(Chad Stebbins, author of Joplin's Connor Hotel addressed Joplin City Council Monday night about the plan to raze Memorial Hall. His prepared remarks are printed below.)Three years ago, I wrote a book, Joplin’s Connor Hotel, published by The History Press. I have since given 20-25 presentations about the Connor to various civic organizations. The question I am most frequently asked is: “Couldn’t the Connor have been saved? Why did they have to tear it down?”
That’s still a very difficult question to answer, nearly 50 years later.
What do you do with a 400-room hotel in downtown Joplin when all the action was occurring on Range Line Road?
Do you convert it to senior citizen housing? That would have cost at least $3 million, in 1976 dollars.
There was a private businessman named Burl Garvin who tried to save the Connor, but he couldn’t come up with the financing.
There were some actual physical hazards, too.
A cooper cornice had come loose from the top and had crashed to the sidewalk. A city inspector ordered that barricades be put up on that corner of Fourth and Main.
The falling objects also included pigeon droppings and dead pigeons.
Memorial Hall is in much better physical condition than the Connor Hotel was in the 1970s. There is no threat to anyone walking nearby.
I’m here tonight to urge you to make every effort to save Memorial Hall, before you order its demolition.
I just know that there is tremendous regret that the Connor Hotel had to be torn down.
There will be tremendous regret, for years to come, if Memorial Hall meets the same fate.
It would be hard to find any longtime Joplin citizen or area resident who didn’t attend a concert, a wrestling match, a basketball game, a banquet, a dance, a circus, a carnival, a rodeo, or a home and garden show at one time at Memorial Hall.
Memorial Hall was the heartbeat of the community and the region.
Ronald Reagan spoke at Memorial Hall in 1958. Richard Nixon spoke there in 1952. Eleanor Roosevelt spoke there in 1938. Gene Autry gave two performances there in 1949, even bringing his partner and sidekick “Champion, the World’s Wonder Horse” with him to Joplin.
At least 21 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performed at Memorial Hall, including Fats Domino, Steely Dan, Alice Cooper, Foreigner, Journey, Rush, and Cheap Trick.
At least 68 members of the Country Music Hall of Fame performed at Memorial Hall, including Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson.
At least five members of the Blues Hall of Fame, and at least five members of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame also performed at Memorial Hall.
I’m here tonight to urge you to explore all options to save Memorial Hall. I think the entire process to tear it down has moved too quickly.
Downtown Joplin is experiencing a resurgence that is a marvel to behold. I sincerely believe that Memorial Hall deserves to be a part of this rebirth, rather than reduced to a pile of rubble exactly 100 years after it was built.
Thank you for listening.
Yes, We should look at Rehabbing and Maintaining - Historical Buildings for better usage and future generations, not just turning it into a parking lot.
ReplyDeleteThere always seems to be enough money, when a Philanthropist wants to build an Art Center or Music Hall and slap their name on the side of the building.
I worked as the Memorial Hall Manager for 20 years. We had over 300 concerts and events, men's basketball leagues, coed volleyball, Tristate Kennel Club dog classes. Memorial Hall was in use all the time. The real issue I see is lack of parking. Memorial Hall was in need of maintenance, that failed to happen. Sandy Bary, Recreation and Events Manager, City of Joplin, 1979 -1999.
ReplyDeleteI really hate how the city always finds a way to get rid of history instead of preserve it. The building is barely a century old. Decades of purposefully ignoring its problems, or coming up with awful solutions, or putting it on the ballot but making it terrible. I think the new cornell complex is great, but that shouldn't be an excuse to demolish memorial hall.
ReplyDeleteIf the building is structurally sound, then I think it should be able to live on as a functioning site. What about building additional parking above the current parking lot with a steel and open design? I don't think Joplin will draw big concert names any more now than before. It's a nice size currently.
DeleteDr Stebbins. On behalf of the veterans. Thank you
ReplyDeleteyes!
DeleteMr. Jackson and Mr. Cortez have stated that their relatives with names on the
ReplyDeleteMemorial Wall would not want to save the Hall.
I do not think the vast majority of those other names would feel the same way.
If we expanded the Hall to commemorate all Police and Fire personnel that have lost their
lives for us in Joplin as members of the departments it would broaden support by the Council
and not denigrate in any way the memory of our beloved military veterans.
Suggest: Council appoint staff to assist with a restore Hall plan.
Including finances.
Get the veterans involved to stand up!
Call a Joplin wide meeting to organize the resistance.
Detar is like Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men.
1 vs biased 11.
Let’s make it happen!
ReplyDeleteThey put it a vote twice and the citizens turned it down, twice. They should do it one more time. If it fails, tell the few that want to keep it, sorry, the citizens don’t want it.
ReplyDeleteWally Kennedy with the globe wrote a great article on this earlier this year - use the marijuana tax to fund rehabbing it:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.joplinglobe.com/news/wally-kennedy-commit-marijuana-revenue-stream-to-memorial-hall/article_444dd720-5a76-11ef-a89b-8b055bc7adf8.html
good idea!
DeleteThat is great idea, I mean there was a head shop right by it years ago.
DeleteI am stunned that more veterans are not standing up to restore the honor at Memorial Hall.
ReplyDeleteThat is what it is, Restoring Honor.
If we had 5 vets willing to speak up, perhaps in their old uniforms it would be a game changer.
The Council is frozen by anchoring bias: they say to them selves, "we decided this and so will continue the same path without reconsideration. "
That is in light of the Globe survey showing 65% of citizens want it restored.
Have ARPA funds already been reserved for demolition?
That is the only think I can think of for this intransigence.
ARPA funds were not meant for demolition of historically significant structures.
Not at all.
The Mayor keeps saying the decision was made, but it was at a work session, not at a full council meeting
and so is reversible.
The debate at that meeting was limited and chaotic, and I surmise that Doris Carlin's amendment that
the Memorials could not be moved off site separate from the Memorial Hall location passed.
Correct me if I am wrong.
One of the weaknesses of the current council is over dominant involvement of the Mayor in
debate, leading to intimidation of other voices.
Mr. Detar stands up , the others? not so much. It reminds me of the rush to judgement for the 888 million $ award to
Wallace Bajali. Recall how that turned out.
This Council process leads to group think and mistakes.
Why is the Council so dead set on demolition when many citizens are counseling restraint?
The Council says we had a vote previously and it was voted down, not overwhelmingly, but that
is due to the added plans ballooning the budget presented from a 15 million $ plan into a 30 million
dollar plan with a recreation center, a Zumba room, and many offices for city staff and non profits.
Voters wanted the restrained version for 15$million and voted no out of frustration.
What is the problem with another vote and 50% plus one wins?
After all that is the current plan for revising our State constitution, which is quite odd.
Why the rush here? I have to think they have grants from the US treasury with a deadline and so
are rushing this pell mell and this is a mistake. Slow it down Council. Give it some time.
They say one vote and done. No more votes on the Hall.
Weird. Obstinate.
But when it comes to a vote to raise/add a City property tax to trucks, trailers, RVs and loads of other personal property
that we voted down, the reaction was to hire 2 communication specialists to get the word out about the
need for the tax and have another vote after 1-2 years with the exact same proposal.
They said in so many words, 'bad decision by the voters, we have not enough communicatin' going
on round here! we need a re vote!'
These are rough but accurate quotes from the City Manager and at least one Council member.