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Description |
This series of twelve postcards focuses on the 600 block of Main Street as the district grew in the early twentieth century then declined in the 1960s. The first postcard, from about 1906, shows the downtown horizon when the Keystone Hotel is Joplin's tallest building. The next photograph was taken not long after the grand Connor Hotel (4th & Main) opened its stately doors. With the Keystone towering across the street, these two hotels provide a major focal point for the north end of Main Street. Horse-drawn carriages are still the norm on the street; however, that will soon change. Some businesses visible on this block are John J. Kirkpatrick Pianos and Hardware and the competition, Jenkins Sons Pianos. The simple one-story wooden buildings will soon be replaced by brick construction. The winds of change are definitely in the air. In the 1912 postcard, we see two of these changes-the horseless carriage parked at the curb and the modern, palatial Newman Mercantile on the left. In addition to the often-photographed Connor Hotel and Keystone Hotel in the distance, we also see the prominent sign of Black's Furniture Company. Across the street are the IXL Barber Shop and Lead's Gents Furnishings. It is now 1915, and we can't help but marvel at the sophisticated city Joplin has become! Four imposing high-rises dominate skyline-the Connor Hotel, Keystone Hotel, Newman Mercantile and the new Frisco Building in the foreground. Main Street teems with activity--pedestrians, bicyclists, automobiles, trolleys; horse-and-buggy outfits will soon be obsolete. In the 1930s, city buses, automobiles, and delivery trucks pack the thoroughfare as the streetcar era winds down. In their spare time, movie fans flock to the theater district, where the Orpheum, the Hippodrome, the Paramount, and the Fox screen the latest Hollywood flicks. Pre-war Joplin bustles with activity in 1939. The old trolley tracks have been removed and paved over. No one suspects that in 3 years rationing will drastically curtail automobile traffic. New-car owners show off the latest Ford and Buick products. Citizens State Bank has been in operation since 1903, weathering the Great Depression while other banks closed their doors. Folks who can't afford to stay at the Connor or Keystone Hotels can find cheaper lodging at the Hotel Mack or the Traveler's Hotel and grab something to eat at the Serv-U-Cafe. Downtown retail is booming, with Western Auto, Crowe's Paint and Wallpaper, the Pant & Hat Store, Joplin Hardware, Joplin Furniture Co., Newman Mercantile, and Sears, Roebuck & Co. Incidentally, Sears suffered a disastrous fire at this location in September of 1936. The entire second floor and the rear of the ground floor were consumed in flame, and a fireman was injured while fighting the blaze. Hundreds of people watched the spectacular fire, oblivious to the danger of exploding motor oil, gun ammunition, and other combustibles displayed on the first floor. Although the fire caused $100,000 in damages, Sears rebuilt at the same location as soon as it could. Life is good in Joplin in the 1950s, and downtown is the place to be. Here we see a variety of businesses: Citizens Bank, Sears & Roebuck, Molloy's Jewelry Store, Coulter-McGuire Men's Clothing, Newman's Department Store, Osterloh's Book Store, Sherwin Williams, Western Auto, Cook's Paint, Miller's Cafe, and the Frisco Building. Main Street experiences its last hurrah before the federal government, through the Joplin Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, forever altered its appearance. In fact, many of the buildings shown in the 600 block will soon fall to the wrecking ball. The redevelopment program began in Joplin in 1963 and eventually appropriated almost $4 million in federal Urban Renewal funds. The Authority used eminent domain to acquire blighted buildings, tear them down, and then replace them with new commercial development. Some redevelopment did take place. But block after block was paved over for parking or simply left vacant. Concerned citizens ended the program in the April 7, 1970 election, defeating any further Urban Renewal projects. A Joplin News Herald article quoted a Joplinite who lamented that downtown "looks as though a tornado had hit us." One asked, "Where is the town?" Another said that urban renewal was the "worst disaster " ever to befall the business district. However, the end of passenger train traffic, the flight of medical services to areas nearer the hospitals, and the exodus of downtown retail (Sears, Penney's, Ramsay's, and Newman's) to the malls hammered the nails into the coffin for downtown Joplin. Sources:Curteich postcard website: www.lcfpd.org/docs/teich_guide_dating.pdfGibbons, Charles. Angling in the Archives. 1996.Joplin City Directories: 1909, 1910, 1914, 1933-1955[Joplin Globe or News Herald] Sept. 28, 1911Joplin News Herald. Mar. 13, 1970. "Views Vary on Urban Renewal. "The Labor Magazine. Vol. XLI, No. 7. June, 1970. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1906. "Urban Renewal...Closing Out of Project Nears." Joplin Globe. Jan. 26, 1972.The World's Greatest Zinc and Lead District. Joplin: Means & Head, 1907. |
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