Manos Theatre

Joe Vogel on November 13, 2021 at 3:17 am

The marquee came off quite some time ago. This article posted on the Mountain Statesman web site on September 4, 2018 notes that the marquee was unsalvageable. The restoration underway apparently involves stripping away much, if not all, of Victor Rigaumont’s 1948 rebuilding project.

This 2015 post from the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia indicates that the Manos was not “built on the site of the Strand”, but actually is the Strand’s building, extensively remodeled. The house opened in 1912 as the Hippodrome Theatre with 325 seats, and has undergone expansion, and has been renamed twice over the years. It was still the Hippodrome in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but had been renamed the Strand by 1923.

This 2019 post from the theater’s Facebook page has a photo that shows the original brick arches that have been uncovered as Rigaumont’s modern overlay is removed. The Facebook page has not been updated since May 18, 2020. I suspect that, like many other projects, the Manos renovation has been struggling with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

AnnaP on May 31, 2013 at 12:26 pm

Erasmusinwv2, I am heading up there in July. I will try to check things out for you if you have not already. I am not certain of the Mother’s Day Shrine’s renovation intent or their budget. I would like to see it restored to as near original condition as possible, but also be a functioning theatre for the area. Have you done any further investigating into this?

Erasmusinwv2 on July 5, 2012 at 5:36 am

How much of the theater is left inside? I am in the process of buying and rehabbing the Philippi Grand and if it proves profitable I want to work on reopening other theaters in WV, KY, OH, PA, MD, and VA. There are so many wonderful old theaters with more character than any modern cookie cutter places.