#wheelingwv

It started here in Wheeling, believe it or not, back in the 1940s. That’s when people started leaving the Friendly City for opportunity across the Ohio River. There were 60,659 residents in Wheeling in 1930, and little by a lot since, the city’s population has dipped below 27,000 for the first time in 150 years. And when that takes place, the tax base shrinks, changes take place, decay threatens safety, crime increases, and government kicks cans down the road over and over again. Thankfully, efforts have been made by both the private and public sectors over the past few decades to bridge the region’s Rust Belt era to a still undefined but developing resurrection.One significant advantage Wheeling will have is, by the end of 2025, the state will have spent more than $360 million on infrastructure makeovers to the bridges and ramps along Interstate 70, to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, and on the current $32 million streetscape in the downtown.This retaining wall along 14th Street is what supports Lind Street in East Wheeling, and it appears to need attention from the City of Wheeling.“Everyone knows downtown Wheeling will never be the retail area it once was because that’s not what downtown are these days,” said Erikka Storch, a former state lawmaker who was the Chamber of Commerce president during the 2010s. “The interstate work was long overdue, and the project on the Suspension Bridge was on the schedule for eight years until it finally took place because of the tour bus incident.“Even though the streetscape was delayed a couple of times because of the city, it’s still going to make a very positive difference in our downtown, and that’s very exciting to me. I can’t wait to see it for myself and I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same way,” she said. “I just know I’m thankful for the vision of former mayor Andy McKenize. If he didn’t see what was possible, and then make the deal with the state, who knows where’d we be today.”Another advantage, ironically, will be delivered by destruction.Despite the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the electric scooter company in December, the Bird vehicles have remained available in many areas of the city.The $7 million demolition of the OVMC campus officially started nine days ago with crews starting with the Northwood and Hillcrest buildings. The plan calls for both of the former nurse’s quarters to be taken down next, and then the South and East buildings and the Education and Administration structure will follow.The West Tower, home of the general hospital and its EMSTAR unit until the sudden closure in late September 2019, is last on general contractor F.R. Bienke’s razing list.“It’s going to be a gradual process because of how large the campus is, and because of the removal of the materials that have to be moved away,” explained Bob Herron, Wheeling’s city manager since 2001. “The asbestos removal has taken place, and now the company will go one building at a time. It’s going to take some time.“But after the demolition, WVU (Health System) will begin the construction of the regional cancer center, so that’s the good news,” he said. “We’re also demolishing the parking garage on Chapline (Street), so a lot is happening in that area right now.”The Christmas Store at the Teacher's Store in Center Market is conducting its final clearance sale. and will close for good in the near future.The view from this open lot in Center Wheeling offers a look at what's taken place thanks to the population decline in a once prominent neighborhood.The south market house at Centre Market is home to several eateries, including Coleman's Fish Market, Tito's on the Market, Michael's Beef House, and Valley Cheese.Vegetation has caused much of the tunnel's eastside facade to become stained and unattractive since its last cleaning in 2009.The recent frigid evenings have kept families indoors and playing board games such as this classic. The number of venues offering live music has declined, but there still are several offering local performers on Friday and Saturday evenings.When Wesbanco Bank constructed its headquarters in downtown Wheeling back during the late 1970s, it changed the city's skyline forever. Despite the continued

Many North Wheeling buildings are a step closer to being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and development officials have found several buildings in a new district survey that were older than they had expected.

(Publisher's Note: This feature was initially published a few years ago, but because photographer Bill Burke's images are timeless in nature, we wanted to re-publish this piece to be certain even more people come to enjoy his "eye" from back in the 1970s.)Bill Burke has been featured on LEDE News because of his Wheeling in the 1970s photography exhibit at the Ohio County Library that opened in May 2022, but the insights of the Maryland resident concerning what he captured on film from the streets of downtown Wheeling specifically are, well, offered right here.Burke, of course, did not realize it back in the 1970s, but with that borrowed Nikon he was taking photographs of differences. The automobiles were bigger and harder back then because most parts were made of steel. The downtown consumers wore dresses or suits, depending on gender, and their children’s attire was proper, too, and could not be classified as anything close to pajamas.“When I went to downtown Wheeling, I really think that everywhere I looked, I saw something interesting. There was just so much going on. There were the shops, the people, and the way the people interacted with each other; every time I went to downtown Wheeling, I got consumed. The subject matter was right in front of me and each time it told a different story.“It was staring me in the face, so I just responded to that by taking the pictures the way I did, I guess,” he explained. “My pictures show the young and old and everyone in between, and I didn’t have a plan to shoot X, Y, and Z. I just went out and shot what I thought was interesting.”Billiard halls were very popular throughout downtown Wheeling in the 1970s.Culture ContrastBurke’s mother had heard from a friend only a few positive reports about Wheeling College so, at the tender age of 18 and fresh out of an all-boys academy from Maryland, he was delivered to the Pleasanton neighborhood of the city of Wheeling. That’s how it worked 50 years ago. Parents made decisions, not children.“The first day I came to Wheeling was the first day I attended Wheeling College,” he said, “because that’s where my mother had decided I was going to school. And it worked it out very well because that’s where I made my best friends I still have today.”At the time he attended Wheeling College, from 1967 to 1971, organized crime was prevalent in the city. Burke, though, remained removed from any such involvement.“I do remember talking about the mob stuff in Wheeling, and some of my friends were much more involved. Me? I just let that stuff roll off my back because it didn’t seem to affect me in any way,” Burke reported. “I do remember talking about it, but I didn’t have any experience with that stuff. I guess I was just in my own little world.“Now, I do remember the story about one of the mob honchos blowing up the car of another honcho while he was in it,” he said. “People talked about that incident a lot because people were so surprised the guy in the car lived. It was pretty surprising.”Besides, Burke was too busy capturing the old blending with the new in Wheeling as fluorescent bulbs behind plastic signs were replacing those in-your-face neon cursive symbols in many storefront windows, and shoe selections were placed on self-serve shelves instead of the stock being hidden away in some back room somewhere.“Back then there weren’t places like The Highlands or the mall, so if you needed something, you pretty much had to go to downtown Wheeling,” Burke remembered. “And if you look at my pictures from that time, you can see that there are all kinds of pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic. Trucks, cars, everything everywhere because that’s where you had to go.“But when I was there last month, I did notice a lot of cars downtown, but they were parked because there were a lot of people working downtown now, but they don’t work at shops like they used to. They work in offices now,” he said. “But downtown Wheeling is no longer the hubbub like it used to be. There is life, but it’s a much different kind of life than what made it so special when I lived there 50 years ago.”This barber shop was located next to the Coronet Theater on Market Street. The buildings no longer stand today.The Story a Show TellsWhen the Rogers Hotel first opened in 1915, it was known for being fireproof because of the material used to construct the lodge. By the time Burke found himself meandering by along 14th Street, the inn’s reputation had altered through time and is now an empty, vacant structure.But he did see a retailer’s addiction to their display window, and that brick walks and shade trees were nice downtown 50 years ago, too. “If I may say this, those pictures have what I refer to as a ‘timeless quality.’ They are dated, and they are not. People can look at the fashions and the cars to date them, but on the other hand, the town is still there,” Burke insisted. “The people are still there. The families caring for each other, the friends having friends. Those things jumped out to me.“There were always people,” he continued, “and they were always doing something.”Ultimately, that is why Burke finally accepted the library's invitation to return to his old college town to reveal the Wheeling he had held hostage for half a hundred years. The show is open to the public six days per week as long as the library is not using the space for a different function. Burke’s exhibit will remain in place through August.“Standing in front of people and talking to them about something has never been my thing, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought the people needed to see these pictures,” he said. “So, I got over my little hesitation and agreed to do the show.“I know there were some people there when I visited for the opening, but I’m not sure how many have been there since the opening back on the 19th (of May),” Burke added. “I do hope people of today find them interesting.”The Court Theater once was located on the bottom level of the Board of Trade Building.The federal courthouse on Chapline and 12th streets was expanded in the 1990s.This building has housed many businesses along 16th Street and is the current home of Rachel's on 16th.Some residents bought into the paranormal at this place along 16th Street.The Rogers Hotel initially was known for being fireproof, and then it became known for its food and beverages.Trees and bricks are nothing new for downtown Wheeling, as this Burke photo reveals.Many of the stores in downtown Wheeling were small and specialized.Retail stores depended on their display windows to attract shoppers in the early 1970s.The Victoria Theater once offered mainstream film releases.Pedestrian traffic was a constant in downtown Wheeling during the days before shopping centers and indoor malls.

(Publisher's Note: This feature was initially published nearly two years ago, but because photographer Bill Burke's images are timeless in nature, we wanted to re-publish this piece to be certain even more people come to enjoy his "eye" from back in the 1970s.)Bill Burke has been featured on LEDE News because of his Wheeling in the 1970s photography exhibit at the Ohio County Library that opened in May 2022, but the insights of the Maryland resident concerning what he captured on film from the streets of downtown Wheeling specifically are, well, offered right here.Burke, of course, did not realize it back in the 1970s, but with that borrowed Nikon he was taking photographs of differences. The automobiles were bigger and harder back then because most parts were made of steel. The downtown consumers wore dresses or suits, depending on gender, and their children’s attire was proper, too, and could not be classified as anything close to pajamas.“When I went to downtown Wheeling, I really think that everywhere I looked, I saw something interesting. There was just so much going on. There were the shops, the people, and the way the people interacted with each other; every time I went to downtown Wheeling, I got consumed. The subject matter was right in front of me and each time it told a different story.“It was staring me in the face, so I just responded to that by taking the pictures the way I did, I guess,” he explained. “My pictures show the young and old and everyone in between, and I didn’t have a plan to shoot X, Y, and Z. I just went out and shot what I thought was interesting.”Billiard halls were very popular throughout downtown Wheeling in the 1970s.Culture ContrastBurke’s mother had heard from a friend only a few positive reports about Wheeling College so, at the tender age of 18 and fresh out of an all-boys academy from Maryland, he was delivered to the Pleasanton neighborhood of the city of Wheeling. That’s how it worked 50 years ago. Parents made decisions, not children.“The first day I came to Wheeling was the first day I attended Wheeling College,” he said, “because that’s where my mother had decided I was going to school. And it worked it out very well because that’s where I made my best friends I still have today.”At the time he attended Wheeling College, from 1967 to 1971, organized crime was prevalent in the city. Burke, though, remained removed from any such involvement.“I do remember talking about the mob stuff in Wheeling, and some of my friends were much more involved. Me? I just let that stuff roll off my back because it didn’t seem to affect me in any way,” Burke reported. “I do remember talking about it, but I didn’t have any experience with that stuff. I guess I was just in my own little world.“Now, I do remember the story about one of the mob honchos blowing up the car of another honcho while he was in it,” he said. “People talked about that incident a lot because people were so surprised the guy in the car lived. It was pretty surprising.”Besides, Burke was too busy capturing the old blending with the new in Wheeling as fluorescent bulbs behind plastic signs were replacing those in-your-face neon cursive symbols in many storefront windows, and shoe selections were placed on self-serve shelves instead of the stock being hidden away in some back room somewhere.“Back then there weren’t places like The Highlands or the mall, so if you needed something, you pretty much had to go to downtown Wheeling,” Burke remembered. “And if you look at my pictures from that time, you can see that there are all kinds of pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic. Trucks, cars, everything everywhere because that’s where you had to go.“But when I was there last month, I did notice a lot of cars downtown, but they were parked because there were a lot of people working downtown now, but they don’t work at shops like they used to. They work in offices now,” he said. “But downtown Wheeling is no longer the hubbub like it used to be. There is life, but it’s a much different kind of life than what made it so special when I lived there 50 years ago.”This barber shop was located next to the Coronet Theater on Market Street. The buildings no longer stand today.The Story a Show TellsWhen the Rogers Hotel first opened in 1915, it was known for being fireproof because of the material used to construct the lodge. By the time Burke found himself meandering by along 14th Street, the inn’s reputation had altered through time and is now an empty, vacant structure.But he did see a retailer’s addiction to their display window, and that brick walks and shade trees were nice downtown 50 years ago, too. “If I may say this, those pictures have what I refer to as a ‘timeless quality.’ They are dated, and they are not. People can look at the fashions and the cars to date them, but on the other hand, the town is still there,” Burke insisted. “The people are still there. The families caring for each other, the friends having friends. Those things jumped out to me.“There were always people,” he continued, “and they were always doing something.”Ultimately, that is why Burke finally accepted the library's invitation to return to his old college town to reveal the Wheeling he had held hostage for half a hundred years. The show is open to the public six days per week as long as the library is not using the space for a different function. Burke’s exhibit will remain in place through August.“Standing in front of people and talking to them about something has never been my thing, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought the people needed to see these pictures,” he said. “So, I got over my little hesitation and agreed to do the show.“I know there were some people there when I visited for the opening, but I’m not sure how many have been there since the opening back on the 19th (of May),” Burke added. “I do hope people of today find them interesting.”The Court Theater once was located on the bottom level of the Board of Trade Building.The federal courthouse on Chapline and 12th streets was expanded in the 1990s.This building has housed many businesses along 16th Street and is the current home of Rachel's on 16th.Some residents bought into the paranormal at this place along 16th Street.The Rogers Hotel initially was known for being fireproof, and then it became known for its food and beverages.Trees and bricks are nothing new for downtown Wheeling, as this Burke photo reveals.Many of the stores in downtown Wheeling were small and specialized.Retail stores depended on their display windows to attract shoppers in the early 1970s.The Victoria Theater once offered mainstream film releases.Pedestrian traffic was a constant in downtown Wheeling during the days before shopping centers and indoor malls.

For nearly 40 years, Mr. Benjamin Podolski has been a staple in the music community, not only to Wheeling Park High School but to the Wheeling music community as a whole. His skills in both musicality and educating are paramount. As Podolski prepares for retirement, he is being recognized for the following awards: WVMEA Hall of FameWVMEA (West Virginia Music Educators Association) recognizes members who have developed outstanding school music programs, made significant contributions to music education in the state, and have a minimum of 15 years of music service in West Virginia.Marshall County Strings Teacher Justin Jones will present this award to Mr. Podolski at his concert on Tuesday, March 12.Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Music Educator AwardThe Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is honored to introduce the WSO's inaugural Music Educator Award. This award will be given in recognition of an educator that exemplifies extraordinary dedication to music education so that students are inspired and empowered through music performance. Because of Ben's incredible tenure with Wheeling Park High School music department, steadfast dedication to the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra, and long-reaching impact in so many students' lives, the WSO has awarded Ben with Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Music Educator Award! Mr. Podolski was presented with this award at the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra concert on March 8, at 7:30 pm.

For nearly 40 years, Mr. Benjamin Podolski has been a staple in the music community, not only to Wheeling Park High School but to the Wheeling music community as a whole. His skills in both musicality and educating are paramount. As Podolski prepares for retirement, he is being recognized for the following awards: WVMEA Hall of FameWVMEA (West Virginia Music Educators Association) recognizes members who have developed outstanding school music programs, made significant contributions to music education in the state, and have a minimum of 15 years of music service in West Virginia.Marshall County Strings Teacher Justin Jones will present this award to Mr. Podolski at his concert on Tuesday, March 12.Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Music Educator AwardThe Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is honored to introduce the WSO's inaugural Music Educator Award. This award will be given in recognition of an educator that exemplifies extraordinary dedication to music education so that students are inspired and empowered through music performance. Because of Ben's incredible tenure with Wheeling Park High School music department, steadfast dedication to the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra, and long-reaching impact in so many students' lives, the WSO has awarded Ben with Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Music Educator Award! Mr. Podolski was presented with this award at the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra concert on March 8, at 7:30 pm.

For nearly 40 years, Mr. Benjamin Podolski has been a staple in the music community, not only to Wheeling Park High School but to the Wheeling music community as a whole. His skills in both musicality and educating are paramount. As Podolski prepares for retirement, he is being recognized for the following awards: WVMEA Hall of FameWVMEA (West Virginia Music Educators Association) recognizes members who have developed outstanding school music programs, made significant contributions to music education in the state, and have a minimum of 15 years of music service in West Virginia.Marshall County Strings Teacher Justin Jones will present this award to Mr. Podolski at his concert on Tuesday, March 12.Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Music Educator AwardThe Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is honored to introduce the WSO's inaugural Music Educator Award. This award will be given in recognition of an educator that exemplifies extraordinary dedication to music education so that students are inspired and empowered through music performance. Because of Ben's incredible tenure with Wheeling Park High School music department, steadfast dedication to the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra, and long-reaching impact in so many students' lives, the WSO has awarded Ben with Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Music Educator Award! Mr. Podolski was presented with this award at the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra concert on March 8, at 7:30 pm.