City Hall building celebrates 100th year

Her scalloped brow has overlooked the highs and lows of downtown Joplin for decades.

Born in a boom, she helped sustain - some say drive - a thriving retail district. In midlife though, like so many tragic heiresses whose beauty and fortune fade, downtown hit a dry spell and her glorious gown grew tattered.

For a time, the lady even got caught up in a bit of a scandal.

She came back, though. And now the grand dame of downtown - the Newman Building - is about to celebrate her 100th birthday.

Built to sell the millinery, fashions and household goods that the early Tri-State Mining District needed, the Chicago-styled building at 602 S. Main St. today serves as Joplin's City Hall.

Ron Richard, a former mayor who is credited with suggesting that the city buy the building, uses one word to describe the Newman Building today.

"Perfect," he said. "Perfect.

"It couldn't have been any better. A brand new, old building. You don't have to say 'City Hall.' Everybody knows it's as the Newman Building. It's got tradition. It's got character. It's got everything you want in a City Hall and it's been kind of an anchor for downtown."