Connor Hotel (Joplin, Missouri)

The Connor Hotel. The photographer is standing on 4th St. and the street in front of the building is Main St.
General information
Status	Collapsed/Demolished
Town or city	Joplin, Missouri
Country	United States
Demolished	November 11, 1978
Technical details
Floor count	9

The Connor Hotel was an ornate hotel that stood in Joplin, Missouri. One day before its scheduled demolition, the hotel collapsed with three workers inside it. Two, Thomas Oaks and Frederick Coe, did not survive. The third, Alfred Sommers, was rescued 82 hours after the collapse.^[1]

Construction

The Connor Hotel was the brainchild of Thomas Connor, an early 20th century Joplin, Missouri millionaire. Before the Connor Hotel was built, Connor owned the Joplin Hotel. The Joplin had 3 stories and about 50 rooms. It sat where the Connor hotel would later be built. Rumors went around that Connor would expand the Joplin Hotel. Instead, in 1906, Connor demolished the building to make a new hotel.^[2]

The new hotel's construction began immediately after demolition, and it was going to be called the Joplin Hotel, like its predecessor. However, in 1907, Connor died at the age of 60. When the new hotel opened in 1908, the new hotel was named the Connor Hotel, in memory of Thomas Connor.^[2]

References