SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Mountaineer fans slowly trickled into the restored Labelle Theater in South Charleston Monday afternoon to catch the Liberty Bowl. Showing the game on the big screen was the idea of South Charleston CVB Director Bob Anderson.
“I just figured we have a new high definition screen and it’s real clear,” he said. “We just wanted to open it up for the public to come use it.”
Anderson said it’s also a chance to let people see the improvements made to this historic theater. The city recently completed $75,000 in improvements to the old performance center which opened in 1937.
“We’ve put in new lights, new projector, new speakers, new seats, new floors, carpet, we’ve done everything,” he said. “The first movie to ever play was ‘One Foot in Heaven’ with Spencer Tracy. The longest running film was ‘The Graduate.'”
Anderson said the theater was open when Marshall played in the Boca Raton Bowl for fans to watch the game. He says they’ll also be showing the Super Bowl and their next big event with be showing a special 75th Anniversary run of “Gone With the Wind.”