WHEELING, W.Va. — A significant project in the Ohio Valley is underway to highlight Wheeling’s rich history.
Recently, workers broke ground on the 23,173-square-foot Wheeling Gateway Center, located just by the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge. Once completed, the center will offer many different angles of that bridge and serve as a beacon for Wheeling tourism.
Wheeling Heritage Executive Director Scott Schenerlein said it’s a team effort to make this project happen. He said it’s going to be great for the local area.
“This is a great new collaboration between a stakeholder group here in Wheeling, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as Wheeling Heritage, the City of Wheeling, and the Regional Economic Development Partnership in Ohio County,” Schenerlein said during a recent appearance on MetroNews “Midday.” “To bring an urban visitor center, because there’s no visitor center currently going east or west on I-70, to drive people into downtown Wheeling.”
Schenerlein said people in the area, along with visitors to Wheeling, will be treated to a great time once the center is complete.
“We’re going to give them an experience, tell them about the history, let them have a big experience in the center, beautiful views of the historic suspension bridge, and then send them out with an itinerary to do more throughout the city,” Schenerlein said.
Wheeling Heritage is one of many groups involved in this, Schenerlein said. He added that they’re all about promoting a “vibrant” city and tell Wheeling’s story.
“Wheeling Heritage is one of 62 national heritage areas in the United States, four of which are in West Virginia,” Schenerlein said. “Our job is to be a catalyst, or our mission is to be a catalyst, for the revitalization of the city of Wheeling. We do that through things sort of like arts and culture, grants and investments, small business development, and historic preservation.”
Schenerlein noted that Wheeling has been known for its “three R’s” — the road, river, and the rail. He said the national road came through Wheeling, using the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge as a “gateway to the west.” He said industry investments exploded in Wheeling’s golden age, making it the place to be.
“Because there was so much of that kind of stuff here, a lot of millionaires and people with big jobs landed here in the city,” Schenerlein said. “We have two beautiful park systems in the city that we boast. It’s the Wheeling Park and Oglebay Park Resort, beautiful places that are a gift of philanthropy from city leaders and from Mr. Oglebay himself.”
Schenerlein said that Independence Hall, where West Virginia first became a state, is also located in Wheeling. There’s a plenty of sights to see in this post-industrial town, he said.
As for the Wheeling Gateway Center, construction will take time. He said they’re currently digging a hole in the hillside by the bridge, to ensure that the center will be properly placed.
“We wanted to set the building back so that you maintain that beautiful view of the bridge, that people have now become accustomed to, since they’ve never seen it before up close,” Schenerlein said. “Once that building comes out of the ground, it’ll be fully enclosed. And then we’ll go into phase two after that, which will be to finish the insides and the parking lots and the landscaping and those kind of things.”
You can learn more about the project here.