Article from the JOPLIN GLOBE

APRIL 23, 2016

By Bill Caldwell

 

"The heart of downtown Joplin at the beginning of the 20th century was the intersection of Fourth and Main streets. Several factors influenced that, including the presence of the Keystone Hotel.

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In 1885, E.Z. Wallower, a Pennsylvania newspaper publisher, visited the bustling mining town and wanted to be part of what he thought would be a progressive city. Three years later he purchased the southeast corner of Fourth and Main streets for the then astounding price of $16,000, which was then the highest price paid for a piece of property in the city.

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Initially, Wallower stated that he wanted to build a five-story office building. However, when construction began in 1891 he changed his plans from an office building to a six-story hotel. It was built under the direction of a Philadelphia architect, Thomas Longsdale. Wallower named it the Keystone hotel for his home state of Pennsylvania.

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Wallower had local rivals, among whom Thomas Connor was the most prominent. Connor and Thomas Jones owned a hotel on the northwest corner of the same intersection. Wallower made no secret of his low opinion of Connor, whom he considered "a product of the early history of Joplin, when it had an unsavory reputation."

The Keystone opened with great fanfare in 1892. In 1897 the Globe said it was "handsomely furnished and equipped with all modern conveniences and their tables are always supplied with the best the market contains." The Keystone had the first elevator, which carried passengers from the basement to the sixth-floor dining room and roof garden. Corridors were 14-feet wide. Daily room rates included three meals.

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On the first floor was the Joplin National Bank, E. Roses' jewelry store and the hotel lobby. The Keystone prospered and in 1899 a four-story annex was added, extending the hotel east to Virginia Avenue.

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Travelers had access to outlying towns, as that intersection was the junction of the Southwest Missouri Railroad Co. and the Joplin & Pittsburg Railway Co. The intersection became Joplin's hub. In 1908, the Connor Hotel opened on Connor's property, and it launched a fierce competition for guests. In a short while the Connor attracted most of the hotel trade and the Keystone was largely vacant. In 1910, Wallower pivoted and converted much of the hotel into an office building for professionals and mining operators. The tide had shifted yet again by 1913, as the Keystone's lower rates once again attracted guests and he converted it back into a hotel, though without offering meals.

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Wallower's remodeling sustained the hotel for the next 20 years, until the Depression forced it to close in 1931. P.C. Remler, a Carthage hotel owner and operator, took a lease on the Keystone in August 1932 with plans to renovate and redecorate the 150 rooms and open on Oct. 1. Wallower owned the building until his death in 1941. The hotel changed hands twice more over the years until the Joplin Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority purchased it in August 1968. The demise of passenger trains and interurban lines, the decline of the central business district and the growth of suburban shopping centers and Range Line Road drastically reduced the hotel's traffic. By the time of its sale in 1968, it was home to just six tenants and three businesses, all of which were relocated. Demolition started in January 1969. By August of that year the Keystone was no more."

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