The old saying: All good things must come to an end rang true with the end of a local custom. The weekly Saturday night Jamboree USA show ended in December 2005, marking the end of an era. This was truly like the removal of all the train tracks around the Wheeling Area, gone are the whistles, the clanging of the tracks forever. Soon would follow the heartbreaking closing of the Capital Theatre just a year down the road in 2006 .WHEELING Its stage has been graced by country music legends Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, and, most recently, President Bush paid a visit for a town hall meeting.
Countless children, teens and adults had their 15 minutes of fame while on it, dancing and acting their hearts out. For years, it served as headquarters for the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, which now is forced to perform in Marshall County outside its hometown.
Country music superstar Brad Paisley also got his start there, a start that helped launch his career from the streets of Glen Dale to Nashville.The Capitol Music Hall has remains dark and vacant, except for its ticket office and some office space occupied by local radio stations.

Gone but never forgotten

As A very small child I still remember the stories of the old theatre organ played before live performances and movies and during intermissions. Resting below the actual seating area in front of the stage and out of the audience's view, the organ was elevated to its playing position, astonishing theater goers. After a musical interlude, the organ was lowered back to its original position on the platform. The organist Dusty Rhodes and then Vivian Miller would play this mighty instrument as it rose up. The pipes were replaced by a Hammond organ. As I continued my journey in life, it was here that I experienced the excitment of music, and even my son's performing on the stage where I once performed. History is recording of events and the Capital Music Hall is worthy of the praise of legacy.

The Capitol Theatre opened on Thanksgiving day 1928 at a cost of $1,000,000.00. The architect was Charles W. Bates of Wheeling, and R. R. Kitchen was general contractor. The building was constructed to support a planned eight-story hotel which was never built. A large copper marquee with electric and neon sign graced the entrance. The auditorium originally seated nearly 3,000. The side walls were divided into large panels with borders and silken fabric. Primary color scheme was mulberry, delicate green tones, ivory and various shades of golden russet. There were two balconies, as well as three projectors: one for silent films, one for sound, and one for emergencies. Attracive sculpted figures graced the 44-foot wide proscenium. The ceiling lighting fixtures measured eight feet in diameter and contained hundred of amber color prisms and diffusing bowls. The lobby had two box offices, as well as Cylinder type lanterns with prism head lighting fixtures.[Vivian Miller]

The theatre had a $50,000.00 Marr & Coulton organ built in Warsaw, NY. The auditorium remains intact and largely unaltered, albeit needing some renovation and with some urgent fire code violations to address, which are forcing its imminent closure.
The theatre presented movies and stage shows, and the Wheeling Symphony Society moved into the building in 1929 and the Jamboree presented its first show at the theatre in 1933. Both eventually moved out, the symphony leaving because it felt movie presentations would detract from the symphony performances. Continue on to read more about the Capital Music Hall

History of the First Radio Jamboree and Second oldest Country show in the United States Dan Recorded the first Record on the JAM label in the 70's.