In the 1880s, a popular entertainment venue known as “The Casino” was constructed in West Virginia, in what is now Wheeling Park. It was a large, white pavilion made of wood, and it was the perfect West Virginia event venue for plays, operas, and musical shows, hosting as many as twenty thousand people (in Wheeling Park as a whole) in a single day. Such famous entertainers as French titan of the stage Sarah Bernhadt performed here at The Casino, all the way until 1925, when (shortly after being acquired by the city of Wheeling), The Casino burned down. And that was that, right? Gone forever, lost to the pages of history. If that’s what you think… think again.
Even though the Wheeling Park Casino burned in 1925, part of the pavilion’s structure was still salvageable. In the Roaring Twenties, crews were able to use a portion of the original 1880s-era building to construct a new pavilion at the same location as the old one, right in Wheeling Park.
Wheeling Park / Facebook
Known as the Otto Schenk Memorial Pavilion (named for the first chairman of the Wheeling Park Commission), this salvaged building, an open air dance hall, continued to be a popular hub of activity and events.
Tom Yenk / Google Maps
And even more so in the 1950s, when the pavilion was enclosed and expanded (to allow for year round use) into what you can still find at the heart of Wheeling Park today: the White Palace.
Wheeling Park / Facebook
From pavilion to palace over the course of more than a century, and one of the oldest buildings in the entire city of Wheeling, West Virginia, yet still, as always, Wheeling’s go-to event venue!
Wheeling Park / Facebook
Now, the White Palace is home to the Wheeling Park administrative offices, an arcade, an ice-skating rink, and the White Palace Ballroom, still a popular event and wedding venue.
Wheeling Park / Facebook
Continuing renovations promise to restore this iconic Wheeling building to its original 1926 glory. What a true historic treasure!
Wheeling Park / Facebook
Have you ever attended an event here at the iconic White Palace?
Oglebay
To learn more about the iconic, go-to event venue in Wheeling, West Virginia known as the White Palace, visit Wheeling Park’s website courtesy of Oglebay Resort.
Wheeling Park / Facebook
Tom Yenk / Google Maps
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Address: White Palace at Wheeling Park, 1801 National Rd, Wheeling, WV 26003, USA
