Slowly but surely, one of downtown Wheeling’s biggest eyesores is coming down.

In its place will be a new structure that will do nothing but enhance the neighborhood’s look and help boost the city’s overall image.

Just minutes after the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau along with other local groups unveiled the conceptual plans for the upcoming Gateway Visitors and Heritage Center, Raze International crews started dismantling the building currently standing at the site, the former Wheeling Inn hotel.

The demolition of that building has been a long time coming. For years, the Wheeling Inn offered a disappointing example of what downtown Wheeling looked like as motorists passed through the Wheeling Tunnel and turned onto Main Street. As the neighborhood around it began to improve — with renovations to the Bridge Tavern and Grill and the changes made through the Downtown Streetscape project — the old hotel stuck out even more.

When the CVB purchased the building in January 2023, it was the first step to ridding that corner of a dilapidated piece of the past. Now as machines carefully pull down the building, the Wheeling Inn can become a memory.

And one of the jewels of the city, the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, can be showcased in full view.

“For more than 150 years, there’s been some type of building obstructing the view to the Suspension Bridge,” Frank O’Brien, executive director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said during the unveiling of the plans. “That’s the reason we’re doing this — opening up the Suspension Bridge views is going to really change the gateway to Wheeling in a positive way.”

What’s coming will be a proper addition to downtown Wheeling, a new, beautiful, state-of-the-art building that will serve as both a welcome center to visitors and a showcase of the city’s heritage. And its design won’t hide the Suspension Bridge from view. It will accentuate the historic structure and integrate it into the entrance to downtown Wheeling.

So much work is being done, both through public works and private investment, to revitalize the look of downtown Wheeling. It is wonderful that the CVB is playing its part in adding to those improvements. It’s a new structure for a new era of the city.

“I’ve always thought of this block as the front door to the city,” Ohio County Administrator Randy Russell said. “It’s long looked old and tired. It’s a great day for the Friendly City and for Ohio County. Today we take one more step toward the revitalization of our great city.”

Downtown Wheeling’s front door is getting a fresh coat of paint, and more. Kudos to all those who have played a part in making it happen.