Capitol Theatre Ballroom

The Capitol Theatre Ballroom sits on the second floor of the Capitol Theatre, a Beaux-Arts building that opened in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1928. The room was never meant to be a ballroom. It was built as the lobby for an eight-story hotel planned above the theatre, and its foundation and massive steel beams were engineered to carry those eight additional stories. The hotel never went up. The ballroom is built to reconfigure — theatre style, classroom style, board style, u-shape, hollow square, whatever an event calls for. A permanent stage carries built-in audio and projection. Elevator or stairs reach it. Since the theatre reopened in 2009, the room has drawn national touring musicians for intimate concerts, comedians, and speaking engagements with U.S. political leaders. It also hosts wedding receptions and other private events. Two more spaces round out the theatre: the Lobby, suited to press conferences and small receptions, and the Beaux-Arts Mezzanine, reached by the grand staircases and set for cocktail receptions and intimate dinners.