Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

417 E. 23417 E. 23rd

Another structure that Mr. Nutz designed and built with concrete and brick around 1953 was a nursing home located at 417 E. 23rd Street.  It overlooked Joplin High School.  On May 22, 2011 the house wasn’t hit by a bomb but was hit by the EF5 Joplin Tornado. In a 2007 Joplin Globe interview with Louise Nutz, she said that the Adele was so well built with concrete that it could, “take a direct bomb hit!” The same could have been said about the structure that was at 23rd & Grand.

  • Mediterranean/Spanish style quatrefoil windows
  • Exterior staircases had matching decorative metal railings
  • Arched door ways
  • Interior had a curved staircase
  • Garden
  • Entryway
  • Foyer
  • Therapy pool
  • Concrete roof with devastated Parkwood High School in the distance in the
  • Totla devastation all around this concrete & rebar construction
  • Brick fireplace and surround
  • Local historians and Nutz family members had hoped that the structure could be saved
  • Much of the structure survived the tornado
  • The structure was demolished due to the high cost of rebuilding such unique construction.

The interior had a curved staircase, brick fireplace and surround, an indoor therapy pool, wall sconces, built in bookcases, and curved archways throughout.  The interior and exterior staircases had matching decorative metal railings.  Matching stylized (operable) Mediterranean/Spanish style quatrefoil windows flanked the front door.   

Much of the structure survived the tornado, unlike traditionally built houses in the neighborhood.  Photographs of the nursing home were taken five months after the tornado by Paula Callihan.  Local historians and Nutz family members had hoped that the structure could be saved, but it was ultimately demolished due to the high cost of rebuilding such unique construction. 

The nursing home had many names through the years starting as Turner Rest Home, then Grand Rest Home, Grandview Nursing Home, and Maddox Nursing Home.  

Between 1974 and 1977, Gordan Dean Stinson operated the Stinsonic Talent Agency in the building.  According to the Billboard-World of Country Music publication, Mr. Stinson was a personal manager and booking agent.  In a 1974 Joplin Globe article, Mr. Stinson “claimed” to have been the former manager of Johnny Paycheck.  While we cannot confirm his association with the musician, it makes for a good story.  Born Donald Eugene Lytle, Johnny Paycheck (1938-2003) was a singer and songwriter in the “outlaw movement” in country music.  He is best known for his 1977 recording of “Take This Job and Shove It” written by David Allan Coe.    

James Nutz also built the Kozy Kort Apartments at 1210-1212 S. Joplin Avenue around 1934.  In 1935, he added a second floor to the units.  At some point, it was razed.

 SOUTHWEST MISSOURI RAILROAD CLUBHOUSE 

In 1889, Alfred Harrison “A.H.” Rogers (1858-1920) started a railway system between Webb City and Carterville pulled by mules.  After 1893, the system was electrified.  It continued until late summer of 1935 for Carthage, and 1940 for other communities.  The clubhouse was constructed for officials and employees. 

The A.H. Rogers House is in the Murphysburg Historic District at 623 W. Fourth Street and is currently being restored by Joplin Historical Neighborhoods, Inc.

Charlie22 Outdoor’s mission is to provide outdoor activities to the nation’s veterans and their families.  For more information, contact Scotty Rae Hettinger at (417) 437-7247 or charlie22outdoors.com.

Following are excerpts from the Joplin History & Mineral Museum calendar published in 2021:  Originally, the first floor was divided into a pool room, a gymnasium that was also used for large social groups, a locker room, a dressing room, toilets, and shower baths.  The second floor housed the clubrooms, complete with a kitchen and dining area.  The clubrooms were used for reading, writing, card playing, social entertainments, banquets, and to conduct business meetings.  The third floor consisted of two dormitories, where a bed could be rented by the day or week.  The facility was possibly best remembered for the elaborate employee banquets. 

CLEVELAND APARTMENTS

The Cleveland Apartments were built by William Phelps Cleveland (1870-1936) who was in
the mining business and the inventor of a magnetic separator. He was married to Annabelle
Bartlett Cleveland (1866-1919).
 
Stones and other materials that were salvaged from the deconstruction of Patrick Murphy’s
mansion (built in 1898 at 4 th & Wall) were used to construct these luxury apartments.

Each of the six prestigious residences were “modern and up-to-date” with seven rooms, a large sleeping
porch, pantry, closets, large attic, basement, two fireplaces with mantels, and a private garage. In
spite of a major fire in May 2022, restoration continues by owners (and brothers) Shawn and
Stephen Grindle and Neal Group Construction & Restoration.

The Cleveland was a prestigious place to live, similar to the Olivia Apartments, especially for
wealthy widows. Common for the language of the time in 1916, a help wanted advertisement in
the Joplin Globe read as follows: WANTED-Colored or white girl; must be experienced; easy
work; small family; permanent place. No. 3 Cleveland apartments; apply personally.
 
Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland lived here, but eventually moved to 108 N. Jackson Avenue, the duplex
directly to the north. That structure is also part of the restoration project. At this time, it is
unknown if Austin Allen designed that structure.

COSGROVE BUILDING

Built by Henrietta Jackson Cosgrove (1849-1927) who was a mine operator, writer, civic
leader, suffragist, philanthropist and involved in real estate. One of her greatest
accomplishments was securing pensions for miners’ widows by proposing that states adopt
widow’s pensions rather than vagrancy laws, thus saving the states’ money. By the 1920s, all
but four states adopted widows’ pension laws. She was married to Aruna P. Cosgrove (1842-
1901) and they had one daughter.
 
In May 2014, Mr. Allen was forced to sue Mrs. Cosgrove for the balance due on his commission
for the building. In December 2014 the case was dismissed when she finally paid him the
$460.32.

Businesses were located on the bottom floor and offices and living quarters on the top floor. In
December 1915 while Mrs. Cosgrove slept upstairs, robbers entered the Graham Brothers’
Grocery Store downstairs and stole chewing gum, cigars, chewing tobacco, ate lunch, and kept
warm around an oil lamp!
 
Through the years many different companies have officed here including the City of Joplin
Commissioners and Atlas Powder Company in 1914 and the Joplin Convention & Visitors
Bureau in the 1990s and early 2000s.
 
To learn more about the future of this building, contact Heather Lesmeister, Executive Director,
Spiva Center for the Arts at 417-623-0183.

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.