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Joe Knight Building

Historic building
In Lebanon, Missouri
0.4 mi from Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

The Joe Knight Building is a three-story commercial building in Lebanon, MO, right on the Route 66 corridor. Built in 1948, it is a crisp example of Streamline Moderne design, with rounded corners, long bands of windows and walls of curved glass block. It has also gone by the names Joe's Corner and the Knight Drug Store. Its dark brick lettering, which spells out the owner's name and the year, makes it an easy photo stop.

What is Joe Knight Building?

The building is brick with a flat roof, and its lines run sideways rather than up: horizontal strips of windows wrap the walls, and the corners curve instead of meeting at sharp angles. At those curves, big panels of glass block catch the light.

The best detail is in the brickwork. Darker bricks set into the walls read "Joe Knight '48" on one face and "Knight" on others, so the building signs its own name and birth year.

History of Joe Knight Building

It went up in 1948, in the years when Route 66 traffic was booming after the war. Its other name, the Knight Drug Store, points to its past use. The building joined the National Register in 2005.

Visiting Joe Knight Building: tips

It sits directly on the route through Lebanon, so no detour is needed. View it from the sidewalk; a few minutes is enough for photos of the lettering and glass corners. The Wallace House and the Ploger-Moneymaker Place are both about half a mile away, and the Munger-Moss Motel is under 1.5 miles.