Introduction by Steve Novotney
It was the biggest garage in Wheeling, and at a cost of $200,000, it was the most up-to-date, too. On the day it opened in January 1922, the 12th Street Garage was described in the Wheeling Intelligencer as a “handsome five-story building” and that was “absolutely fireproof.”
Each of those five floors had 50 parking spaces, and the newspaper also reported, according to the archives compiled by the Ohio County Public Library, that, “An elaborate program for the customers has been arranged there being daily inspection service free, while several attendants will be about the place all the time to change tires and do similar work. No repair work will be done, however. On the first floor, there will be a branch of the Spears & Riddle company, where supplies will be kept.”
Designed by architect Charles W. Bates and constructed by the R.R. Kitchen Company, the garage featured a unique elevator that was used only by the employees parking customer’s cars. The system included a circling cable mechanism with small, attached platforms to transport the workers from the first to fifth floors to ensure quick service.
The 12th Street Garage rests near the intersection of 12th and Chapline streets and, until 1962, the Virginia Theatre hosted shows up from January 1908 until May 1962. That is when the 12th Street Garage Co. purchased the theatre and demolished it to make room for the parking lot that remains today.
Roxby Development recently purchased the garage from Grow Ohio Valley and immediately formed a partnership with the Wheeling-based non-profit so the organization can utilize portions of the building – including its rooftop – for planting and harvesting locally grown foods. According to Jeffrey Morris, president of Roxby Development, the remaining areas of the 12th Street Garage will be utilized for parking and storage once renovations are completed.
