Global InformationOglebay Park information
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| Oglebay Park | |
|---|---|
 The Oglebay Institute Mansion Museum | |
 | |
| Type | Municipal park |
| Created | July 28, 1928[1] |
| Operated by | Wheeling Park Commission[1] |
| Visitors | 3+ million[2] |
| Status | Open all year |
Oglebay Mansion Museum | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
   | |
| Location | Oglebay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Coordinates | 40°6′7″N 80°40′8″W / 40.10194°N 80.66889°W |
| Area | 1,650 acres (667.7 ha) |
| Built | 1846 |
| Architect | Hanson Chapline, renovations by Edward B. Franzheim and the Klieves, Kraft and Company |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002595[3][4] |
| Added to NRHP | August 29, 1979 |
Oglebay Park is a self-supporting public municipal park, the only one of its kind, located on the outskirts of Wheeling, West Virginia, on 1,650 acres (670 ha). In 1926, Earl W. Oglebay (of Oglebay, Norton, and Company) deeded his estate, Waddington Farms, to the city of Wheeling for the express purpose of public recreation.[5] The park has been open to the public since 1928 when its governing body, the Wheeling Park Commission, began operations.[6]
Several Waddington Farms buildings, including the Mansion Museum and the greenhouse, remain in use today. Others, such as the Carriage House, have been rebuilt in the style of the original structures. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the Oglebay Mansion is operated as a museum by the Oglebay Institute.
The park currently incorporates two championship golf courses,[7] two standard courses (9-hole and 18-hole), one par three course, eleven tennis courts, a large outdoor pool, extensive walking trails, the Good Zoo, the Mansion Museum (operated by the Oglebay Institute), gardens, a greenhouse, the Anne Kuchinka Amphitheater, the Wilson Lodge (containing over 271 rooms), 54 cottages, The Schrader Center (a nature center operated by the Oglebay Institute), a planetarium (located within the Good Zoo), a ski slope, Camp Russel, and Schenk Lake, which is used for fishing, pedal boating, Segway tours, several nightly fountain shows in season, and the Speidel Observatory.
Annual events at the park include, but are not limited to: The Winter Festival of Lights, Oglebayfest, the Ohio County Fair, the West Virginia Open (tennis), Springfest, and Fort Henry Days (a living history weekend).
- ^ a b Comins, Linda. "Oglebay Park prepares for 90th anniversary". Weirton Daily Times.
- ^ "Leave Your Mark". Oglebay Foundation.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Oglebay Park". Time.
- ^ Fisanick, Christina. "Oglebay – The Park That Almost Wasn't". Weelunk Magazine.
- ^ Oglebay Park to water police. Time.
- ^ Slater, Chris. "Oglebay Park shifted focus to overcome losses related to COVID-19 pandemic; expecting large summer crowds". WV News.