Gov. Mark Warner called it "bold." U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte spoke of "new frontiers." And Heywood Fralin, president of the Art Museum of Western Virginia, said it will "lead Roanoke and Western Virginia into the future and shape our destiny."

After years of talking and planning and some moments of near-despair, the museum finally broke ground Saturday morning on its new $46 million hom downtown, to be located behind Billy's Ritz restaurant between Salem Avenue and Market Street.

The groundbreaking, which actually took place on Market Street, was strictly ceremonial. In fact, the museum had to truck in dirt for a bevy of state and local officials to dip their silver shovels into, as the designated museum site is currently an asphalt parking lot. After the ceremony, workers shoveled the dirt back into a truck and drove it away.

But there was no mistaking the symbolic importance of the day, which some found almost overwhelming.

"It finally hit me that we're really going to build this thing," said museum executive director Georganne Bingham when the speeches were done. She said the museum hopes to have construction well under way before cold weather sets in. The target opening date is fall 2007.

Museum officials have declined to say where fundraising stands, but they have also said they would not break ground unless they knew they could see the project through to completion.

Some have criticized the new museum's ultra-modern design by Los Angeles architect Randall Stout, but there were no naysayers on the stage Saturday morning. Speaking in front of an enormous banner with a rendering of the new museum, an array of politicians and museum officials talked about the economic transformation of a region and beyond.

Warner, who received a standing ovation from the crowd of several hundred, alluded to the controversy over the museum's design when he said "Only when you're willing to shake things up a little can you be truly great. This community is on the path to greatness."

The governor, sounding like he'd been briefed beforehand by other arts organizations, also cautioned those present to continue supporting other cultural attractions here, too. Some worry expenses associated with the new art museum could soak up a limited pool of donors.

Other speakers on the roughly hour-long program talked about economic revitalization and keeping young people from leaving - arguments often made in support of the new museum. Roughly $8 million in public money has been pledged to the project so far, but the bulk of the funding will come from private hands.

Mayor Nelson Harris, a Baptist preacher, evoked the call-and-response of a lively church service in leading the audience in a litany of "wows." Goodlatte called the museum "a bold new vision for the Roanoke Valley," then quipped, "almost as bold as Mayor Harris' new beard and sunglasses."

Fund-raising chair Jenny Taubman called the new building "an architectural icon." Virginia Tech president Charles Steger talked of Tech's cooperation with the museum on educational programs.

As they spoke, a succession of trains rumbled by, a reminder amid the fine talk and high aspirations of the city's working class roots.

The crowd included politicians, community leaders, artists, babies and the curious. Museum board member Warner Dalhouse even brought his beagle, Lucy.

It was a beautiful morning, with a soft breeze and cloudless blue sky. Wachovia Bank and an unnamed museum benefactor funded the event. Mimes stood still around the perimeter of the audience during the speeches, then posed for pictures or pretended to paint the clothes of passersby. Costumed actors on stilts strode through the crowd. There was continuous entertainment on two stages continuing into the afternoon, and arts and crafts tents and giant inflatable slides for the numerous children.

Perhaps the critics stayed away; in any case, on this sunny day they were hard to find. "I like the way it looks," said Hope Noland, 10, of the museum design. "I think it's going to be a great museum."

"We love the new museum," said Donna Simmons, whose husband, Jack Simmons, is a retired architect. "It's a beautiful building, I think. And the events today are great."

"It's an opportunity to do something bigger than all of our little agendas," said artist Katherine Devine. Devine also urged museum officials to remember the local arts community as the museum moves forward.

"I hope they don't step over us once it's here."

The Roanoke Times was a media sponsor for this event.