Today in Wheeling History: September 30--Cornerstone of Pythian Castle, corner of 27th and Chapline Streets, laid with Congressman Dovener officiating (1895).
The cornerstone laying ceremony for the new Pythian Castle in Wheeling, West Virginia, an important event for the local Knights of Pythias, was postponed from September 29, 1895 to September 30 due to an order from the Grand Lodge. On September 30 at 3pm, the Knights gathered at the K.P. Hall on Market Street and marched with Master's band to the Castle site at 27th and Chapline Streets. The ceremony included songs, prayers, Capt. B.L. Dovener formally laying the cornerstone, an address by Hon. George Wesley Atkinson, and benediction. Once completed, the imposing Castle would serve as a splendid home for the Knights for many years. Members of Col. Bernard Shanley Division No. 21, Uniform Rank, K.P. were notified to participate in the ceremony.
The Pythian Castle was built between 1895-1896 at the corner of 27th and Chapline Streets on the site of a former foundry. It was designed by the Wheeling firm Hamilton & Son as a meeting hall for the Black Prince Lodge No. 19 of the Knights of Pythias fraternal order. The interior lodge hall was elaborately decorated and there was an auditorium on the second floor that housed a theater in the early 1900s. The upper floors contained additional lodge rooms.
In later decades, the Castle housed various businesses like bars, a laundromat, and a bingo parlor. The Towne Club tavern located inside was frequented by young people.
When the last member of the Black Prince Lodge died in the 1980s, the Grand Lodge sold the building. It was demolished in 1991. (https://tinyurl.com/22dxh6sk) (https://tinyurl.com/479efcue) (https://tinyurl.com/4y9dmzny) (https://tinyurl.com/34tsfj7s)
The cornerstone laying ceremony for the new Pythian Castle in Wheeling, West Virginia, an important event for the local Knights of Pythias, was postponed from September 29, 1895 to September 30 due to an order from the Grand Lodge. On September 30 at 3pm, the Knights gathered at the K.P. Hall on Market Street and marched with Master's band to the Castle site at 27th and Chapline Streets. The ceremony included songs, prayers, Capt. B.L. Dovener formally laying the cornerstone, an address by Hon. George Wesley Atkinson, and benediction. Once completed, the imposing Castle would serve as a splendid home for the Knights for many years. Members of Col. Bernard Shanley Division No. 21, Uniform Rank, K.P. were notified to participate in the ceremony.
The Pythian Castle was built between 1895-1896 at the corner of 27th and Chapline Streets on the site of a former foundry. It was designed by the Wheeling firm Hamilton & Son as a meeting hall for the Black Prince Lodge No. 19 of the Knights of Pythias fraternal order. The interior lodge hall was elaborately decorated and there was an auditorium on the second floor that housed a theater in the early 1900s. The upper floors contained additional lodge rooms.
In later decades, the Castle housed various businesses like bars, a laundromat, and a bingo parlor. The Towne Club tavern located inside was frequented by young people.
When the last member of the Black Prince Lodge died in the 1980s, the Grand Lodge sold the building. It was demolished in 1991. (https://tinyurl.com/22dxh6sk) (https://tinyurl.com/479efcue) (https://tinyurl.com/4y9dmzny) (https://tinyurl.com/34tsfj7s)
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