The Joplin Museum Complex in Joplin, Mo., may be moved into the historic Union Depot under a downtown development plan outlined by the city manager, according to the Joplin Globe.
According to the newspaper, museum officials are set to discuss the proposal involving the nearly 100-year-old structure on Tuesday. They said they would remain publicly noncommittal until they review the plan.
Current photos of the depot and artist’s conceptions of the reborn depot can be seen here.
The depot closed during the 1970s, and has deteriorated from neglect and vandalism.
The Globe reported:
Though the state is waiting for a formal plan from the city, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says officials are anxious to work with Joplin officials on efforts that would end with a restored depot in city hands.
If so, it would be the first successful revitalization effort after several failed attempts to revive a local landmark. […]
The depot was the subject of several failed attempts to rehabilitate it for commercial use, including one that generated at least three lawsuits against the developer. At one point, it was sold for $1,400 in back taxes, then was “rescued” by state ownership.
The Joplin Museum Complex, which includes an extensive collection of Route 66 artifacts, had hoped to move into the city’s Memorial Hall. But a one-sixth-cent sales-tax referendum to facilitate the $7 million move was resoundingly rejected by voters in April. According to comments to the Globe’s website and letters to the editor, many residents wanted the museum in the depot instead.
I and others were skeptical whether the long-decrepit depot could be rehabilitated. But local architect Chad Greer recently toured the building and said it was “in remarkably better shape than one (could) imagine.”
“That’s not to say that work won’t be required, but we feel strongly the building can be saved without compromising its appearance.” he said. “When you think about rehabilitating, compared to what it would cost to build a building of this caliber today, it makes such sense to preserve it.”
Contractor David Glenn echoed Greer’s take on the building’s soundness.
“The roof and the stucco are 22 years old, but they are still in a good shape,” he said. “It’s hard to damage a solid-concrete building. It is almost all poured-in-place concrete — even these round balls and platforms are poured concrete. You won’t see anything like that on a building today.
“Every structural element is rebar-reinforced concrete. Structurally, it is very, very sound. As a contractor or developer, I would not hesitate about redoing that building.’’
But based on what I saw with the depot, I’m betting that rehabilitating the structure and moving the museum into it would require considerably more than the $7 million it would have cost to move the museum into Memorial Hall. And there’s no mention on the source of the money.
But if public sentiment for the depot is strong, maybe Joplin residents are willing to spend more on that project.
(Hat tip: Ron Hart)