Parkersburg, WV (3500 Murdoch Ave): Difference between revisions

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Parkersburg's exterior in the 1990s. (PC: showbizpizza.com)

3500 Murdoch Ave, was a corporate Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese's that opened in 1983 (day and month unknown) and closed in 1998 (day and month unknown), after 15 years in operation. This store would have a unique exterior with a unique Chuck E. Cheese logo, which would be kept until they closed.

History

Showbiz Pizza Era (1983-Early 1990s)

This store would host its grand opening in 1983 as the 1st Showbiz Pizza Store in West Virginia, where the store would have the Rock-afire Explosion, featuring the Classic Stage. They had many of the same features that every Showbiz location had at the time. This would include many arcade games, wood paneling, and a play-place. Their Rockafire Explosion show was one of several to have a custom outfit for Mitzi in 1986/87. Strangely, this store had some unique Chuck E. Cheese and Fatz Geronimo posters, being seen in some footage.

CEC Era (Early 1990s-1998)

In March 1991, Parkersburg would remodel to a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, which involved the removal of the Rock-afire Explosion, and the addition of the 3-Stage. This would be the only Showbiz in West Virginia to undergo Concept Unification. The exterior sign was replaced with a very weird one. This remodel involved also adding new games, redoing the interior, and getting new fixtures. It is unknown if they would ever receive the Phase 2, or Phase 3 game packages during this store's lifetime.

Post-CEC Era (1998-Present)

After the store closed, the building would stay vacant for a while until it was redone and used by a few businesses. Currently, the old building is a business called WorkForce West Virginia.

Rex Donahue, the franchise owner of all of the West Virginia Showbiz Pizza Place locations, kept the show. The characters are in storage and are now being used for parts at Billy Bob's Wonderland in Barboursville, WV.

Stages

Stage	Installed	Removed	Notes
Rock-Afire Explosion	1983	1991	1st Showbiz Pizza store to open in West Virginia
3-Stage	March 1991	1998	Only West Virginia location to receive Concept Unification.

Animatronics

Animatronic	Serial	Whereabouts
Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe	??-8? 1-??	In storage.
Pasqually the Chef / Dook Larue	??-8? 2-??	In storage.
Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo	??-8? 3-??	In storage.
Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear	??-8? 4-??	In storage.
Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella	??-8? 5-??	In storage.
Billy Bob	??-8? 6-??	In storage.
PizzaCam / Looney Bird	??-8? 7-??	In storage.
Munch Jr. / Choo Choo	??-8? 8-??	In storage.
Building / Sun	??-8? 10-??	In storage.
Moon	??-8? 11-??	In storage.
Antioch	N/A	In storage.
Wink	N/A	In storage.

Gallery

Early 1990s

The former building in 2015. (PC: Google Maps)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:parkersburg.jpg|thumb|Parkersburg's exterior in the 1990s. (PC: showbizpizza.com)]]
-'''''3500 Murdoch Ave''''', was a corporate Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese's that opened in 1983 (day and month unknown) and closed in 1998 (day and month unknown), after 15 years in operation. It was in a shopping center. This store would have a unique exterior with a very weird Chuck E. Cheese logo, which would be kept until they closed.
+'''''3500 Murdoch Ave''''', was a corporate Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese's that opened in 1983 (day and month unknown) and closed in 1998 (day and month unknown), after 15 years in operation. This store would have a unique exterior with a unique Chuck E. Cheese logo, which would be kept until they closed.
 ==History==
 ===Showbiz Pizza Era (1983-Early 1990s)===
-This store would host its grand opening in 1983 as the 1st Showbiz Pizza Store in West Virginia, where the store would have the Rock-afire Explosion, featuring the [https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Classic_Stage Classic Stage]. They had many of the same features that every Showbiz location had at the time. This would include many arcade games, wood paneling, and a play-place. Their Rockafire Explosion show was one of several to have a custom outfit for Mitzi in 1986/87.
+This store would host its grand opening in 1983 as the 1st Showbiz Pizza Store in West Virginia, where the store would have the Rock-afire Explosion, featuring the [https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Classic_Stage Classic Stage]. They had many of the same features that every Showbiz location had at the time. This would include many arcade games, wood paneling, and a play-place. Their Rockafire Explosion show was one of several to have a custom outfit for Mitzi in 1986/87. Strangely, this store had some unique Chuck E. Cheese and Fatz Geronimo posters, being seen in some footage.
 ===CEC Era (Early 1990s-1998)===
 In March 1991, Parkersburg would remodel to a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, which involved the removal of the Rock-afire Explosion, and the addition of the [https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/3-Stage 3-Stage]. This would be the only Showbiz in West Virginia to undergo Concept Unification. The exterior sign was replaced with a very weird one. This remodel involved also adding new games, redoing the interior, and getting new fixtures. It is unknown if they would ever receive the [https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Phase_2_(1997 Phase 2], or [https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Phase_3_(2000) Phase 3] game packages during this store's lifetime.
 ===Post-CEC Era (1998-Present)===
+After the store closed, the building would stay vacant for a while until it was redone and used by a few businesses. Currently, the old building is a business called WorkForce West Virginia.
-After the store closed, it would remain vacant for a short period until it and the shopping center it once inhabited were finally demolished. The former plot of the location is now some other shopping center. Rex Donahue, the franchise owner of all of the West Virginia Showbiz Pizza Place locations, kept the show. The characters are in storage and are now being used for parts at Billy Bob's Wonderland in Barboursville, WV.
+Rex Donahue, the franchise owner of all of the West Virginia Showbiz Pizza Place locations, kept the show. The characters are in storage and are now being used for parts at Billy Bob's Wonderland in Barboursville, WV.
 ==Stages==
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 32: / Line 35: @@
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Rolfe_Dewolfe_&_Earl_Schmerle_(Animatronic) Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe]
 |??-8? 1-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Dook_Larue_(Animatronic) Pasqually the Chef / Dook Larue]
 |??-8? 2-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Fatz_Geronimo_(Animatronic) Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo]
 |??-8? 3-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Beach_Bear_(Animatronic) Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear]
 |??-8? 4-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Mitzi_Mozzarella_(Animatronic) Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella]
 |??-8? 5-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bob_(Animatronic) Billy Bob]
 |??-8? 6-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Looney_Bird_(Animatronic) PizzaCam / Looney Bird]
 |??-8? 7-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Choo_Choo_(Animatronic) Munch Jr. / Choo Choo]
 |??-8? 8-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Sun_(Animatronic) Building / Sun]
 |??-8? 10-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Moon_(Animatronic) Moon]
 |??-8? 11-??
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Antioch_(Animatronic) Antioch]
 |N/A
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |-
 |[https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/Wink Wink]
 |N/A
+|In storage.
-|Unknown.
 |}
 ==Gallery==
+[http://showbizpizza.com/photos/cec/wv_unknown/index.html Early 1990s]
 <gallery>
+File:parkersburgnow.png|The former building in 2015. (PC: Google Maps)
 </gallery>