Wasena Apartments for Rent

Wasena is an American Indian word that translates to English as Beautiful View. The Wasena neighborhood slopes gradually from hillsides to the banks of the Roanoke River, and many of its homes and apartments do indeed have beautiful views. Annexed by Roanoke in 1919, most of the construction in this neighborhood took place between 1920 and the 1950s.

The zip code for Wasena is 82510. The neighborhood is bounded on the east and north by the Roanoke River, more precisely by parks, railroad train tracks and the greenway along the river. On the west side of the neighborhood, the boundary is Brighton Road, and on the south, the boundary is Brandon Avenue. The major artery of the neighborhood is Main Street, which crosses the river into downtown.

Wasena was built as a suburb, but became an urban neighborhood as Roanoke grew. Many of its Foursquare, Tudor Revival, and Craftsman homes were built as multifamily dwellings, and some formerly single-family homes were later remodeled into duplexes or triplexes. The neighborhood never suffered serious urban decay however, due to the charm of its shady streets, the convenience of its location and local construction techniques.

Many structures in Wasena are faced with brick, which requires less maintenance than most other building materials. So brick adds character to the narrow streets of Wasena while it preserves the neighborhood’s character. Most streets are well shaded and some feature stone retaining walls and steps leading up or down.

Wasena’s major park is at the riverbank. It offers picnic pavilions, lighted playing fields, and playgrounds. After running through the park, the greenway bike and pedestrian path crosses the river on a rust-colored steel bridge and joins Wasena to downtown though Vic Thomas Park and the Old Southwest neighborhood.