The 110-year-old Joplin Union Depot in Joplin, Missouri, recently made Missouri Preservation’s annual Places in Peril list of endangered historic properties.
These places are nominated by concerned individuals and decided upon by a committee of preservation advocates, according to a news release from the organization that has operated since 1976.
Joplin Union Depot opened to the public on June 30, 1911. The reinforced concrete structure was designed by Kansas City architect Louis Curtiss and helped define his reputation as a pioneer in fireproof construction. Unlike other train depots at the time, Curtiss incorporated geometric embellishments to create a Prairiemodern style building. The depot served the Kansas City Southern, Missouri-Kansas-Texas and Santa Fe railroads.
This is what Missouri Preservation wrote about the depot:
On November 3, 1969, the last train departed the depot and for over fifty years the building has remained vacant. Since 1972, groups have proposed alternate uses for the structure, including a Joplin Museum Complex, but nothing ever came to fruition. The building is currently threatened by a number of factors including neglect and deterioration as well as vandalism. The once white painted walls are covered with graffiti. Current players in advocacy for the future of the depot include the City of Joplin, the Joplin Historic Preservation Commission, Downtown Joplin Alliance, Post Art Library, Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc., and other regional preservation groups and residents. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office has owned the building since 1998 with hopes of finding a buyer who will rehabilitate the structure. Supporters hope that listing the Joplin Union Depot as a Place in Peril will raise awareness of the property’s availability and help find a developer to restore this important piece of Joplin’s history.
Joplin Union Depot is located off North Main Street (aka bypass Route 66 from the 1930s to 1955) and West A Street on the city’s north side. The Broadway alignment of Route 66 also runs just south of the property.
This video contains a lot of footage inside the building. Even dilapidated, it is an amazing structure:
Other properties that made the Places in Peril list:
- Dorman House. Clinton, Henry County
- Union Hotel, Jefferson City, Cole County
- 935 Broadway, Seiden’s Furs, Kansas City, Jackson County
- Grand Auglaize Bridge, Brumley, Miller County
- Oakley Chapel A.M.E Church, Tebbetts, Callaway County
(Image of Joplin Union Depot in Joplin, Missouri, by Jill Sullivan, courtesy of Missouri Preservation)
Rod Hart took Ron and I here in September 2006, during my Fiat Panda’s second full Route 66 trip. I was really saddened to see what neglect then had done to this important building and it’s sad to see nothing has been done to stop the vandalism and the modern curse of graffiti.
So, fully one-third (two of the six) properties, are owned by Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which has as its mission preservation of historic properties.
Nicely made video about the place. Easy to imagine it restored and looking new again, until the closing seconds of the video when they pan back and show the HUGE cell tower planted right next to the building, and the newer buildings that have encroached on the property.