Washington Hall Association and Building
The Washington Hall Association was incorporated by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia March 22, 1850. Investors, in accordance with the act, agreed to "take and pay for a large amount of stock in said association for the purpose of erecting a public building in the city of Wheeling; the first story of which it is contemplated to use for business rooms; the second story to be used as a hall for the accommodation of public assemblies, lectures, musical concerts, scientific and other exhibitions, and such other purposes as the company of board of trustees may deem expedient; and the third story to be used for such purposes as the said association of board of trustees may from time to time order and direct. . ."[1]
Construction on the first Washington Hall structure, which was described as being "designed in the Gothic Revival style, [2]" began in the year 1851. Though the Hall did not officially open to the public until November 26, 1853, in January of 1853, a reception celebrating the opening of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, a pivotal moment in Wheeling's economic history, was held within the hall.
Washington Hall is best known, however, for the role it played in West Virginia statehood. The first Wheeling Convention of the people of North Western Virginia was held in Washington Hall, May 13-15, 1861. The Convention was held to determine what action should be taken as a result of the secession of Virginia from the Union. The first session of the second Convention was also held at Washington Hall, but subsequent sessions of the second Convention were then moved to the U.S. Custom House in Wheeling (now known as West Virginia Independence Hall). During Wheeling's second stint as the state capital, for a brief period, the West Virginia House of Delegates held sessions at Washington Hall.[3]
The original Washington Hall was destroyed by fire on November 30, 1875. A second Washington Hall, which also housed the Grand Opera House, or Grand Theater, was built on the same location in 1877. The new structure was "rebuilt in a completely different configuration, with a prominent angled entrance on the street corner, and finished in a florid Ruskinian, or High Victorian, Gothic style."[4] The Grand Opening of the new Washington Hall took place on February 5, 1878, celebrated with a revival rendition of the play "Uncle Tom's Cabin" within the new Opera Hall.