Clio Logo

Wheeling Park

You are vieweing item 7 of 7 in this tour.

This is a contributing entry for Wheeling Park and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
The Sonneborn Shelter is the centerpiece and oldest structure of Wheeling Park’s Hilltop Area. The picnic pavilion was built in 1973 using laminated wood and antique bricks, in order to match the W.E. Stone Memorial Clubhouse and Pool. Between 1973 and 1984, six tennis courts and a shelter were also added nearby. Finally, soccer fields were added to the area in the late 1980s, rounding out the Hilltop Area’s development. The Sonneborn Shelter is named for Charles Sonneborn, a Wheeling businessman and real estate developer. Sonneborn and associate Louis Haller purchased the land Wheeling Park now occupies in 1924. Though the two men initially planned on selling the site in plots for residential construction, they instead offered to sell it to the city of Wheeling if $350,000 could be raised. Wheeling was able to raise the funds and Sonneborn’s offer is memorialized by the Sonneborn Shelter. The Sonneborn Gates at the entrance to the park are not named after Charles Sonneborn, but after his father, Moses.

The Sonneborn Shelter.

Plant, Tree, Leaf, Shade

Finstein, Jeanne. 1 Linden Avenue, Friends of Wheeling. May 4th 2005. Accessed February 16th 2021. https://jfinstein.wixsite.com/friends-of-wheeling/1-linden-avenue.

History of Wheeling Park, Wheeling Park. Accessed February 16th 2021. https://oglebay.com/wheeling-park/history/.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Wheeling Park. Accessed February 16, 2021. https://oglebay.com/wheeling-park/shelters/.