become
26688-405: The posted price of oil was increased and, due to a decline in the value of the US dollar relative to gold, certain anti-inflationary measures were enacted. Because of a severe drain on U.S. gold reserves, leading to higher inflation and lack of confidence in the strength of the dollar, President Nixon issued Executive Order 11615 on August 15, 1971, closing the " gold window ". This action made
26880-561: The power switch for the first time (though in reality the switch was a dummy; Bob Kinsey of the Roy C. Kinsey Sign Company threw the actual switch from behind a circuit box). Former U.S. Congressman Clifton A. Woodrum spoke at the ceremony and compared the attraction to the Star of Bethlehem , quoting the Book of Matthew by saying, "When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." Another attendee at
27072-601: The price of oil by 400% within a matter of days threw the world's economy into a sharp recession with unemployment mounting and inflation raging came as a profound shock. The end of what the French called the Trente Glorieuses ("Glorious Thirty" [years]) led to a mood of widespread pessimism in the West with the Financial Times running a famous headline in late 1973 saying "The Future will be subject to Delay". Kurt Waldheim,
27264-574: The price of oil remained high afterwards. By 1969, American domestic output of oil was peaking and could not keep pace with increasing demand from vehicles. The U.S. was importing 350 million barrels (56 million cubic metres) per year by the late 1950s, mostly from Venezuela and Canada . Because of transportation costs and tariffs, it never purchased much oil from the Middle East. In 1973, US production had declined to 16% of global output. Eisenhower imposed quotas on foreign oil that would stay in place between 1959 and 1973. Critics called it
27456-449: The region's growth. After the N&W's merger with the Southern Railway created the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, Norfolk Southern continued to operate maintenance facilities and a rail yard in Roanoke but moved its headquarters to Norfolk, Virginia, and in 2015 moved out of its downtown Roanoke office building. On May 18, 2020, after 139 years of production, Norfolk Southern shut down its locomotive shops and moved all operations to
27648-551: The region's recovery during Reconstruction . Within a decade of the war's end, there were no fewer than six tobacco factories near the Big Lick Depot. In 1874, the community surrounding the depot applied for and received a town charter, and the Town of Big Lick was formally established. Eight years later, efforts by town boosters succeeded in securing Big Lick as the junction of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad and
27840-400: The remnants of a hurricane , drain from surrounding areas to the narrow Roanoke Valley. The most recent significant flood was in the fall of 2018, when the remains of Hurricane Michael dumped over five inches of rain on the area in the span of only a few hours. The most severe flooding in the city's history occurred on November 4, 1985, when heavy storms from Hurricane Juan stalled over
28032-518: The second summit of Islamic states in Lahore (which, unlike the first summit that Faisal had chaired in 1969, was not boycotted by Iraq and Syria ) where he was acclaimed as a conquering hero who humiliated and humbled the West by wrecking its economy. The prime minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, opened the conference by stating: "The armies of Pakistan are the armies of Islam. We shall enter Jerusalem as brothers-in-arms!" Only on March 18, 1974 did
28224-428: The secretary-general of the United Nations in an address to the General Assembly complained about "the note of helplessness and fatalism creeping into world affairs". The sudden and abrupt end of the "long summer" of prosperity in 1973-1974 played a major role in the pessimistic mood that characterized the culture of the rest of the 1970s. In 1975, a report to Congress from the Federal Energy Administration estimated that
28416-405: The sheet metal base that hold the neon tubing. The lights themselves are difficult to maintain, and the entirety of the steel structure is covered in lead paint, which according to the 2021 report would cost $ 3 million to remove. As of 2023, the city was undecided what renovation (or, potentially, replacement) steps would be taken, but City Manager Bob Cowell has said no action would occur in time for
28608-429: The third-largest municipal park in America at 12,700 acres (51 km ), lies in northeast Roanoke County and southwest Botetourt County . Smith Mountain Lake is several miles southeast of the city, and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are nearby. Outdoor pursuits in the region include hiking, mountain biking , cross-country running, canoeing, kayaking , fly fishing, and disc golf . Roanoke
28800-457: The thousands of people employed in that field regionally. Night-vision device makers Elbit Systems and the fiber optics company Luna Innovations are among the advanced manufacturers in the area. According to Roanoke's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: Serving as a hub for arts and culture in Southwest Virginia, Roanoke is home to several museums and cultural institutions in addition to being
28992-466: The top of Mill Mountain in celebration of the upcoming Christmas shopping season. The star was an immediate hit among the city's population, leading to its illumination year-round and earning the city its nickname of "Star City of the South". Despite the popularity boost for the merchants association, shopping habits in Roanoke were becoming more fractured as suburban shopping centers drew patrons away from an increasingly vacant downtown. Crossroads Mall,
29184-566: The town became the City of Roanoke. With a population that ballooned from under 700 residents in 1880 to over 16,000 in 1890 – and earning itself the nickname "The Magic City" in the process – Roanoke suffered many of the same difficulties that affected other 19th century boomtowns . Its infrastructure was essentially nonexistent, and a lack of sewers combined with the area's marshy terrain contributed to regular outbreaks of diphtheria and cholera . Bond initiatives designed to alleviate these and other issues highlighted racial tensions in
29376-463: The town from scratch, including railroad shops, offices, a hotel, and suitable housing for their many employees. In the early 1880s, Big Lick's residents voted to rename the town "Kimball" after Frederick J. Kimball , an executive for the two railroad companies who played a significant role in their new location. Kimball turned down the honor, saying, "On the Roanoke River in Roanoke County – name it Roanoke." The town obliged, officially becoming
29568-502: The use of oil as a weapon. In 1970, President Nasser of Egypt died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat , a man who believed in the diplomacy of surprise, in engaging in sudden moves to upset the diplomatic equilibrium. Sadat liked to say that his favourite game was backgammon , a game where skill and persistence was rewarded, but was best won by sudden gambles, making an analogy between how he played backgammon and conducted his diplomacy. Under Nasser, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had engaged what
29760-519: The war that would be "peaceful, just and honorable" to both sides. Saqqaf reported to King Faisal that Nixon told him that he ended the Vietnam war on an honorable basis and now intended to end the October war in the same manner. Israel took heavy losses in men and material during the fighting against Egypt and Syria, and on October 18, 1973, Meir requested $ 850 million worth of American arms and equipment to replace its material losses. Nixon decided characteristically to act on an epic scale and instead of
29952-417: The warning that Faisal was considerably tougher, more intelligent and more ruthless than his half-brother Saud whom he had deposed in 1964, and his threats were serious. Kissinger declined to meet the four CEOs. In an assessment done by Kissinger and his staff about the Middle East in the summer of 1973, the repeated statements by Sadat about waging jihad against Israel were dismissed as empty talk while
30144-411: The warnings from King Faisal were likewise regarded as inconsequential. In September 1973, Nixon fired Rogers as Secretary of State and replaced him with Kissinger. Kissinger was later to state he had not been given enough time to know the Middle East as he settled into the State Department's office at Foggy Bottom as Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on October 6, 1973. On October 6, 1973, Egypt attacked
30336-448: The way his subjects had been seduced into a consumerist lifestyle, becoming lost in a sense of "melancholia". Faisal's son, Crown Prince Mohammad told Lacey in 1981: "The profligacy, the greed, he felt he could not stem it. He become so bound up in his work, there was almost nothing private of him left". A sign of the changed values was that despite the total ban on alcohol in Saudi Arabia that drinking along with drug use become common with
30528-533: The withholding of the 638,500 barrels of oil which the Saudi Arabia had been selling to America every day for the first 10 months of 1973 ever come, in itself, to jeopardizing the power or diverting the policies of the United States, since it accounted for less than 4 percent of America's daily 17 million barrel consumption. It was the interaction which Faisal's embargo had with other forces that made it so decisive. Arab politics had an immediate multiplier effect". Because every Arab state except for Iraq and Libya joined
30720-401: The world's economy into the steepest economic contraction since the Great Depression. The "long summer" of prosperity in the post-war years had made possible the "swinging sixties" and the related rise of a rebellious youth culture as it was very easy to be hedonist and/or in rebellion against traditional values in a time of unprecedented affluence and prosperity. Lacey wrote about the impact of
30912-452: The world's oil reserves and the embargo imposed on the United States led to shortages of oil in the United States, which set an inflationary spiral as the new high prices for oil in the American market led to sharp increases of the price of oil in nations not subjected to the embargo. When the Iranian state oil company held an auction on December 16, 1973, bids for some $ 17 US dollars per barrel of oil were made. In late December 1973, OPEC held
31104-439: The world, via religious charities such as the al-Haramain Foundation , which often also distributed funds to violent Sunni extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The 400% increase in the world oil prices led to extravagant promises being made by the leaders of oil-producing nations. The Shah of Iran told his subjects in a speech in December 1973 that he was launching "Great Civilization" project that would make Iran into
31296-405: The younger members of the House of Saud. James Akins, the American ambassador in Riyadh reported; "the sky over Riyadh is black with vultures with new get-richer-quicker plans under their wings". In 1974, property prices in Riyadh doubled on a weekly basis for the entire year as the prosperity led to a real estate speculation bubble that was often compared to the Klondike gold rush of 1898–1899. At
31488-412: Was $ 45,664, and the median family income was $ 55,345. The per capita income was $ 29,585. About 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.2% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over. Roanoke's economy was long closely linked to its status as the headquarters for the Norfolk and Western Railway . As time progressed, manufacturing and mining businesses contributed to
31680-459: Was 100,011, making it the most-populous city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond . It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area , which had a population of 315,251 in 2020. The Roanoke Valley was originally home to members of the Siouan -speaking Tutelo tribe. However, in the 17th and early-to-mid 18th centuries, Scotch-Irish and later German American farmers gradually drove those Native Americans out of
31872-469: Was 2,352.0 inhabitants per square mile (908.1/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 55.94% White , 27.07% African American , 0.21% Native American , 2.46% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.52% from other races , and 5.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.48% of the population. Among the city's households, 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 30.4% were married couples living together, while 37.4% had
32064-427: Was Stalin who said there had to be a Jewish state...Israel is advancing Communist objectives...Among those of the Jewish faith there are those who embrace Zionism...Most of the immigration to Israel is from the Soviet Union...They want to establish a Communist base right in the Middle East...And now, all over the world, the Jews are putting themselves into positions of authority". On February 22, 1974, King Faisal chaired
32256-436: Was a worthy companion to Lê Đức Thọ in terms of stubbornness as the king accused the United States of being biased in favor of Israel, going on in a long rant about the balefulness of "Jewish Communists" in Russia and Israel, and despite all of Kissinger's efforts to charm him, refused to end the oil embargo. Faisal told Kissinger: "The United States used to stand up to aggression-you did that in World War Two and in 1956 during
32448-415: Was an immediate shift on the part of consumers to the lighter and more fuel efficient vehicles produced by the Japanese and West German automobile industries, sending the American automobile industry into decline. The years from 1945 to 1973 had been a period of unprecedented prosperity in the West, a "long summer" that many believed would never end, and its abrupt end in 1973 as the oil embargo which increased
32640-439: Was appalled by the way that his subjects became materialistic, devoted only to conspicuous consumption and greed as they lost interest in Islam. Lacey wrote: "The spiritual dangers of easy affluence distressed him more. His simple gesture of piety and honor seemed to have opened a Pandora's Box that threatened to turn his realm into a parody of all he held dear". In the last two of years of his life, Faisal fell into depression over
32832-434: Was becoming more and more unhappy with the United States, saying he wanted America to pressure Israel to return all the lands captured in the Six Day War of 1967. In a later interview, Yamani accused Kissinger of not taking his warning seriously, saying all he did was to ask him not to speak anymore of this threat. Angry at Kissinger, Yamani in an interview with the Washington Post on April 19, 1973, warned that King Faisal
33024-437: Was built at its base in 1903, and beginning in 1910 visitors could pay a quarter to ride an incline railway straight to the summit. By the mid-20th century, however, all of those attractions had closed or burned, and the city was debating to what degree the mountain should be developed. In 1949, in an attempt to provide Roanoke with nationwide publicity and increase commerce in the city, the Roanoke Merchants Association devised
33216-475: Was considering an oil embargo. At the time, the general feeling in Washington was the Saudis were bluffing and nothing would come of their threat to impose an oil embargo. The fact that Faisal's ineffectual half brother King Saud had imposed a cripplingly oil embargo on Britain and France during the Suez War of 1956 was not considered an important precedent. The CEOs of four of America's oil companies had after speaking to Faisal arrived in Washington in May 1973 with
33408-447: Was contracted to build the star, while the Roanoke Iron and Bridge Works designed the steel support tower and 2,000 feet (610 m) of neon tubing were manufactured by the Corning Glass Works . In its completed form, the star measures 88.5 feet (27.0 m) in height and is mounted on an eight-story-tall steel structure weighing 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg), resting on a base made using 500,000 pounds (230,000 kg) of concrete. It
33600-414: Was designed by Los Angeles-based architect Randall Stout , who earlier in his career worked under Frank Gehry . Though the building's avant-garde design was controversial, it has since won international praise for its architecture. Also located downtown is the Virginia Museum of Transportation , which houses many locomotives that were built in Roanoke by the Norfolk & Western Railway, including
33792-399: Was established in 1953. The orchestra performs out of the Berglund Performing Arts Theatre, Salem Civic Center, and Shaftman Performance Hall at Jefferson Center. Roanoke is the largest metropolitan area on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile-long scenic road that is the most-visited element of the National Park System . The Mill Mountain Parkway exit off of the Blue Ridge Parkway leads to
33984-504: Was forced to flee the city out of fear for his life and only returned a week later after the national press condemned the riot and praised Trout's courage during the event. Despite these and other setbacks, the city grew through the early 20th century, both in area and population. In addition to the land gained in its 1882 town charter, relatively unopposed annexations occurred five more times by 1926, though Roanoke County would become less agreeable to later attempts. Mill Mountain became
34176-436: Was implemented, the embargo caused an oil crisis, or "shock", with many short- and long-term effects on the global economy as well as on global politics. The 1973 embargo later came to be referred to as the "first oil shock" vis-à-vis the "second oil shock" that was the 1979 oil crisis , brought upon by the Iranian Revolution . Ever since Israel declared independence in 1948 there was conflict between Arabs and Israelis in
34368-455: Was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War , which began after Egypt and Syria launched a large-scale surprise attack in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the territories that they had lost to Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War . In an effort that was led by Faisal of Saudi Arabia , the initial countries that OAPEC targeted were Canada , Japan ,
34560-459: Was known as the Arab Cold War , but Sadat got along very well with King Faisal of Saudi Arabia , forming an alliance between the most populous Arab state and the wealthiest Arab state. Unlike the secularist Nasser, Sadat was a pious Muslim and he had a strong personal rapport with King Faisal, who was an equally pious Muslim. The man largely in charge of American foreign policy, the National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger , later admitted that he
34752-497: Was like and was told: "Well, Dr. Henry, he will probably go on with you about Communism and the Jews". King Faisal's two great hatreds were Communism and Zionism as he believed that the Soviet Union and Israel were plotting together against Islam. When King Faisal was shown a translation into Arabic of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion , he instantly believed in the authenticity of The Protocols and therefore talked to anyone who would listen about what he had learned, despite
34944-416: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Just below the church lies the Hotel Roanoke, a historic 330-room Tudor Revival hotel originally built by the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1882 and rebuilt and expanded many times since. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Lady", the hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. A pedestrian bridge leads from the Hotel Roanoke to
35136-404: Was made with the help of a $ 15.2 million donation from Nicholas and Jenny Taubman , whose family had established Advance Auto Parts in Roanoke in the 1930s. As a result, the museum was renamed the Taubman Museum of Art . The art museum features 19th and 20th century American art, contemporary and modern art, decorative arts, and works on paper. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m ) facility
35328-416: Was named after the salt deposits that had drawn game to the area for years. Gainesborough increasingly became referred to as Big Lick (and later as Old Lick) once development drifted farther south towards the depot. Growth in the area was stalled by the Civil War ; Roanoke County voted 850–0 in favor of secession and lost many of its men in the subsequent fighting. The burgeoning tobacco trade helped
35520-416: Was needed at the Riyassa Palace immediately. Yamani told the king: "The TV news goes out at nine. If you make a decision now, we can get it announced at once". The king replied "Write this down" and announced he was placing a total embargo on the United States. The embargo was accompanied by gradual monthly production cuts—by December, production had been cut to 25% of September levels. This contributed to
35712-464: Was not the best considered decision we made". The arms lift enraged King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and he retaliated on October 20, 1973, by placing a total embargo on oil shipments to the United States, to be joined by all of the other oil-producing Arab states except Iraq and Libya. Faisal was angry that Israel had only asked for $ 850 million worth of American weapons, and instead received an unsolicited $ 2.2 billion worth of weapons, which he perceived as
35904-483: Was organized after the oil companies slashed the posted price of oil, but the posted price of oil remained consistently higher than the market price of oil between 1961 and 1972. In 1963, the Seven Sisters controlled 86% of the oil produced by OPEC countries, but by 1970 the rise of "independent oil companies" had decreased their share to 77%. The entry of three new oil producers— Algeria , Libya and Nigeria —meant that by 1970, 81 oil companies were doing business in
36096-473: Was so engrossed with the Paris peace talks to end the Vietnam war that he and others in Washington missed the significance of the Egyptian-Saudi alliance. At the same time that Sadat moved closer to Saudi Arabia, he also wanted a rapprochement with the United States and to move Egypt away from its alliance with the Soviet Union. In 1971, the US had information that the Arab states were willing to implement another embargo. In July 1972, Sadat expelled all 16,000 of
36288-419: Was the Suez Crisis in 1956 when the United Kingdom, France and Israel invaded Egypt. During the conflict the Syrians sabotaged both the Trans-Arabian Pipeline and the Iraq–Baniyas pipeline , which disrupted the supply of oil to Western Europe. The second instance was when war broke out between Egypt and Israel in 1967, but despite continued Egyptian and Syrian enmity against Israel, the embargo lasted only
36480-426: Was the Shah of Iran, and the Italian historian Giuliano Garavini has argued that the leader most responsible for the West's economic problems during the "oil shock" was not King Faisal, but rather the Shah. Some of the nations that were classified as "friendly" to the Arab viewpoint in regards to the Arab-Israeli dispute such as France and Belgium were the ones who suffered the most from the worldwide inflation caused by
36672-409: Was the troublesome issue of where to safety store the spent nuclear rods that emitted a toxic level of radioactivity for centuries afterward in an cost-effective manner. The issue of the spent nuclear rods was especially difficult because in a classic case of NIMBYism , communities proved very unwilling to accept a storage place for the inevitable by-product of nuclear power, the spent nuclear rods, with
36864-542: Was to kill hundreds of thousands. OPEC-member states raised the prospect of nationalization of oil company holdings. Most notably, Saudi Arabia nationalized Aramco in 1980 under the leadership of Saudi oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani . As other OPEC nations followed suit, the cartel's income soared. Saudi Arabia undertook a series of ambitious five-year development plans. The biggest began in 1980, funded at $ 250 billion. Other cartel members also undertook major economic development programs. Control of oil became known as
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