News
Arnheim Gets New Roof
Arnheim, a historic Radford landmark and the home of the city’s namesake Dr. John B. Radford, is getting its first major makeover in decades. Using funds provided by the Community Development Block Grant program awarded by the city council, the Radford Heritage Foundation has hired locally owned Woodworks Inc. to replace the roof and do some exterior repairs.
Urgently needed roof repairs at Arnheim.
“We are very happy that work on Arnheim’s roof has finally started,” said Hanns-Peter Nagel, director of the Radford Heritage Foundation and Glencoe Museum. “It is the first and most important step to get the building stabilized.”
Arnheim was built in 1836 by Dr. John B. Radford. The School Board acquired the building in the 1930s and converted it to classrooms for home economics, languages, and art. In the process, the room layout was changed and two wings added. The high school used Arnheim until the 1990s before it was deeded to the Radford Heritage Foundation in 2002.
Over the past several years, Arnheim has deteriorated markedly, sustaining significant water damage caused by leaking roofs above both the main structure and the wings. The roof repair and replacement project now underway will address these issues and “weatherproof” the building.
The stabilization of the structure is the first step in a long-range plan created by the Radford Heritage Foundation and its Arnheim committee. Under the leadership of Dr. Minnie Dean, the committee has been meeting weekly to make the monumental task of preserving Arnheim a priority. In addition to the Community Development Block Grant awarded by the city, the group received financial support from many Radford High School Alumni, as well as grants from the C.E. Richardson Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The latter grant will be used to perform an archeological assessment of the grounds to begin in spring 2008. As part of this grant, the Radford Heritage Foundation is will soon launch a new website that will let the community stay up-to-date on the preservation effort.
More Information
- Read a Question & Answer sheet why Arnheim needs to preserved (.doc).
- Get more information on Arnheim's past.
