.gif)
The Coffee Pot (Roanoke, Virginia)
Encyclopedia
The Coffee Pot is a historic roadhouse
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
located in the Grandin Court
neighborhood of the independent city
of Roanoke
, Virginia
, U.S.A.
. Completed in 1936, The Coffee Pot is an example of novelty architecture
as its distinctive feature is that of a stucco
coffee pot structure that is situated on the roof of the building. Today, this remains as the only active roadhouse located within the Roanoke Valley
.
(Brambleton Avenue) in Roanoke County
, before being annexed into Roanoke City
in 1943. It was originally constructed by Clifton and Irene Kefauver as a filling station and tea room, but converted into a roadhouse shortly thereafter. The structure itself is similar to that of a log home
featuring vertical log architecture on its four facades. At the time of its construction, it was the first commercial structure one would pass along the highway entering Roanoke from the south. The 15 feet (4.6 m) coffee pot is located on the southern end of the structure and is red with a white spout and top. Steam would formerly rise from the coffee pot spout from a furnace located in the store room below, visually bringing life to the coffee pot structure.
Since its conversion into a roadhouse in 1937, the Coffee Pot has remained in continuous operation and known as the Coffee Pot for its entire history except for a brief period between 1960 and 1963 when it was called Joe's Ranchhouse Restaurant. Throughout its history, the roadhouse has served host to many musical acts including Willie Nelson
, Richie Havens
, Dicky Betts, Rick Derringer
, Ritchie Valens
, Danny Gatton
and Root Boy Slim
Regional acts also made the Coffee Pot a regular part of their tour, including SNUFF. As a result of the numerous big name acts that have performed at The Coffee Pot, the venue has been dubbed by some as the "biggest small stage in the South
."
Roadhouse (facility)
A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...
listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
located in the Grandin Court
Grandin Court, Roanoke, Virginia
Grandin Court is a Roanoke, Virginia, neighborhood located in southwest Roanoke. It borders the neighborhoods of Raleigh Court on the north and Franklin-Colonial to the south and east. The southwestern border is shared with Roanoke County. As of the 2000 U.S...
neighborhood of the independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
of Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, U.S.A.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Completed in 1936, The Coffee Pot is an example of novelty architecture
Novelty architecture
Novelty architecture is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes as a novelty, such as advertising, notoriety as a landmark, or simple eccentricity of the owner or architect. Many examples of novelty architecture take the form of buildings that...
as its distinctive feature is that of a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
coffee pot structure that is situated on the roof of the building. Today, this remains as the only active roadhouse located within the Roanoke Valley
Roanoke Valley
The Roanoke Valley in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west...
.
History
The Coffee Pot was built in 1936 on what later became U.S. Route 221U.S. Route 221 in Virginia
U.S. Route 221 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Perry, Florida to Lynchburg, Virginia. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs from the North Carolina state line near Independence north to its northern terminus at US 29 Business, US 460 Business, and US 501 Business in Lynchburg...
(Brambleton Avenue) in Roanoke County
Roanoke County, Virginia
Roanoke County is a county located in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area and located within the Roanoke Region of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 85,778. As of 2010, the population was 92,376...
, before being annexed into Roanoke City
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
in 1943. It was originally constructed by Clifton and Irene Kefauver as a filling station and tea room, but converted into a roadhouse shortly thereafter. The structure itself is similar to that of a log home
Log home
A log home is structurally identical to a log cabin...
featuring vertical log architecture on its four facades. At the time of its construction, it was the first commercial structure one would pass along the highway entering Roanoke from the south. The 15 feet (4.6 m) coffee pot is located on the southern end of the structure and is red with a white spout and top. Steam would formerly rise from the coffee pot spout from a furnace located in the store room below, visually bringing life to the coffee pot structure.
Since its conversion into a roadhouse in 1937, the Coffee Pot has remained in continuous operation and known as the Coffee Pot for its entire history except for a brief period between 1960 and 1963 when it was called Joe's Ranchhouse Restaurant. Throughout its history, the roadhouse has served host to many musical acts including Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Richie Havens
Richie Havens
Richard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
, Dicky Betts, Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...
, Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist....
, Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
and Root Boy Slim
Root Boy Slim
Root Boy Slim was the stage name assumed by American musician, Foster MacKenzie III. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he was raised in suburban Maryland, a few minutes from D.C. after his family relocated there...
Regional acts also made the Coffee Pot a regular part of their tour, including SNUFF. As a result of the numerous big name acts that have performed at The Coffee Pot, the venue has been dubbed by some as the "biggest small stage in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
."
See also
- The Coffee Pot (Bedford, Pennsylvania)The Coffee Pot (Bedford, Pennsylvania)The Coffee Pot in Bedford, Pennsylvania is an example of novelty architecture. The lunch stand was built in the shape of a coffee pot by David Koontz in 1927. It was threatened with demolition in the 1990s, but in 2004 was moved across the street and restored....
, a 1927 lunch stand in the shape of a coffee pot.