In the 1920s and ’30s, a female dormitory at Viscose was the center of life for hundreds of workers.
When American Viscose opened its plant for operations in Southeast Roanoke in 1917, it quickly became one of the largest employers in the Roanoke Valley, second only to the Norfolk & Western Railway. A large percentage of its workforce were single women.
Initially, plant managers helped to find housing for the young ladies by advertising for nearby residents to take them in as boarders. Roanokers could walk or take a streetcar to Viscose, but for those coming in from outlying areas, lodging was a necessity. In 1920, Viscose addressed the need by starting construction of Hill Crest Hall, a female dormitory, atop a knoll along 9th Street directly north of the Viscose campus in what was Morningside Heights.
On November 1, 1922, Hill Crest held a formal opening with public tours that drew some 5,000 persons. Visitors were welcomed by the female residents along with music by the Viscose Band, who played on the sprawling front porch. Refreshments were served throughout the evening culminating with a dance in the dormitory gymnasium. A jazz orchestra kept the dance floor full.
The Roanoke World-News described the building’s interior for the occasion. “The lobby on the first floor was decorated in gold and black crepe tissue paper and the floors were bedecked with magnificent carpets.” Hill Crest contained “a large writing room with seven writing tables and an assortment of stationery. In the middle of the room is a large table which is used as a reading table.” The upper floors of the four-story structure held bedrooms, an infirmary, kitchen and a “sun parlor.” The ground level provided a gymnasium, bakery, cafeteria, laundry and storerooms. The dormitory provided for the many needs of its young female constituency, all under the watchful eye of the Hill Crest matron Mrs. Laura Bell. Bell had been a house matron for other company dorms, including the one at Tubize Artificial Silk Company in Hopewell. Hill Crest accommodated nearly 250 females, almost one quarter of the female workforce at Viscose at the time…