Editing Charleston, West Virginia (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Street in Negro section, Charleston, West Virginia, September 1938.jpg|thumb|An African American neighborhood in Charleston, 1938]]
Charleston became the center of state government. Natural resources, such as [[coal]] and [[natural gas]], along with [[railroad]] expansion, also contributed to growth. New industries such as chemical, [[glass]], [[timber]] and [[steel]] migrated to the state, attracted by the area's natural resources. The city established a chamber of commerce in 1900.{{sfn|Chamber of Commerce|1901|p={{page needed|date=September 2022}}}} There was a large amount of new construction in Charleston during this period. A number of those buildings, including churches and office buildings, still stand in the heart of downtown along and bordering Capitol Street. The State Bureau of Archives and History was established in 1905, and the Charleston Public Library was established in 1909.<ref name=StateArchives>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvculture.org/history/archives/services.html |title=West Virginia State Archives |publisher=[[West Virginia Division of Culture and History]] |access-date=March 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316095528/http://www.wvculture.org/history/archives/services.html |archive-date=March 16, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Library>{{cite web|url=http://kanawhalibrary.org/about/history/ |title=About Us: History |location=Charleston |publisher=Kanawha County Public Library |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307210358/http://kanawhalibrary.org/about/history/ |archive-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref>

The city's first chemical manufacturer began operation in 1913.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} Three years later, the [[Libbey-Owens-Ford]] glass manufactory was built,<ref name=WVE>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org |title=West Virginia Encyclopedia |location=Charleston, WV |publisher=West Virginia Humanities Council |access-date=March 8, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319185213/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/ |archive-date=March 19, 2017}}</ref> as well as [[Charleston High School (West Virginia)|Charleston High School]]. Another large manufacturer, [[Owens-Illinois|Owens Bottle Company]], opened in 1917. [[Charleston City Hall]] was built in 1921. In the same year, a fire at the capitol building resulted in a new, hastily built structure being opened, but it too burned down in 1927. A Capitol Building Commission, created by the legislature in 1921, authorized construction of the [[West Virginia State Capitol|present capitol]]. Architect [[Cass Gilbert]] designed the buff-colored [[Indiana limestone]] structure in the [[Neo-Renaissance|Italian Renaissance]] style, with a final cost of just under $10 million. After the three stages of construction were completed, Governor [[William G. Conley]] dedicated the West Virginia State Capitol on June 20, 1932. Charleston Municipal Airport was established in 1909.{{sfn|Hellmann|2006}} In 1934, the city library expanded to become the Kanawha County Public Library system.<ref name=Library /> In 1935, [[Morris Harvey College]] relocated to Charleston from [[Barboursville, West Virginia]].<ref name=UC>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucwv.edu/About-UC/UC-at-a-Glance/History/ |title=Our History |publisher=University of Charleston |access-date=March 8, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308222506/http://www.ucwv.edu/About-UC/UC-at-a-Glance/History/ |archive-date=March 8, 2017}} (Timeline)</ref>

[[File:Chemical-plant-charleston-wv1.jpg|thumb|left|A chemical plant near Charleston in 1939]]
[[Charleston Municipal Auditorium]] was completed in 1939.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} During [[World War II]], the first and largest [[styrene-butadiene]] plant in the U.S. opened in nearby [[Institute, West Virginia|Institute]], providing a [[Synthetic rubber|replacement]] for [[Natural rubber|rubber]] to the war effort.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/341651/institute_and_wwii__creation_of_synthetic_rubber_plant_was/index.html |first=Clarence M. |last=Nelson |title=Institute and WWII: Creation of Synthetic Rubber Plant Was Exciting |publisher=redOrbit |date=December 28, 2005 |access-date=February 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920210307/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/341651/institute_and_wwii__creation_of_synthetic_rubber_plant_was/index.html |archive-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref> After the war ended, Charleston was on the brink of some significant construction. One of the first during this period was Kanawha Airport (now [[Yeager Airport]], named after General [[Chuck Yeager]]). Built in 1947, the construction encompassed clearing {{convert|360|acre|km2|1}} on three mountaintops and moving more than nine million cubic yards of earth.<ref name=Andre /> Kanawha Boulevard, a riverfront four-lane road, was also built in the early 1940s.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1941}} The [[Charleston Civic Center]] opened in 1959. Charleston began to be integrated into the [[Interstate Highway System]] in the 1960s when three major interstate systems—[[Interstate 64 in West Virginia|I-64]], [[Interstate 77 in West Virginia|I-77]] and [[Interstate 79#West Virginia|I-79]] were designated, all converging in Charleston. In 1961, the [[Kanawha River]] flooded much of the lower-lying parts of Charleston.{{sfn|Hellmann|2006}} In 1973, Morris Harvey College was renamed to be the [[University of Charleston]].<ref name=UC />

[[File:CAPITOL STREET "MAIN DRAG" OF CHARLESTON - NARA - 551125.jpg|thumb|Capitol Street, June 1973]]
In 1983, the [[Charleston Town Center]] opened its doors downtown. It was the largest urban-based mall east of the [[Mississippi River]], featuring three stories of shops and eateries. Downtown revitalization began in earnest in the late 1980s. Funds were set aside for streetscaping as Capitol and Quarrier streets saw new building facades, trees along the streets, and brick walkways installed. For a time, the opening of the Charleston Town Center Mall had a somewhat negative impact on the main streets of downtown Charleston, as many businesses closed and relocated into the mall. Also in 1983, West Virginia Public Radio launched a live-performance radio program statewide called ''[[Mountain Stage]]''.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mountainstage.org/Pages/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030234033/http://www.mountainstage.org/ |url-status=dead |title=Home |archive-date=October 30, 2009 |website=www.mountainstage.org |access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> What began as a live, monthly statewide broadcast went on to national distribution in 1986 through [[National Public Radio]] and around the world on the [[Voice of America]] satellite service.

The Robert C. Byrd Federal Building, Haddad Riverfront Park, and Capitol Market are just a few of the new developments that have helped growth in the downtown area during the 1990s. Charleston launched its city website in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19981205023347/http://www.cityofcharleston.org/ |url=http://www.cityofcharleston.org |archive-date=December 5, 1998 |title=City of Charleston, West Virginia |via=Internet Archive, [[Wayback Machine]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000925092129/http://www.officialcitysites.org/WestVirginia/Cities/Charleston.htm |url=http://www.officialcitysites.org/WestVirginia/Cities/Charleston.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 25, 2000 |title=United States of America: West Virginia |work=Official City Sites |editor1=Kevin Hyde |editor2=Tamie Hyde |location=Utah |oclc=40169021}}</ref>

[[File:Photograph of President William J. Clinton Addressing the Citizens of Charleston, West Virginia - NARA - 2945739.jpg|thumb|President [[Bill Clinton]] addressing a crowd in Charleston in 1993]]