JOPLIN, Mo. —
When David Glenn looks at the Union Depot, he imagines what it must have been like in 1911 when passengers began boarding trains there.
“You can see the women in bonnets and hats with long dresses, and men with them moving through this depot,’’ he said. “There was a newsstand over here and up there was a big clock with black hands on it. There were benches in here where people could sit and wait.’’
Click here to take a video tour of Joplin's Union Depot.
The depot, which opened a year before the Titanic’s ill-fated voyage, was designed by famed architect Louis Curtiss. The modern design stood in stark contrast to the typical red brick depots of the era.
“It was here that young men boarded trains to go off to war in 1942,’’ Glenn said. “I cannot think of another single place that so represents Joplin and its history.
“I mean — there it is — up there in poured concrete above the entrance: Joplin. It was built to last forever.’’
A new push, recently unveiled by the city, would transform the depot into a museum for Joplin. To those who say the depot is too old and damaged to be renovated, Glenn, who owns the Glenn Commercial Group, would politely tell them that they are mistaken.
“I have been building for 38 years,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with that building. It needs to be brought up to a modern code. It needs a stairway and elevator. But it is a diamond in the rough.’’
“Even though I got burnt 22 years ago, I am still a firm believer in converting the depot into a museum,’’ he said. “It would be a dynamic building for Joplin. It would be a renovated Louis Curtiss train depot. “I will support the city in any way I can. I will volunteer my services as a consultant. I’ll volunteer to make this thing happen because that’s how strongly I believe in the preservation of this building.’’
That Glenn knows a thing or two about the depot is obvious. In early 1989, Glenn, who was then a general contractor with Glenn Construction Co., was a participant in a state-backed restoration of the depot. Glenn and other participants would find that the project was started without adequate financing in place.
“When we worked on it, MCM Restoration Co. out of Fort Scott (Kan.) totally restuccoed the outside of the building. Rainey Roofing and Sheet Metal put a new TAMKO roof on it,’’ Glenn said.
“The roof and the stucco are 22 years old, but they are still in a good shape,” he said. “It’s hard to damage a solid-concrete building. It is almost all poured-in-place concrete — even these round balls and platforms are poured concrete. You won’t see anything like that on a building today.
“Every structural element is rebar-reinforced concrete. Structurally, it is very, very sound. As a contractor or developer, I would not hesitate about redoing that building.’’
