Capitol Plaza Theater

 

                                                A picture my mom took of the Capitol Plaza Theater when we we're walking along Summers street last month.

              



          I figured today would be a good day to end my nearly one-year hiatus from blogging (my last post was in October 2024). The dreary weather today has me in the mood to tell a good ghost story. Everybody who knows me knows I love a good ghost story.

 

    This is probably one of the most told and re-told stories around the Charleston area. This is the story of the Capitol Plaza Theater on Summers Street in downtown Charleston, WV. It is said that the site was formally occupied by the Welch mansion. The Welch family mansion was built in the latter part of the 1700's and housed generations of the Welch family for over 100 years, until it was for whatever reason sold to developers who dozed it down for the theatre to be built. There have been reports of people seeing John Welch and his daughter (8 years old) who died of pneumonia. It is said that there is an eerie, cold feeling when you walk in the theater. The ghosts are described as being fun and playful. I’ve also heard that the phantom smell of John Welch’s cigars lingers in the theater.

A little history on the theatre

     The Theater was originally opened in 1912 as The Plaza Theater and had Vaudeville plays. In 1919, it switched hands and was remodeled and was reopened to show both movies and live performances. West Virginia’s governor at the time was in attendance for the first movie showing- The Old Nest.  There was a fire in 1923 that caused the roof to collapse and after that, they focused mainly on showing movies. In 1982 the theatre was closed and wasn't reopened until 1985 when a group of investors purchased the place and reopened it as the Capitol Plaza Theater as a performing arts center. This lasted until 1991 when the theater was donated to the state college (now university). In 2018 the theatre was sold to Resurrection church.

 

More research

          I’ve been told this story by trusted sources BUT I had to do a little research of my own. There was indeed a Welch homestead on Summers Street. One of the Welch brothers, Levi, was a proprietor of a store for several years that sat across the alley from where the theater presently sits. Both Levi’s dad and his brother were both named John (plus I’m sure about 100 other Johns in their family) so it’s hard to say exactly which John the apparition is. Theres no mention of a girl named Molly but records from the 1800’s are hard to find and aren’t always 100% accurate. When I first read about this several years ago (I couldn’t begin to tell you what site I read it on) I kept thinking “Capitol Theater” was referring to the Theater in Capitol High School, haha. But April Morgan of Charleston Ghost Tour company set me straight on Charleston’s very first ghost tour back in 2021. I know there are a few more companies offering ghost tours in Charleston nowadays but April is the real deal and the OG of Charleston Ghost tours, not to mention she’s a local girl who knows these stories and streets well. April and her husband, Troy, got married on the stage of the Capitol Theater.

 

Is it still haunted?

Is the theater still being haunted to this day? Who knows? Maybe John and his daughter are still hanging around or maybe the Church has done some kind of cleansing to rid the place of spirits? I’d love to go in, I’ve been outside several times.



Sources

Genealogical Intersection - Levi Welch (rootsweb.com)

John Slaughter Welch (1789-1856) - Find a Grave Memorial

Levi Welch (1842-1901) - Find a Grave Memorial

WVSU Capitol Center | West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail (wvhistorictheaters.com)


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