The Joplin City Council is in action tonight, holding a special work session. The never-ending saga of what to do with Joplin’s Memorial Hall will be front and center once again.
KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
Located at the corner of 8th & Joplin Streets, Joplin Memorial Hall stands as a memorial to the men and women of Joplin who served in the armed services.
The Robert S. Thurman Post of the American Legion spearheaded the community support for the construction of the Hall in July of 1923. By September 12, 1924, on National Defense Day, the City and hundreds from the community attended a cornerstone-laying ceremony.
Dedication and opening ceremonies were celebrated in October 1925. Now, nearly 100 years later Memorial Hall languishes, unopened to the public. If it were to reopen to the public it would cost the Joplin millions of dollars for rehab work.
Two years ago, a thirty-million-dollar ballot initiative failed by 12%. Tonight, the city council will debate what the next steps should be for the hall. According to city documents, a consultant has estimated that it would cost at least five million dollars just to demolish the building.
Another consultant says that it could cost at least eight million just to stabilize. The special session of the Joplin City Council gets underway tonight at 6.
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