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Former Kirk’s Art Supply Store To Become a Blank Canvas in Downtown Wheeling

Plans in the works to redevelop site

Photos by Scott McCloskey Edgco Inc. of Flushing prepare the former Kirk’s Art Supplies building in downtown Wheeling for demolition next week.

The former Kirk’s Art Supplies building, located along Market Street in downtown Wheeling, will soon be another building erased from the landscape of downtown Wheeling as Edgco Inc. crews began taking preliminary steps Friday before demolition of the structure begins Monday.

As Edgco crews spent most of the afternoon Friday constructing a steel barrier to protect a large end concrete pillar that is part of West Virginia Independence Hall’s ornamental fence — local historian Margaret Brennan was spotted taking some photos of the building before the demolition begins next week. Brennan said it will be difficult to see the building demolished.

“It always hard to lose a building in the downtown. … This has such a rich history. It’s over a hundred years old,” Brennan commented.

She said the former Kirk’s Art Supply was a key business to the downtown area at one time.

“It enriched the city. Unfortunately times change and it did go out of business and the building has unfortunately been neglected and fallen into terrible disrepair,” she added.

Brennan said the positive take-away from the demolition of the building is that good things are planned for the property.

Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott and other city leaders said the plan is for the West Virginia Division of Culture and History to eventually take ownership of the Kirk’s site once it is cleared, though the details of the transaction must be finalized. Once the debris is cleared, Wheeling Heritage officials will have room to place the 25-ton Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument (currently located atop a hill at Wheeling Park) on the property adjacent to West Virginia Independence Hall.

Edgco owner Bruce Edge said he expects to start peeling away at the glazed block, tile panels and other ornamental elements of the facade beginning Monday in an effort to see if any of those elements can be saved. He said they will need to take extra precautions when tearing away at the side of the structure that is abutted against the building that currently houses the Scott College of Cosmetology.

Elliott recently said the time to save the building was about 10 years ago. Vice Mayor Chad Thalman said recent heavy rain led to even more damage to the already-deteriorated roof. For several months, perhaps even a couple of years, those looking out from the upper floors of WVIH could see the top of the Kirk’s building slowly cave in. The collapsed roof can now be viewed from across Market Street through the front windows of the building. The structure is being torn down at a cost of about $50,000, according to city officials.

(Casey Junkins contributed to this story.)

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