ABOUT US

The McCoy-McMechen Theatre & Museum, popularly known as McCoy's Grand, was built in 1927 by James Curtis McCoy and his wife, Eunice Dasher McCoy.  J. Curtis McCoy was the grandson of Samuel McMechen, builder of the large house next door. The theater opened with a silent film, "Wife Saver", on February 16, 1928. The program from that first showing states that the Grand is "a good playhouse built for the good people of a mighty good town" and goes on to claim that "no expense has been spared to make this theatre attractive, comfortable and absolutely safe."

After Mr. McCoy's death in 1944, Mrs. McCoy continued to operate the theater.  Anyone who grew up in Moorefield remembers Mrs. McCoy patrolling the aisles with her flashlight urging viewers to "SSSHHHHH..!!!"  The theater continued to show movies into the early 1980's when Mrs. McCoy's declining health forced her to close it.

The Town of Moorefield is fortunate that Mrs. McCoy had a provision in her will that kept the theater from being torn down or remodeled.  Now an active theater and museum, it is now much as it was in its heyday.  The stage was expanded to cover the original orchestra pit and the lobby was added in the renovation of the 1980's. 

More recent renovations have reduced the seating capacity to 209 from the original 400-plus.  New carpeting, seats and air conditioning have been added in recent years.  The original "air conditioning" was a giant fan on the roof.  The grate through which it pulled the hot air is visible near the front of the theater.  The fan, which is no longer at the theater, had a blade span of more than 6 feet.  When it was removed for renovations, it still had the original stenciling from the Typhoon Fan Company of Brooklyn, New York, with "to JC McCoy, Moorefield W VA" clearly showing after all the years.

We have a showroom filled with items from Mrs. McCoy's antique collection in what was originally a retail space.  Many businesses were housed in McCoy's over the years, from Lazarus Millinery Shop to Dwane Barr's Barbershop, Dalton Dasher's Sports Shop and Shanholtz's Soda Shop.

The McCoy's Grand Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to preserving the heritage of the McCoy-McMechen Theatre & Museum while maintaining it as an active theater providing entertainment for the community. 

PICTURED:  EUNICE D. McCOY