| Joplin Connor Hotel | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location | 324 Main St., Joplin, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°5′17″N 94°30′49″W / 37.08806°N 94.51361°W / 37.08806; -94.51361 |
| Area | 9.9 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1906 (1906)-1907 |
| Architect | Barnett, Haynes & Barnett |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001042 |
| Added to NRHP | February 28, 1973 |
The Connor Hotel was a beaux arts style hotel at 324 Main Street in Joplin, Missouri, United States. Built between 1906 and 1908, the structure is best known nationally because of its unexpected collapse in 1978 which killed two men.
Construction
The Connor Hotel was the brainchild of Thomas Connor, an early 20th century Joplin, Missouri millionaire. Before the Connor Hotel was built, Connor owned the Joplin Hotel. The Joplin had 3 stories and about 50 rooms. It sat where the Connor hotel would later be built.
Rumors went around that Connor would expand the Joplin Hotel. Instead, in 1906, Connor demolished the building to make a new hotel.
The new hotel's construction began immediately after demolition, and it was going to be called the Joplin Hotel, like its predecessor. However, in 1907, Connor died at the age of 60. When the new hotel opened in 1908, the new hotel was named the Connor Hotel, in memory of Thomas Connor.
Structural collapse
On November 11, 1978, one day before its scheduled demolition, the hotel collapsed with three workers inside it. Two of the men, Thomas Oaks and Frederick Coe, did not survive.
The third, Alfred Sommers, was rescued 82 hours after the collapse. The hotel demolition was ultimately completed three days later in order to repurpose the space for the new city library.
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Blog Archive » The Connor Hotel – Part One". Historicjoplin.org. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- Quick, Dowe. "Buried Alive – Return to the Connor Hotel – KOAM TV 7". Koamtv.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- "Demolition Blast Fells Wrecked Hotel's Wing". The New York Times. 1978-11-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- "The Connor Hotel, 324 Main Street, Joplin, Jasper County, MO". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-11-13.