writing almost all the copy featured in the exhibits made public when the mu- seum opened in January 2004. He was associated with the project from the very beginning, and also helped devel- op the conceptual idea for the museum. “It is,” Garver said, “the only museum devoted to the work of one photograph- er in the United States. I am pleased with the way it turned out.” Garver is well-qualified, beyond his personal connection with Link, to pro- vide consulting services for this and other museums. After leaving Link’s employ, Garver became a writer, art museum director and art historian, and was later able to champion Link’s work. He also wrote the text for the sec- ond major book about Link, The Last Steam Railroad in America. He now works as an independent curator and exhibition organizer, and continues to write about art and the history of tech- nology in America.
In curating the O. Winston Link Mu- seum’s original exhibits, Garver strove to keep interpretive material separate from the works of art, so Link’s photos are presented together, with captions below the photos and a minimum of other interpretive material, in three of the museum’s galleries.
Touring the Museum
When you enter the restored station, you are facing the Roanoke Valley Con-
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vention and Visitors Bureau desk, for- merly the station’s ticket lobby. One of the three well-known Link photos tak- en in the station, a 1955 view of N&W General Passenger Agent E.L. Perkins (Negative No. NW352), was taken at this spot. Behind the desk is a small gallery for changing exhibits. The small gallery area was the scene of the two other well-known Link photos taken in the station — H. T. “Buck” Stewart calling trains in 1956 (NW1118), which was taken as a view into the now-van- ished concourse; and Link’s self-por- trait at the train schedule board in the station, taken in 1955 (NW297). To the right of this small gallery is
the Raymond Loewy Gallery, featuring an exhibit honoring Raymond Loewy (1893-1986), an industrial whose firm
redesigned the N&W’s
Roanoke passenger station. Loewy, whose career included many achieve- ments, is best known in rail enthusiast and rail industry circles for redesigning the appearance of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s GG-1 electric locomotive in the mid-1930s.
After passing through the admission area, you walk down a flight of stairs taking you from the former concourse level to the track level. There are brief displays focusing on the Roanoke area in this part of the museum. As you reach the stairs that take you down to the Museum’s seven galleries, a win-
designer
dow gives you a view of the former N&W main line past the museum, the Roanoke Shops, and a N&W caboose once owned by Link which is now part of the Museum’s collection.
At the bottom of the stairs, you turn right to enter the Roanoke Gallery. This gallery begins with displays intro- ducing the Norfolk & Western and its service area, including a ten-by-thirty- foot blowup of Link’s composite photo of S1a switcher No. 261 and its crew (NW1980-NW1993). About a third of the way through this gallery, you are faced with the gravity-fed gas pump from Vesuvius, Va., featured in one of Link’s best-known photographs, “Sometimes
the Electricity Fails”
(NW1122). Just beyond the pump, which formerly stood outside the Vesu- vius general store, is the Heritage Gallery, a recreation of the store, with original contents from its shelves, as featured in another landmark Link photo, “Egg Stove and Bananas” (NW1352). Past this, the other section of the Roanoke Gallery focuses on O. Winston Link, including his biography, his work as a commercial photograph- er, his Norfolk & Western project, and his other notable work.
At the end of the Roanoke Gallery is
an exhibit space, The Kulp Trackside Lobby, formerly an open space for occa- sional events, which offers a secure venue for changing exhibits. These ex-
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