Connor Hotel
- Historic hotel
- In Joplin, Missouri
- On Route 66
- National Register of Historic Places
The Connor Hotel was a nine-story hotel on Main Street in Joplin, MO, the street that carried Route 66 through downtown. It opened in 1908 and closed in 1969. On November 11, 1978, one day before it was due to be demolished, it collapsed without warning while workers were preparing it, and two of them died. A third man, Alfred Summers, was pulled out alive after about 82 hours in the rubble. Nothing of the hotel stands today.
What is Connor Hotel?
The Connor stood at Fourth and Main Streets, in the middle of Joplin's business district. It was built with stone from nearby Carthage on the outside and Italian marble in the lobby. A marble staircase rose from the lobby, and the hotel had its own barbershop and a billiard room in the basement. An annex added in the late 1920s brought it to about 400 rooms.
The hotel is gone. A library building that opened on the site in 1981 served as Joplin's downtown public library until the library moved to a new home in 2017.
History of Connor Hotel
Thomas Connor, who made his money in lead and zinc mining, had the older Joplin Hotel torn down in 1906 to build something grander. He died in 1907, before the new building was finished, and it opened under his name in April 1908.
Business faded in the 1960s and it closed in 1969. It went on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, yet the property was later sold for a new library, and demolition was set for November 12, 1978. The day before, the original 1908 section came down without warning while three men were inside getting it ready. Thomas Oakes and Frederick Coe died. Alfred Summers survived under the rubble, and rescuers freed him after about 82 hours. His rescue made national news, and the rest of the building was taken down soon after.
Visiting Connor Hotel: tips
There is no hotel to see, so make the site part of a walk along Main Street, which still follows a Route 66 alignment through downtown Joplin. The Joplin Supply Company building, the Joplin Downtown Historic District and the South Main Street Historic District are each about 0.1 mile away, close enough to see together in half an hour. Downtown Burgers is about a block off for a meal.
Practical info
- Hours
- Closed permanently
- On site & nearby
Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix
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Stops near Connor Hotel
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Questions about Connor Hotel
When did the Connor Hotel collapse?
On November 11, 1978, one day before it was scheduled to be demolished. The original 1908 part of the building fell while three workers were inside preparing it. Two of them died. The third, Alfred Summers, was rescued alive after about 82 hours under the rubble.
What happened to the Connor Hotel?
It closed in 1969 and was later sold so a library could be built on the site. It collapsed during demolition work in November 1978, and what was left was torn down soon after. A library building opened there in 1981; the library moved to a new home in 2017.
Where was the Connor Hotel in Joplin?
At Fourth and Main Streets in downtown Joplin, MO. Main Street was part of Route 66 through town in the 1920s and 1930s. A library building opened on the site in 1981.
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