Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

ELKS CLUB LODGE NO. 501

Currently: Old Elks Club Office Building

The Elks Club/Lodge was an important part of the business, social, and philanthropic lives of
many men who established their homes in what we now call the Murphysburg Historic District.
Some of the wives also sat on sub-committees for grand balls and charity fairs. In 1910 several
wives were involved in the infamous baby auction- – -but that’s a story for another time!
This brick and stone building features a columned portico flanked by two slightly projecting bays
accentuated by limestone quoins. The first floor featured an Oriental-inspired lobby, billiard
room, reading room, card rooms, a social function room, kitchen and serving rooms. Sleeping
quarters, lodge hall, and bathrooms occupied the second floor. The basement housed a four-
lane bowling alley, gymnasium, Turkish bath, lockers, and storage rooms.

NEWMAN BROTHERS BUILDING (1910-1972)

Currently: Joplin City Hall
602 S. Main Street | Chicago Style | circa 1910
The Newman Mercantile Company was founded by Jewish merchant Joseph Newman, who
emigrated from Germany in the mid-19th century. Joseph Newman’s sons Albert and Sol, and
son-in-law, Gabe Newburger were all involved in the company. Albert, Sol, Gabe, and their
families all lived in what is now the Murphysburg Historic District. The Albert Newman House
still stands at 130 S. Moffet Avenue and the A.B. McConnel/Sol Newman House still stands at
115 S. Moffet. Extreme deterioration of Gabe’s house at 110 S. Moffet caused it to be razed in
2003.
 
After Newman Brothers moved into the newly built  Northpark Mall  in 1972, the building had
many different businesses and owners, and fought off threats of demolition.

restored and renovated in 1995 with 5 million dollars (of ill-gotten gains) by two so-called
“financial advisors.” In 2003, the City of Joplin purchased the building, investing 3 million
dollars in additional renovations thus creating present day City Hall. The Thomas Hart Benton
mural, Joplin at the Turn of the Century, was moved here from the Municipal Building and
hangs prominently in the lobby above the elevators.
 
During construction, Austin Allen and Walter Arcularius, of the Joplin Hardware Company,
were standing on a cement beam on the fourth floor when it suddenly collapsed, and the men fell
15 feet onto the third floor! Both men escaped with slight injuries and were taken to their
respective homes. Insufficient strength of the support timbers on the third floor was believed to
have caused the accident.

Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic Church

Austin Allen looked to the Gothic Revival style for inspiration in this $60,000 masterpiece,
which is about $1,800,000 today. Appropriately enough, elements of this style—the pointed
arches, buttresses, and spires—all symbolize heavenward movement. 
 
Rich and poor, Catholics and Protestants enthusiastically contributed to the effort of building
Joplin’s first Roman Catholic church.

The rough-faced Carthage limestone is laid in regular courses of alternating wide and narrow
rows. A steel frame supports the steeply pitched slate roof and vaulted ceiling; therefore, the

wall buttresses are merely decorative. The primary facade has three arched entry ways. The
largest, in the center, features a beautiful rose window with a cross-topped spire above it. Finials
arise from each corner of the facade towers.
 
The Joplin Daily Globe published a full-page spread on Sunday, November 24, 1907 stating the
edifice “was regarded as the handsomest structure within the limits of the town of Joplin and was
pointed to with pride by every loyal citizen.”

Joplin Schools Administration Building

JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL

During the fall of 1915 Joplin voters passed a $350,000 bond issue to purchase property, as well
as construct and furnish a new high school. In 1916 the Kansas City architectural firm of Smith,
Rea, and Lovett, along with Austin Allen, were selected to design the high school. At the time
Mr. Allen had offices in Joplin and Kansas City. Less than a year later, school officials were
saddened by the news concerning the death of Austin Allen.

Ten out of twenty school district buildings were damaged or destroyed by the 2011 Joplin
Tornado, but this historic building was spared. Today it houses Administration, the Gifted
Center, Franklin Technology Center-Adult Education, and Memorial Education Center. The
building will continue to serve Joplin into the next 100 years.

Unfortunately, Mr. Allen never saw
the completion of this three-story red brick structure. Classes began at Joplin Hight School on
January 21, 1918, with 31 teachers consisting of 22 female instructors. Their maximum salary
was $80 a month. The august structure has been the most versatile building in the Joplin School
District. Students, representing ages from preschool to high school, passed through the storied
walls. For a decade the building was the home of Joplin Junior College. (1958-1967) – Excerpt
from the Joplin History & Mineral Museum 2021 calendar.

Austin Allen, The Architect… Remembered

Sunday – December 3, 2023

Joplin | Webb City | Oronogo

1:00 to 6:00 PM

The lecture starts at 1:00 pm.  Tour sites open at 1:30 and run until 6:00 pm.  Guests can pick up their tickets at headquarters before or after the lecture and then start their self-guided tour of the sites.  Guests can visit the sites in any order.

 Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc. will host a lecture and tour on Sunday, December 3rd from 1:00 to 6:00 pm featuring eighteen historic structures built between 1890 and 1917 designed or associated with the distinguished local architect, Mr. Austin Allen.  Tour sites include Joplin City Hall, which was originally built as the Newman Building, St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, the United Hebrew Congregation Temple, Old Elk’s Club, and many more historic buildings in use today or under renovation.  Don’t miss this rare opportunity to tour the ongoing restoration of the Olivia Apartments or stand inside Austin Allen’s mausoleum—his final resting place at Mount Hope Cemetery.  

1:00 PM – Lecture by Brad Belk on the life and work of Austin Allen, Joplin’s premier architect between 1903 and 1917

Doors open at 12:15. 

Brad Belk, Principal Historian & House Site Director for Joplin Historical Neighborhoods, Inc. and Community Historian for Missouri Southern State University will deliver a lecture on the life and work of Mr. Allen at tour headquarters, the Joplin Schools Administrative Building, 310 West Eighth Street, Joplin.  The administrative building, originally Joplin High School, was designed in 1916 by Mr. Allen. 

A commemorative booklet (which is also the ticket and map) will describe each tour site and its history.  The tour includes fifteen sites in Joplin, two in Webb City, and one in Oronogo.  The tour will have approximately ten sites where the interior and exterior will be open to guests.  The remaining eight sites will only be visible from the outside or street view.  

Purchase tickets in advance at www.murphysburg.org for $25 per person til December 2.  Tickets can also be purchased on December 3rd at tour headquarters for $30 per person.  Children ages 12 years and under are admitted for free with an adult.

Due to the design of these historic properties, handicap accessibility is limited.  There are two handicap entrances on the west side of the Joplin Schools Administrative Building at 825 South Pearl Avenue.

$30 Day of Tour at tour headquarters, Joplin Schools Administrative Building, 310 W. Eighth Street, Joplin  (doors open at 12:15 PM)

Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc. is a non-profit organization that implements
charitable and educational activities, which promotes and stimulates historic awareness
throughout the Joplin area. The Historic Murphysburg District is generally on Sergeant,
Moffet, and Byers Avenues between First to Seventh Streets near downtown Joplin.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Paula Callihan, Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc.; 417-208-9376;
[email protected]; www.Murphysburg.org.