Today in Wheeling History: October 16--WWVA takes over entire top floor of Hawley Building and opens one of Wheeling's finest ballrooms, the "Air Castle" (1934).
On October 16, 1934, radio station WWVA opened the Air Castle ballroom on the tenth floor of the Hawley Building in downtown Wheeling, creating one of the city's premier entertainment venues. The spacious ballroom featured a panoramic view of the Ohio River and state-of-the-art remote broadcast facilities, offering integrated dancing and broadcasting services to the public. The Air Castle hosted Saturday night dances with live music, drawing crowds eager to dance on its glass-like floor high above the city. Various orchestras performed at the venue, including the WWVA Orchestra featuring Paul Myers and Earl Summer Jr., as well as ten-piece bands for different broadcasts. Musician Earl Summers recalled playing at the Air Castle with both a ten-piece band and the twenty-five-piece Wheeling Steel Band orchestra. Before the Air Castle opened, WWVA had broadcast dances from Wheeling Park during summer months on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, marking the station's first remote broadcasts. The Air Castle responded to popular demand to continue these dances year-round in an indoor venue, providing Depression-era Wheeling with much-needed entertainment and escape. A privately managed ballroom called Hawaiian Gardens had previously occupied the space before WWVA transformed it into the Air Castle. Air Castle, Incorporated was formally dissolved on November 12, 1948, ending the ballroom's operation after fourteen years as a cornerstone of Wheeling's entertainment scene.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library. Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/yse43trs) (https://tinyurl.com/57bthufy); Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/4revcjm5) (https://tinyurl.com/mr2xjrx7) (https://tinyurl.com/3ppjsk59) (https://tinyurl.com/3ppjsk59), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/3ppjsk59) World Radio History (https://tinyurl.com/33rc3p5d) (https://tinyurl.com/jebbsvrv), Wheeling Jamboree (https://tinyurl.com/bdf7r2ax) (https://tinyurl.com/33rc3p5d), Broadcasting, Combined with Broadcast Advertising, 1993, p. 42 (https://tinyurl.com/jae69wet), Acoustic Music.Org (https://tinyurl.com/2pj63t3a), West Virginia Secretary of State Business Organization Detail (https://tinyurl.com/yc4eh2by)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; WWVA, Google Maps, Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer
On October 16, 1934, radio station WWVA opened the Air Castle ballroom on the tenth floor of the Hawley Building in downtown Wheeling, creating one of the city's premier entertainment venues. The spacious ballroom featured a panoramic view of the Ohio River and state-of-the-art remote broadcast facilities, offering integrated dancing and broadcasting services to the public. The Air Castle hosted Saturday night dances with live music, drawing crowds eager to dance on its glass-like floor high above the city. Various orchestras performed at the venue, including the WWVA Orchestra featuring Paul Myers and Earl Summer Jr., as well as ten-piece bands for different broadcasts. Musician Earl Summers recalled playing at the Air Castle with both a ten-piece band and the twenty-five-piece Wheeling Steel Band orchestra. Before the Air Castle opened, WWVA had broadcast dances from Wheeling Park during summer months on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, marking the station's first remote broadcasts. The Air Castle responded to popular demand to continue these dances year-round in an indoor venue, providing Depression-era Wheeling with much-needed entertainment and escape. A privately managed ballroom called Hawaiian Gardens had previously occupied the space before WWVA transformed it into the Air Castle. Air Castle, Incorporated was formally dissolved on November 12, 1948, ending the ballroom's operation after fourteen years as a cornerstone of Wheeling's entertainment scene.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library. Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/yse43trs) (https://tinyurl.com/57bthufy); Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/4revcjm5) (https://tinyurl.com/mr2xjrx7) (https://tinyurl.com/3ppjsk59) (https://tinyurl.com/3ppjsk59), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/3ppjsk59) World Radio History (https://tinyurl.com/33rc3p5d) (https://tinyurl.com/jebbsvrv), Wheeling Jamboree (https://tinyurl.com/bdf7r2ax) (https://tinyurl.com/33rc3p5d), Broadcasting, Combined with Broadcast Advertising, 1993, p. 42 (https://tinyurl.com/jae69wet), Acoustic Music.Org (https://tinyurl.com/2pj63t3a), West Virginia Secretary of State Business Organization Detail (https://tinyurl.com/yc4eh2by)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; WWVA, Google Maps, Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer
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