121 North Main Street
Moorefield, WV, 26836
Hardy County
304.530.7115
http://mccoysgrand.com/
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McCoy’s Grand Theatre was constructed in 1927 by Martinsburg contractor/builder D.C. James for owner J. Curtis McCoy and his wife Eunice. The brick movie house, which could seat over 400 in the audience, opened with a screening of the silent film “Wife Saver” in February 1928. Its grand opening program claimed, “No expense has been spared to make this theatre attractive, comfortable, and absolutely safe,” noting that it had been “built for the good people of a mighty good town.”  McCoy’s Grand provided the citizens of Moorefield with entertainment for decades, remaining a family-owned and operated business throughout its lifespan as a movie venue – as, following her husband’s 1944 passing, Eunice McCoy continued running the theater until the early 1980s.

Its closure was not the end of the theater’s story, though. A provision in Eunice McCoy’s will specified that the building could not be demolished or remodeled greatly.  In 1983, her estate’s trustees donated the building and land to the McCoy-McMechen Museum, a nonprofit organization established for the purpose. A 1985 interior renovation prepared the building for its new use as a playhouse by adding a stage and dressing rooms; other upgrades to the facility in the years since have included new seats, carpet, and air conditioning. The organization also reused a storefront in the McCoy’s building, which had previously hosted enterprises ranging from a barbershop to a soda shop; it and the theater lobby now hold a small museum.  Today, attendees at the theater’s plays can also enjoy viewing antiques that Eunice McCoy collected, along with McCoy’s Grand Theatre artifacts.  (Listed NRHP 1986)