Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

The Cadi Klein House

Cadi Klein immigrated from Krojanke, Germany in 1881 and found employment in a Cartage clothing store owned by his uncle, A. H. Goldstein.  After working for his uncle for eight years, Klein took over management of the Model Clothing Company in Joplin as Goldstein’s partner.  Eventually he purchased his uncle’s interest and became sole owner of the firm.  Known for more than his successful clothing store, Klein played a significant role in Joplin’s Jewish community.  He was instrumental in the organization of the United Hebrew Congregation, serving as Vice-President on the first board of officers in 1916, Klein and other members of the United Hebrew Congregation’s building committee retained architect Austin Allen to design the majestic and unique synagogue that still stands today at 702 South Sergeant.

Only a short distance from the synagogue he helped establish stands Klein’s home. It is an excellent example of Victorian architecture, built in the 1890’s the house features many unique and handsome architectural details, but the corner fireplace is especially appealing with its raised classic figure tiles.  The tile in the top corner is a portrait of Michelangelo.  This outstanding example is similar to one designed by Isaac Broome, prominent 19th century American ceramic sculpture

Clara Berlowitz Klein was also born in Germany.  As a member of the United Hebrew Congregation, Mrs. Klein was one of the presidents of its Ladies’ Aid Society and for many years taught Sunday school.

407-409 S. Main St., c. 1899 Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals ~ Two-Part Commercial Block

This gray brick, three-story building is an excellent example of the influence of Revivalism on commercial architecture. The building is four bays wide, defined by symmetrical upper-story fenestration. Decorative elements on the upper façade wall include pilasters with Doric capitals, arched windows with pressed brick lintels and exaggerated keystones, and a full-width pressed metal cornice featuring brackets, swags, and dentils. The first story has two separate storefronts within the historic cast iron framing system – a small storefront at the north end and the double width storefront at the south end. The south storefront retains the original deeply recessed entrance characterized by arched openings and multiple display windows. Despite the replacement of the upper-story windows and small north storefront, the building retains its character-defining high-style decorative elements, fenestration pattern, unique façade treatment, and the historic south storefront. This building retains sufficient architectural integrity to clearly convey its historic associations…

The Model Clothing Store Building. This building replaced two earlier, two-story buildings. It is a rare surviving example of the work of the Joplin architect, August Michaelis. The building’s earliest occupants were the Criterion  Saloon (north storefront) and Cadi Klein’s Model Clothing Store, an elite Joplin clothier. Both were long-lived commercial ventures that survived into the 1960s and 1970s. Over the years, the upper floors contained various occupants including a photography studio, and Michaelis’ architectural office. The existing south storefront and parapet wall date to post a c.1902 remodeling.

The Adam Scott House

Adam S. Scott (1851-1937) married Dora A. Hoop Scott (1859-1940) in Ohio before
coming to Joplin in 1896 or 1898. The couple had five children. Adam was active in
politics, was the mayor of Wellston, Ohio, and a personal friend and supporter of President
William McKinley. He was also one of the founders of the Chillicothe, Hamilton, Dayton
Railroad in Ohio. Once in Joplin, Adam was extensively engaged in mining lead and zinc
and at one point was the Superintendent of the Tennessee Mining Company.

Dora was a schoolteacher before her marriage. She was a member of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, National Congress of
Mothers which later became the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (now the
National PTA), the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (a liquor prohibition
organization) and many more religious and social organizations.

ARCHITECTURE – According to folklore, this house was designed by Austin Allen. The house is an example of the Free Classic subtype of the Queen Anne
style. The house has bay windows, hipped dormers, and two brick chimneys that rise from
the roof ridge. Fluted pilasters articulate each corner of the house. Scrolled brackets and
dentil molding ornament the roofline.
A sleeping porch, with the same fluted pilasters, dentil molding and brackets, projects from
the second story. On the second story, bay 2 has a historic stained-glass window.
On the first story, bay 1 has a historic tripartite wood window with leaded glass in the
upper sash, flanked by narrow one-over-one double-hung wood windows. Bay 2 has a
historic wood panel door with oval glazing. Bay 3 has a historic eight-over-one single-hung
wood Craftsman window.
The side-wrap porch and sleeping porch are historic alterations but do not compromise the
integrity of the house.
710 W. 2 nd Street – The brick building behind the Queen Anne house served as a doctor’s
office and women’s clinic—referred to as soiled doves in that era.

The Thomas Lennan House

Thomas Frank “Tommy” Lennan (1877-1946) was born and raised in Massachusetts and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899. Instead of following the course set by his family to go to sea, he immediately headed for the mining fields of the Midwest. He worked with mines in the Joplin area and Hattenville (later Commerce) Oklahoma. The Joplin Globe reported that “few of the veteran operators in the Tri-State field has as wide and as extensive a mining career as did Mr. Lennan.”

In 1906, he married Charlotte Gregg Lennan (1874-1967), a member of a Joplin pioneer family. When he was not at work, Mr. Lennan was most likely on the golf course at Oak Hill Country Club.

In 1893, Judge Oliver Hazard Picher owned the entire block (Moffet and Sergeant) and landscaped it as a private park surrounded by a stone wall which still stands today! His mansion was located at 204 S. Moffet. Eventually, the block was broken up into five properties with Mr. Lennan building a small cottage at 201 S. Sergeant to live in while his more stately house was being constructed at 219 S. Sergeant. During the Great Depression (1929 to mid-1930s) the owner of the Picher house lost all his money and the bank foreclosed on the property. Rather than find a new owner, the bank demolished the venerable old house. 

The Oliver Shepard Picher House

The Picher name has long been associated with Joplin’s mining history. In 1875, Judge Oliver Hazard “O.H.” Picher (formerly 204 S. Moffet) and his brother William (421 S. Sergeant) organized the Picher Lead and Zinc Co. and in 1887 acquired the Lone Elm Mining and Smelting Company. Judge Picher’s son, Oliver Shepard Picher, succeeded his father as president of the company in 1909. The company merged with Eagle Lead in 1916 and today is known as Eagle-Picher Co. In 1904, Oliver married Emily Stanton.

Oliver Shepard Picher

Emily Irish Stanton Picher

The interior of the house is the picture of elegance with high wainscoting, stained glass windows, crystal chandeliers, ten-foot vaulted ceilings, six fireplaces, servant’s dumbwaiter and a grand staircase. The exterior also features a colonnaded porch, modillions, Roman Doric columns and more. The windows vary from symmetrical bays, angled bays, tripartite and fanlight.

Built in 1904, Oliver S. Picher’s stately Colonial Adam style home features an entry portico and side porches. The portico’s smooth Roman Doric columns support a balustraded balconet and the ceiling is the traditional color, sky blue. It was a custom of the day to paint the porch ceiling blue to mimic the sky and thus keep birds and wasps from building their nests there.

The Austin Allen House & Virtual Tour of his Designs

Flip Book for a virtual tour of Austin Allen designs

Samuel Austin Allen arrived in Joplin in 1890 at the age of 10. His father was J.W. Allen an early pioneer and successful mine operator in the area.   Austin graduated from Joplin High School in 1898. He received a degree in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 1902 and later went to Paris where he pursued his interest in architecture. Returning to the United States Allen became associated with Bruce Price of New York, one of the foremost architects in the United States. After two years in New York he returned to Joplin to begin practicing his craft in 1905. Allen was an extremely successful architect with offices in Kansas City and in the Frisco Building in Joplin. His professional Joplin resume included such handsome structures as the Newman Building, Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, Olivia Apartments, Joplin High School, United Hebrew Temple, Elks Lodge, and many impressive homes. Mr. Allen was a member of the American Institute of Architects. His obituary in their journal noted, “that his work was marked by a “chaste dignity and scholarly restraint.” Mr. Allen married Belle Taylor and had three children.

The land this house sets on was deeded by Lulie Taylor to her daughter, Belle Taylor Allen for “$1 and Love and Affection.”  The house is not first period, meaning two houses were razed and lots combined so Austin could design and build the house you see today.  Belle’s parents, John H. and Lulie Taylor were Joplin pioneers and made their fortune in mining and real estate.  

It is believed Austin added a second floor sleeping porch to his house at some point.  At a later date, the porch was enclosed to create year-round additional living space.  This practice was not uncommon in the Murphysburg district.

The living room is paneled in rich dark oak.  Some of the features include a large brick fireplace, diamond paned bay windows with built-in window seats, beamed ceilings, and a leaded glass bookcase. After Belle and Austin moved to Kansas City, Missouri, this house was sold to Frank Wallower.  The U.S. Census shows Frank, wife Marie, three sons, a private cook, and a private nurse residing here in 1920.  The Wallowers moved out in 1943. 

Beamed ceilings, and a leaded glass bookcase

The Arts and Craft movement heavily influenced Austin Allen when he designed his home in 1905, for it clearly reflects the movements principals, beautiful materials and honest craftsmanship. Prominent feature in the home include the rich polished wainscoting. Curved built-in window seats, massive brick fireplace and leaded glass bookcases. The most impressive feature however is the elegant coffered ceiling, reminiscent of the homes of the English Tudor and Jacobean periods.

 The Allen Mausoleum is located at Mount Hope Cemetery.  Inside Allen’s mausoleum is a resolution from the Kansas City Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Several family members are interred in the mausoleum. 

The mausoleum architecture features solar disks between the pair of falcon wings at the very top. It represents the sun god, Re and rebirth. Mr. Allen married Belle Taylor and had three children. He died at the early age of thirty-six from typhoid fever.

 Interred S. Austin Allen -3-3-1917, Walter Scott Estes -2-12-1926. Linda McOwen Allen -6-6-1926, Whitby J. Allen -5-22-1930 and Austin Allen Jr. – 12-2-1940

Mr. Allen was a prolific architect who left a lasting impression on the region’s building landscape. He was the most distinguished architect during Joplin’s first fifty years. In a short span of fourteen years, Mr. Allen accomplished what most architects could only dream of in their lifetime. Most of his lasting cherished commercial designs in Joplin, Webb City, and Oronogo are highlighted in this booklet. Many of those buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and some have local designations. Today his elegantly designed buildings, all over 100 years old, remain a testimony to his talent and continue to be some of Joplin’s most admired and honored building blocks. Austin Allen treasured designs. While Mr. Allen created many grand residential houses, according to the March 28, 1916, Joplin News Herald, he also designed and constructed four-room houses in Joplin’s East Town for “home loving people of moderate means.” The houses were modern bungalows with overhanging porches and roofs. According to Jasper County probate documents, the Allen’s children inherited numerous developed and non-developed lots in East Town.

 HMP plans on conducting additional research, partnering with community groups, and identifying houses that may still exist in East Town.