Spiva Center for the Arts, 222 W. Third Street, Joplin

Scottish Rite Cathedral, 505 Byers Ave., Joplin

The John Wise Home, 504 Byers Ave., Joplin

Joplin Museum Complex, 504 Schifferdecker, Joplin

The Scottish Rite Cathedral, John Wise Home, Joplin Museum Complex and Spiva Center for the Arts are having holiday open houses on Sunday, December 19, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit all four locations, soak up the history, and enjoy the refreshments!

Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. Third Street, Joplin, 623-0183

Begin your tour downtown at George A. Spiva Center for the Arts at 3rd and Wall. Explore the Center’s current home and treat yourself to a visual ‘feast’ created by 95 talented local artists. In the Main Gallery: Spiva’s 57th Annual Membership Show sponsored by Commerce Bank. In the Regional Gallery: Cotillion, A Debut of PSU Student Works. Free admission.

Scottish Rite Cathedral
505 Byers Ave., Joplin

Next, take this rare opportunity to visit the Scottish Rite Cathedral at 5th and Byers. Constructed over the course of four years, the temple dates from 1919. The marvelously preserved building with French Renaissance auditorium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

The John Wise Home: A Bed & Breakfast and Gathering Place
504 Byers Ave., Joplin, 627-9657

Cross the street where you’ll be welcomed at The John Wise Home, a fanciful Queen Anne style house designed by architect August Michaelis in 1898. In 1920, a group of Joplin businessmen purchased the home, giving it new life as the YWCA, a boarding house for girls who came to Joplin to work.

Joplin Museum Complex
504 Schifferdecker, Joplin, 623-1180

End your tour at the Joplin Museum Complex at 504 Schifferdecker, and plan to spend some time browsing the National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum and the Joplin Sports Hall of Fame. Be sure to visit the extraordinary Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Wing with the world’s most complete collection of Tri-State lead and zinc ores, as well as the Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Wing where Joplin’s own 1927 American LeFrance fire engine and McGee’s 1930 Drug Store are just two of many attractions.

Free admission. (The Museum Complex is accepting donations of canned goods & supplies for Crosslines [blankets, kitchen accessories and non-perishable food] and the Joplin Humane Society [cat litter, puppy & kitten food, cleaning supplies, trash bags, etc.].

Contact: Dina Taylor, Joplin Museum Complex 623-1180


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The Joplin Museum Complex

The Joplin Museum Complex is comprised of the Empire District Electric Company Museum, Joplin Sports Hall of Fame, The National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum, the Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Wing and the Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Wing. The purpose of the museum is to preserve, exhibit and teach the heritage of Joplin and the Tri-State Mining District.

The Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Wing boasts the world’s most exceptional collections of Tri- State lead and zinc ores as well as other local minerals found in the Tri-State District. The 1909 building originally served as a concession stand for Electric Park visitors. The first museum, the Tri-State Mineral Museum, began in 1931 and consisted of a two-story concrete structure. The geology, geochemistry and pre-history of the area is interpreted while mining processes and methods used from the 1870s through the 1960s are illustrated.

The Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Wing which began in 1976, emphasizes the growth and development of Joplin as the result of mining in the Tri-State District. Exhibits include: a circus room, a child’s playhouse from 1902, Joplin’s own 1927 American LeFrance fire engine, Mickey Mantle, Dennis Weaver, Thomas Hart Benton, Langston Hughes, McGee’s 1930 Drug Store, an Assayers Office, House of Lords Display, artifacts from the notorious Bonnie & Clyde Gang’s local activities.

Museum Hours: Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p. m., Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 a. m. – 5:00 p.m., Sundays 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closed Mondays. Call for holiday hours.

Admission is $2.00 per person (age 5 and under is free), $5.00 for family. Group rates available. Group tours available by appointment only. For more information or to schedule a group tour, please contact the Museum at (417) 623-1180.

504 Schifferdecker (in Schifferdecker Park), Joplin, MO 64801

The Scottish Rite Cathedral

In December 1909, philanthropist Charles Schifferdecker, a 33rd-degree Mason, deeded to the Scottish Rite Masons some property at 5th & Byers so that the organization could build a majestic new temple. The group announced on February 4, 1915 that it would soon erect the largest Scottish Rite cathedral in Missouri. Financial difficulties as well as the advent of World War I postponed construction until the fall of 1919, when the Masons formally laid the cornerstone. It took architect Herbert M. Greene and contractor C. W. Bane another four years to complete the $350,000 Temple.

The French Renaissance auditorium on the second floor was the grandest chamber of all. Thirty feet up from the auditorium floor extended a ceiling made entirely of art glass gloriously lit from above. A massive $25,000 pipe organ with 21,000 pipes filled the wall. Arches and pilasters framed the elaborate stage, above which suspended 106 hand-painted backdrop curtains used in Scottish Rite ceremonies. The Temple's electrical consumption, which equaled that of a city with a population of 8,000, required the largest transformer in Joplin to handle the load.

Today the marvelously preserved Scottish Rite Cathedral continues to be a source of pride to the city. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

505 Byers Ave • Joplin, MO 64801 • 417-623-3219

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts

In 1948 a group of inspired artists met in a Joplin department store to establish the Ozark Artists Guild. Businessman and philanthropist George A. Spiva understood their vision. He believed opportunities in the arts should be available to all, and his support was instrumental in securing the Center’s first two homes: the Zellekin House at 4th and Sergeant, and in 1967, the Fine Arts Building on the campus of MSSU.

The Center moved to the historic Cosgrove Building at Third and Wall in 1994. Year-round exhibitions feature the work of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists as well as emerging regional talent. Tours, lectures, children’s classes, and studio workshops complete the Center’s educational offerings. The Gallery Gift Shop features fine art and finely crafted items by area artists and artisans.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is by voluntary donation. As George would undoubtedly say, “Everyone is welcome at Spiva!”

For more information, please call 417-623-0183.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org

Jo Mueller, Director

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The John Wise Home

Hoosier-born John Wise moved to Joplin in 1874 to open a hide and grain business. As with many early Joplin merchants, he quickly realized that real money could be made in mining. Wise joined forces with Thomas Connor to operate lead mines. He also owned 3000 acres of land in Oklahoma where he invested in coal mining and cattle and horse ranching. Wise helped organize Miners Bank and served on the city council.

In 1898, Wise commissioned architect August Michaelis to design this fanciful Queen Anne style house. Built for $10,000, it featured round towers, balconies, and stained glass windows.

Twenty years later, Mrs. Wise, who was active in civic concerns, convinced her husband that their house would make a good residential facility for the YWCA. Although the YMCA had a fine building on east 4th Street, the women's organization, founded in 1905, had yet to find a suitable home. Instead, it shuffled between various old houses and vacant upper floors in downtown buildings. In 1920, a group of businessmen raised funds to purchase the Wise house for $15,000 and spend another $13,000 to remodel and furnish it.

The new YWCA opened as a boarding house for girls who came to Joplin to work. The facility, with only 3 bathrooms, lodged up to 40 girls. The young women had to walk a few blocks to eat their meals at the YWCA cafeteria at 514 Joplin Street.

504 Byers Ave • Joplin, MO 64801 • 417-627- 9657

John Wise Home