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The 56-year-old strip center, unique in the valley when it opened in 1961, has remained a strong location for local, regional and national retail.

× Expand Julianne Rainone/The Virginia Room, Roanoke Public Libraries

The year 1961 was a new frontier for retail in Roanoke.

Towers Shopping Center, built that year at the corner of Brandon and Colonial avenues, was a novelty shopping concept at the time. It was considered the area’s first strip retail center, opening just after Crossroads Mall, Roanoke’s first enclosed, air-conditioned mall, earlier that same year.

Both centers paved the way for the future of shopping in the Roanoke Valley as it moved away from downtown’s core to suburban centers.

Towers opened with a unique upper- and lower-level layout, a small enclosed interior area that connected the two levels and a myriad of local and national retailers, such as J.C. Penney, Woolworth and Davidsons Clothing for Men.

In this 1962 photo, A&P Food Stores was an anchor retailer on Towers’ lower level.

Through the years, retailers have come and gone from Towers, including a movie theater, S&S Cafeteria and Heironimus, a long-time department store chain.

Despite vacancies over the years, the 295,000-square-foot Towers has remained a viable community retail hub, while Crossroads now is a business center, housing the corporate offices for Advance Auto Parts.

“I don’t know of another commercial property in this community that has been more stable,” says Larry Davidson, president of Davidsons, about Towers. He remembers Davidsons’ Towers store where his father, who previously ran the company, doubled the shop’s size because of its success.

Nowadays, Kroger and Petco are anchors on Towers’ lower level. Its upper level features the popular Fresh Market, JoAnn Fabrics and Hallmark, as well as restaurant chains, such as Mission BBQ, Wildflour Café at Towers, Chipotle, newcomer Zoe’s Kitchen and others. Several service-oriented businesses also have Towers locations, including FedEx, Planet Fitness and GNC.

At 56 years old, Towers is one of many landmarks that bridges Roanoke’s past and present.

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