Editing Joplin, Missouri (section)

===20th century===
{{wide image|Joplin panorama.jpg|900px|Panorama of Joplin, in 1910}}
Joplin began to add cultural amenities; in 1902, residents passed a tax to create a public library, and gained matching funds that enabled them to build the [[Carnegie Library]]. It was seen as the symbol of a thriving city. In 1930, the grand commercial Electric Theater was built, one of the many movie palaces of the time. It was later purchased and renamed the Fox by [[Fox Theatres]] corporation. With the Depression and post-World War II suburban development, moviegoing declined at such large venues.

On April 15, 1903, Joplin police officers, including Theodore Leslie, 36, were searching nearby rail yards for a Black man who had allegedly stolen pistols from a hardware store when Leslie noticed a man in one of the rail cars. Shots were fired, and Leslie, a father of four, was mortally wounded. Hundreds of men launched a search using bloodhounds. On April 16, a Black man with a weapon, Thomas Gilyard, was arrested, and while he told one of the men involved in the arrest that he had been in the box car, he said several others had been there and that one of them fired the fatal shot.
Joplin City Attorney Perl Decker pleaded with the growing mob to break up, according to newspaper and other historical accounts, as did Mayor Thomas Cunningham, but the crowd soon stormed the jail and took Gilyard from his cell. He was lynched soon afterward.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/truth-and-reconciliation-sought-as-joplin-lynching-recalled/article_282f07b1-1c10-50a8-b589-ecb28e92cbd8.html  |title=Truth and reconciliation sought as Joplin lynching recalled  |date=April 15, 2018 |publisher=JoplinGlobe.com  |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref>

[[Image:Bonnieclyde f.jpg|upright|thumb|Bonnie and Clyde, photo developed by the ''Joplin Globe'' after the shootout]]
In 1933 during the [[Great Depression]], the notorious criminals [[Bonnie and Clyde]] spent some weeks in Joplin, where they robbed several area businesses. Tipped off by a neighbor, the [[Joplin Police Department]] attempted to apprehend the pair. Bonnie and Clyde escaped after killing Newton County Constable John Wesley Harryman and Joplin Police Detective Harry McGinnis; however, they were forced to leave most of their possessions behind, including a camera.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/bonnie/8.html |title=Court TV, CrimeLab website, page on Bonnie and Clyde |publisher=Crimelibrary.com |access-date=May 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222134253/http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/bonnie/8.html |archive-date=December 22, 2008 }}</ref> The ''[[Joplin Globe]]'' developed and printed the film, which showed now-legendary photos of Bonnie holding Clyde at mock gunpoint, and of Bonnie with her foot on a car fender, posed with a pistol in her hand and cigar in her mouth. The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation nominated the house where the couple stayed, at 34th Street and Oak Ridge Drive, for inclusion on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on February 13, 2009.

After World War II, most of the mines were closed, and population growth leveled off. The main road through Joplin running east and west was designated as part of [[U.S. Route 66 in Missouri|U.S. Route 66]], which became famous as more Americans took to newly constructed highways. The roads provided improved access between cities, but they also drew off population to newer housing and eventually retail centers.

In the 1960s and 1970s, nearly 40 acres (16&nbsp;ha) of the city's downtown were razed in an attempt at [[urban renewal]], as population and businesses had moved to a suburban fringe along newly constructed highways. The Keystone Hotel and Worth Block (former home of the House of Lords) were notable historic structures that were demolished. [[Fifth and Main Historic District|Christman's Department Store]] stands (converted into loft apartments), as does the [[Joplin Union Depot]], since railroad restructuring and the decline in passenger traffic led to its closure. Other notable historic structures in Joplin include the Carnegie Library, [[Fred and Red's]] Diner, the Frisco Depot, the [[Scottish Rite|Scottish Rite Cathedral]], and the Crystal Cave (filled in and used for a parking lot). The Newman Mercantile Store has been adapted for use as City Hall. The Fox Theatre has been adapted for use as the Central Christian Center. {{citation needed|date=May 2011}}

On May 5, 1971, Joplin was struck by a severe [[tornado]], resulting in one death and 50 injuries, along with major damage to many houses and businesses.<ref name="joplinpl">{{cite web|url=http://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/digitized/joplin_tornado_booklet.php|title=Joplin Tornado|publisher=Joplin Public Library|access-date=2012-11-16|archive-date=June 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624050333/http://joplinpubliclibrary.org/digitized/joplin_tornado_booklet.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Image:Joplin Downtown Historic District.jpg|thumb|Historic district at 6th and Main, looking north, 2010]]

On November 11, 1978, Joplin's once-stately [[Connor Hotel (Joplin, Missouri)|Connor Hotel]], which was slated for implosion to make way for a new public library, collapsed suddenly and prematurely. Two demolition workers were killed instantly. A third, Alfred Sommers, was trapped for four days, yet survived.