Add an Article Add an Event Edit

Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion


About Us:

The Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion is a historic Greek Revival structure located in Blue Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The Pavilion is the only surviving structure from the Blue Sulphur Springs Resort, a 19th century mineral spa, and was built to shelter the sulphur spring at the resort. The Pavilion consists of twelve columns holding up a square roof, and is primarily built with brick. It was built in 1834 along with the resort, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1992.

The Pavilion is built on a square, brick foundation with stone facing, with sides measuring 32 feet and 10 inches. Twelve columns rest on the foundation, giving the Pavilion an open structure; the columns are of a modified Doric Order and are built of brick covered in plaster.  The frieze of the Pavilion is undecorated and made of clapboard.

The Pavilion is topped with a four-sided hipped roof with clapboard pediments. A marble basin sits inside the Pavilion. The sulphur spring flows into the basin at a rate of 6 gallons per minute and a temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit. The Pavilion is the only resort pavilion in West Virginia and one of few rural structures built in the Greek Revival style. In his 1846 book on mineral springs, William Burke described the Pavilion as "well-designed but badly executed" and referred to the fountain inside as "one of the most beautiful objects imaginable."

The Pavilion is now in severe disrepair. A stopped-up drainage system has resulted in standing water that is undermining the foundation. One of the 12 Greek columns has slipped off center. The facility has stood for 170 years but those years have taken their toll, and there is the likelihood that the structure will collapse without proper care.