Derek Redd B&O BUILDING — West Virginia Northern Community College celebrates rededication of historic B&O Building

WHEELING — As state and local officials stood before the renovated exterior of West Virginia Northern Community College’s historic B&O Building, they said it was not just an example of West Virginia’s commitment to restoring an important structure to its past glory but also an example of the commitment the Mountain State has to its community and technical colleges.

Dozens gathered outside the B&O Building entrance Tuesday morning to celebrate the completion of a more-than-$2 million project to breathe new life into a building that has stood in the city of Wheeling since 1908.

“This building represents more than just bricks and mortar,” WVNCC President Daniel Mosser said to the assembled crowd. “It stands as a symbol of the connection between our past and our future, and between opportunities and those who come here seeking it.”

The B&O Building began its life as the main terminal for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Construction began in 1906, was halted for a time due to a major flood in 1907 and opened to the public in 1908. It was home to the railroad until 1962. After that it took on a few other personas, including a disco named the “Blue Caboose.”

In 1975, the state purchased the building for use as WVNCC’s new headquarters, as the college was outgrowing its space in the Hazel Atlas Building. It has been the epicenter of the college ever since.

West Virginia Northern has seen plenty of renovations on its campus over the years, including extensive remodels of the interior of the B&O Building. Mosser said that eventually it became necessary for the building’s exterior to catch up with its interior.

“The inside is pretty nice, but the outside was a big nut to crack,” Mosser said.

Part of the difficulty was the cost, and the West Virginia government stepped up to help. The B&O Building’s restoration was part of a funding package passed in 2024 for deferred maintenance projects. Sarah Armstrong Tucker — the chancellor of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System and West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, as well as a Wheeling native — told Tuesday’s crowd there was no hesitance to put the B&O Building on the project list.

“I knew how important this building was to this community,” she said, “and I knew we had to find a way to save it, and we did.”

The project included restoration of stonework, windows and decorative features of the building’s exterior. It also included the reintroduction of the building’s signature marquee canopy. Officials gave their remarks underneath that structure Tuesday morning.

Among those officials was Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who marveled at the beauty of the renovated building and discussed its historical importance to the city. He also used the event as an opportunity to hold a ceremonial bill signing for a 3% pay raise for state workers, including teachers, school service personnel, highway workers and state police.

“They earned it,” Morrisey said. “They deserve it. … A lot of these jobs, they’re not easy, but they’re essential for our state to continue to run.”

And the training and education for many of those jobs comes from centers of education like WVNCC, Morrisey said. That increases the importance of renovations like the B&O Building, making sure that facilities for career and technical colleges remain top-notch.

“The work they’re doing here is really important,” he said. “They’re producing a whole new generation of workers whose skills are going to be needed in the future.”

Mosser agreed and said the B&O Building will continue to be a gathering point for those looking to further their educations.

“It’s a rebirth,” he said. “This building has been around for 120 years and hopefully it’ll be around for another 120 years.”