The Cave Club has been a staple in Wheeling for many years.
My father was a lifetime member and I remember as a child going there with him. I actually went back in the Cave where they kept the beer in an actual cave because the area kept the beer at a cold temperature.
The Cave Club is still in operation at 23rd and Market streets, but the private club lost their location on the hill behind the 26th street playground when the W.Va. Route 2 went through the area. Of course, the playground also was removed to make way for the roadway, so hopefully I will have photos of the 26th Street Playground in the future.
The club was formed in 1934 by a group of 25 Wheeling residents for the purpose a neighborhood club to provide social and recreational opportunities for the members. It became so much more with charity drives and street fairs, and the Cave Club has always been a good neighbor in Wheeling.
It has been a passion of mine to showcase and preserve Wheeling’s rich history with this series of historic photographs that highlight a business or building that is no longer here in the Upper Ohio Valley.
If you have suggestions on a favorite business or location that has vanished, please submit that to me at cre8m@comcast.net. I will do my best to search out and tell that story.
I hope with this series, Gone Forever, I will be able to show what made Wheeling the greatest city in West Virginia, and the large amount of business and industry that was here in the early 30’s and 40’s that attracted people from everywhere.
James Thornton has published several volumes of history on the city of Wheeling, and those interested in purchasing one of them can do so by contacting him at cre8m@comcast.net or visit the Creative Impressions website. The books can be purchased at the Wheeling Heritage Center, Kroger on Mount de Chantal Road, Miklas Meat Market, Nail City Records, the UPS Store in the Washington Avenue Plaza, VC Wares at Centre Market, Bower’s Decorating at The Highlands, and on the website www.wheelinghistory.net.
