The Historic Apollo Civic Theatre
100 Years
of Big Stories. Bright Lights. A Historic Stage.
A grand idea takes shape
Theatre owner H. P. Thorn commissions Washington architect Reginald Geare, with local architect Chapman E. Kent, to raise a Classical Revival showplace on East Martin Street.
The doors open
On January 19, 1914, the Apollo opens with a gala — 1,000 seats for moving pictures, vaudeville, and touring concerts. One of the first theatres in West Virginia built as a movie house.
The hemp house
High above the stage hangs the Apollo’s original rigging: scenery flown by hand on hemp rope, tied off to wooden pins. More than a century on, it is one of the last real hemp-rope pinrails left in existence — and it still runs every show. Step backstage →
The picture-show years
For decades the Apollo is the town’s picture house — first-run films glowing under the marquee. In this 1945 snapshot, Ida Lupino’s Pillow to Post tops the bill over a busy East Martin Street evening.
The curtain rises on live theatre
The Berkeley County Civic Theatre takes the stage, and the Apollo becomes a home for community theatre.
A place in history
The Apollo is listed on the National Register of Historic Places — a landmark worth preserving.
The Apollo Civic Theatre
The company takes the name it carries today. The marquee that had reached out over Martin Street since 1937 — its flashing lights a downtown landmark — comes down after a storm, and for decades the Apollo’s facade waits for its lights to return.
The lights return
For the first time since 1987, a brand-new marquee lights up over East Martin Street — funded by the Berkeley County Commission and celebrated by community leaders and neighbors. The historic Apollo shines again.
Still lighting up East Martin Street
More than a century on, the Apollo is a cultural landmark — and the stage for a brand-new season. Between shows, the ghost light stands watch.
And the story continues…
The 2026–2027 Season
Thirteen shows. One historic stage.