State Theatre

Joe Vogel on July 18, 2024 at 1:43 pm

Here is the brief item about the opening of Wheeling’s new Plaza Theatre that appeared in the September 3, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World: “The beautiful new Plaza Theatre, Wheeling, W. Va., which has been under construction for the past year, was opened Monday, August 1, with ‘Black Beauty’ as the attraction. The entire proceeds of the first day were divided equally between the Ohio Valley General and the North Wheeling Hospitals.

“The theatre is under the management of George Zeppos, general manager of the Rex Theatre Co., operating the Rex Theatre here, with Paul Leach, recently manager of the Elks Club, as house manager. Fred Campwell is director of the orchestra.”

The Plaza was designed by noted local architect Frederick Fisher Faris (advertising as F. F. Faris and usually called Fred Faris in published items.)

A July 10, 1926 Moving Picture World item about the project that would open as the Capitol Theatre in 1928 said that plans for the new house had already been prepared by Fred Faris. I’m not sure why the commission ended up being given to Faris’s principal local rival, Charles W. Bates. The Plaza was certainly a handsome building, as were Faris’s numerous other works.