This past weekend, a Joplin couple was commemorated for their work renovating a historic structure constructed in 1891 and renovated 130 years later.
KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
Missouri Main Street Connection presented downtown awards recognizing performance excellence during Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference last weekend.
The ceremony honored communities, individuals, businesses, and organizations from across Missouri that have completed exemplary work in downtown revitalization. Competitive nominations were submitted for projects, activities, and individuals in 13 different categories.
Joplin’s Muir Block was awarded Best Historic Preservation Project.
The Muir Block is a historic brick building built in 1891 and renovated in 2021 by Lori and Jeremy Haun, the couple who started the Downtown Joplin Alliance.
The building, which had been neglected and damaged for decades, is now a vibrant mixed-use property housing a bakery and coffee shop, two first-floor residential units, and six upstairs apartments.
The Muir Block is part of Joplin’s Main and Eighth Street Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The district has lost many of its historic buildings due to fire, neglect, and urban renewal.
Last year the Haun’s and Downtown Joplin Alliance won the same award for their work to Joplin’s Union Depot.
