WELCOME HOME GALLERY
Welcome Home Gallery - Round One Winners
The People’s Theater
The People’s Theater is an iconic buildings in historic Pleasant Hill. Built in 1909, it was the main source of news, entertainment and socializing. Walking through those doors carries you back in time
Door to the Heart of My Hometown Carrollton, the historic Carroll County Courthouse
This door at the center of our farming community, marks the heart of our small town. Miles away on the top of the hill, I see this building, welcoming me back to my hometown. I am filled with gratitude.
Downtown Washington Door – Borgia Church
This door belongs to St. Francis Borgia Church which has been in our community since 1834. We are ecstatic to have this door in downtown along with other historic architectural details in our district.
A Very Secure History
Three downtown Campbell historic buildings still boast significant vaults from 1900’s banks, such as this one in Hill Rentals at the corner of Grand and Ash. All is very “safe” in Campbell.
Marceline Carnegie Library
Welcome to the Marceline Carnegie Library! These doors have welcomed visitors to the library for 104 years. They are the gateway to anywhere. They inspire us to explore and to fuel our imaginations. Many generations have crossed that magical threshold to the library; inspiring to change their lives forever. This is where the adventure begins.
Historic Post Office
The Historic Post Office is now a privately owned, multi-use venue located within the Courthouse Square Historic District in West Plains. It was constructed in 1931 as a Public Works Project, built over the spring around which the town was founded, one block east of Court Square. The spring still flows under the facility, with a viewing window in the floor of the downstairs. The building was originally constructed to serve as the West Plains Post Office and later was the public library for many years. I checked out many books there when I was a little girl. It has been central to the town’s history in multiple ways, including that Sheriff C. Roy Kelly had just stepped out of the newly opened post office on December 19, 1931, before he crossed the street to confront members of the Ma Barker gang, suspected of several local robberies. He was murdered in cold blood by gang member Alvin Karpis just on the other side of this doorway. While that is a sad chapter in our town’s history, it is only one connection to this historic doorway which opened up a world of learning and letters to several generations.
Welcome Home Gallery - Round One Finalists
A Place We Gather
For the past two years Henderson Hall has been the featured location for high school proms, weddings, and other events. This distinct building in our community has faithfully stood and witnessed eternal love and youthful fun.
Bollinger County Library
The Bollinger County Library is located in and serves Marble Hill, Missouri. The library is housed in the historic Will Mayfield College Arts and Science Building which was designed in 1924 by architect L. Baylor Pendleton in the Classical Revival style and opened for classes in 1927. The Will Mayfield College was founded in 1878 emphasizing academic courses for high school students, religious education, and teacher training. Attendance at the college peaked in the 1920s, facilitating the need for expansion through the construction of the Arts and Science Building. Prior to the library, the building housed the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History, home of the Missouri state dinosaur – Parrosaurus missouriensis – a duck-billed dinosaur discovered in nearby Glen Allen, Missouri.
Cherishing the Personal Connections to Locally Significant Places
Located in the quaint town of Kimmswick stands the Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery, a cornerstone that helped put Kimmswick on the national map with its Levee High Carmel Apple Pie. This pie got the attention of Oprah Winfrey years ago and she included it in her magazine as one of her favorite things. The Blue Owl is 36 years old but the building goes back longer. The building and Kimmswick has endured many potential disasters from floods to pandemics. The flood of ’93 is what birthed the pie as it honored the labor that went into protecting the town via the levee. I entered the blue double doors of the Blue Owl and walked out of them with my first job ever, which I held for roughly 4 1/2 years. This restaurant is more than just a restaurant to me it is a place I shared memories with coworkers I worked with for years over summers and over the weekend during the school year.
Grace Episcopal Church, Carthage, MO
Here at Grace Episcopal Church in Carthage, Missouri, I was asked to design new classroom and fellowship space as an addition to this building. The original building was constructed of the world famous “Carthage limestone.” The cornerstone was laid in 1889, making this the oldest public building in Carthage made of this local material. As an architect working with hundreds of churches across the country, one common design effort was to include a prominent entrance to the building so that all who come could easily find the best place to enter the facility. I believe that this door, classically framed in proud Carthage stone and painted a brilliant red, says “Welcome Home” to all.
Hall of Waters – Valley of Vitality
The Hall of Waters is the most iconic building in Excelsior Springs due to its unique building profile and architectural style. The building has art deco components with Mayan and Aztec decorations throughout. It was built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project and housed the water bar (serving 10 different healing mineral waters), men’s and women’s spas, an indoor pool filled with mineral water, and a mineral water bottling facility. Today, it houses some of the city’s administrative offices, the Main Street office, visitor center, and a small mineral water museum. The city has been focusing on the preservation of the building as it is falling into disrepair.
Holy Door
This is the door at Old St. Vincent’s Church in Cape Girardeau. The first St. Vincent’s Church, constructed in 1838 was destroyed by a tornado in 1850. Re-built a year later, the foundation of this present English Gothic Church is stone form the original building. It sits on the banks of the Mississippi River. Declared a Chapel of Ease in 1977, Old St. Vincent’s Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been declared a Cape Girardeau Historic Landmark. These doors welcome parishioners and guests for Sunday Mass, weddings, and funerals.
JOPLIN LITTLE THEATER, JOPLIN, MO
This building was built in 1927 on historic Route 66, just a few blocks from my home in Joplin. It was originally built as a multi-use building, with stores on the main floor, apartment above on the north, and a movie theater (Joplin Little Theater, reportedly) on the south with balcony seating above. A quick look at Google Earth reveals the arched roof that originally spanned the large theater space, now converted to additional apartments. Several years ago, the boss of the firm I was working for investigated moving our architectural office into this building; sadly the numbers did not work out. It would have been fun working in this neat old building so close to home. The photograph is a door to one of the retail spaces.
NTIQUES, CARTHAGE, MISSOURI
About 35 years ago, my wife and I moved into a classic American Four-Square home that was built in 1902 just a block from the historic Route 66 in a historic neighborhood in Joplin, Missouri. This “NTIQUE” shop on the square in Carthage, MO on historic Route 66 is probably filled with items just as old as our home. In my search for interesting doors in historic areas of Missouri towns, I discovered that a large majority of buildings have been “updated” and are now sporting modern, glass and aluminum doors and have lost much of the historic appeal and character of the original entrance. This shop maintains the integrity of the original building with this handsome door.
Out of Place but In the Right Place
Since 2002, I have visited the Branson/Hollister area to see my retired parents often, driving past the Ye Olde English Inn on my way through town. The building has always fascinated me since it is an old English Inn in Missouri. Now that I live in the Branson/Hollister area, I have patronized the restaurant inside with friends and coworkers and learned why it is an old English Inn. The Old English Inn is a result of local statutes requiring all buildings within the Front Street business district to be in the Old English style. Because of its uniqueness in the region, it attracted many celebrities and public figures to lodge there during their vacations, and according to legends Harry S. Truman, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, and Clark Gable were among its guests.
Reflections on Delmar
The stunning DeBaliviere Building was designed in 1928 by Isadore Shank and is located at the corner of DeBaliviere Avenue and Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis. Though the façade has fallen into a bit of disrepair in recent years, the gorgeous Art Deco terra cotta details that adorn much of the building are still mostly intact. My reflection is captured in the main door of the Delmar entry to the building – obscured by shattered glass.
Rough Work
Rough back doors show the perseverance of Chillicotheans. Life for this building began in 1917. After the top floors burned in 1927, they were merely lopped off. Nothing keeps us down.
Rust Never Sleeps
This photo was taken of the Rust Media Building in downtown Cape Girardeau. It was built in 1924–1925, and is a two-story, white stucco and red brick Mission Revival style building.
Sault’s Drug Store
Saults Drug Store has been a full service family owned pharmacy since 1937. As the only independent drug store in Callaway County, Saults prides itself on fast, convenient, and friendly service. Customers can also relax in the old fashion soda fountain with a cup of coffee or enjoy a cold treat made with Central Dairy ice cream. The old fashion soda fountain serves a variety of milkshakes, malts, smoothies, floats, phosphates, banana splits, sundaes, ice cream sodas, and much more. Saults Drug Store’s unique gift department offers home and garden decor, wine holders and accessories, and greeting cards. This multi-generation drug store is an anchor business and staple in downtown Fulton. You can feel the history just walking through the door.
The Ceramicist’s Temple
Riverside Pottery is located in the former B’Nai Israel Synagogue. Built in 1937, this historic Jewish synagogue was designed by St. Louis architect, Thomas P. Barnett Jr.
The Midland Theater
The Midland, located in downtown Kansas City, was first opened on October 28th, 1927 and was the third largest theater in the United States at the time. On the morning of the opening, the line to the box office spanned several blocks and all four thousand seats in the auditorium were sold out for the very first showing in “America’s Most Magnificent Theater”, seen on the marquee lit up by over three thousand light bulbs. The Midland was the centerpiece of the city and cost a mere $4.5 million to build. The theater showcased the silent film “The Road to Romance”, accompanied by Midland’s Grand Orchestra. Even today, as eager attendees enter the lush and ornate environment, they are greeted with more than five hundred thousand feet of gold leaf, five giant Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers, walls decorated with irreplaceable imported artwork, and spectacular wood and plaster work. The front doors perfectly showcase the Art Deco style with the beautiful marquee and open to a fully functioning theater.
The Missouri State Capitol Bronze Doors
The Missouri Peoples’ House, the Missouri State Capitol building that stands today, is the third version of the building which broke ground for construction on May 6th, 1913. The building cost nearly $3 million in 1913, which is estimated to be $95 million today. The doors are original to the first construction of the Missouri Peoples’ House. Measuring thirteen by eight feet and weighing just under eight thousand pounds per door, these doors are completely operational and a trademark that stands true from the beginnings of the structure. Missouri’s State Capitol is often referred to as Missouri Peoples’ House as many citizens of the state pass through the doors which open to partnership, politics, and public service. Those passing through the doors are eager to make a difference in the lives of Missourians. These doors represent Missouri’s peoples’ history, the freedom to have a voice, to support legislation, and to partner for change. This is your front door to Missouri, never underestimate your voice to be heard in Missouri Peoples’ House.
Those Red Steps
This is the front doorway of a historic Main Street building in Ironton. It is located at 112 South Main Street. It is a very nice preserved example of the brick store fronts that lead down the street to the historic Iron County Courthouse, a survivor of the American civil war in the 1860’s.
