East Wheeling Historic District

Wheeling, Ohio County

2017 Update: In the East Wheeling Historic District, 32 buildings – including multiple historic dwellings on 15th and 16th Streets – were lost to demolition in the summer of 2012 to make way for the new JB Chambers Sports Complex.  Residents who were living in the neighborhood lost their lawsuit, which challenged the City of Wheeling’s eminent domain proceedings, arguing the field would be primarily for the benefit of the private Wheeling Central Catholic High School.  The sports complex has since been completed, with the entire demolish-and-rebuild project costing $3.3 million - including almost $2 million in taxpayer dollars. The facility is primarily reservation-based and is utilized mainly by sports teams and community groups; in October 2016, after local residents’ complaints, the city recreation department scheduled two days that month for public use.

• http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2016/10/taxpayers-spent-about-2m-on-the-j-b-chambers-sports-complex/

2012: The integrity of the East Wheeling Historic District (Ohio County) is currently threatened by the impending demolition of 34 structures located within its boundaries, primarily on 15th and 16th streets.  The City of Wheeling has declared eminent domain on two streets in the district in order to clear them for the creation of a new sports complex.  The dwellings in the district historically housed workers, managers, and owners of Wheeling’s steel, iron, and coal industries at the peak of Wheeling’s prosperity as a thriving river town.  If the property owners can maintain control of their buildings, they have planned an adaptive reuse project that will create a recreational space with community gardens and a cafe on the interior of the two streets with some of the building facades serving as entry points to the green space.  PAWV will assist technically with four specific buildings located on 15th Street: publicly-owned Civil War Twins - the oldest buildings in the potentially-razed streets and named for their period of construction; a mid-19th century, privately-owned dwelling, which serves as the cornerstone of two blocks in the historic district; and an 1870 privately-owned residence originally owned by David Bayha, tinsmith and owner of an Architectural Sheet Metal Work Company based in Wheeling.

Download 2012 Report