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East Wheeling’s Blue Church Will Undergo Roof Repair Work

A construction truck is parked in front of the Blue Church in East Wheeling. (File Photo)

Roof and masonry repair at East Wheeling’s Blue Church is underway after the house-of-worship-turned-performance-venue closed for structural concerns in late April.

The West Virginia Historic Preservation Office has supplied Wheeling Heritage with a 50/50 matching grant for work on box gutters, downspouts and the roof truss along the building’s north side. Masonry work on the church’s south side will be paid for exclusively by Wheeling Heritage.

Executive Director Jake Dougherty said the organization is glad to make progress with the building, but said when the venue will reopen is so far undetermined. He said with construction underway, now is a good opportunity to examine other areas of the building and consider further work.

Wheeling Heritage historian Rebekah Karelis estimated the roof and gutter work will cost $73,000, while masonry repair will cost about $25,000. G&W Roofing of Pennsylvania and Adventures in Elegance of Wheeling will handle the work.

The church closed in April after pieces of brick toppled from the building’s south wall. Wheeling Heritage’s board of directors decided to move several events scheduled for the venue as a precaution, and have since kept the place quiet.

Built in 1837, the building is one of the few pre-Civil War structures remaining in the city. Wheeling Heritage identified the Blue Church as a target for preservation as an example of Greek Revival architecture.

Wheeling Heritage applied for another state preservation grant in March. Dougherty said this is valued at a little under $70,000, which would be used for additional roof work.

The organization is working closely with the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office to ensure the old church is repaired to preservation standards.

Dougherty said SHPO officials visited the building Friday. He expects work to be complete by the end of July.

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