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Postcard of the Tootle Opera House.
Image provided by the St. Joseph Museums, Inc.

Image provided by the St. Joseph Museums, Inc.

Tootle Opera House remodel, Lehr Construction Co. 1933.
Image provided by the St. Joseph Museums, Inc.

The Tootle Opera House was constructed in 1871 and burned down in 2016.

Tootle Opera House

While St. Joseph has many beautiful buildings lining its streets, at one time it had many more. Experience the history of structures that tell this city's history, but are now  lost to time.

The Masonic Temple at Fifth and Edmond was dedicated on the 3 of September 1897. It served as the headquarters of the Masons until a new temple was constructed adjoining the Scottish Rite in 1906-1907.

Masonic Temple

<p>The Orpheum Opera House opened in 1886 in San Francisco, California. After success and growth, the Orpheum Circuit expanded to Los Angeles and later followed the railways to Kansas City, Omaha, and Denver. Expanding across the United States in the early 1900s, the Orpheum Circuit leased out the Tootle Opera House in St. Joseph, MO in 1903. Nearing the end of their ten-year lease, the Orpheum Theater was constructed at the northeast corner of Fifth and Edmond Streets in 1911. In 1927-28, the Orpheum circuit was merged into Radio-Keith-Orpheum, better known as RKO Pictures, Inc. The building was remodeled in 1930 and damaged in a large fire in 1933, but continued to operate until the 1950s. The building was sold to Mechanics Bank in 1958 and demolished to expand their parking lot. </p>

<p>The Orpheum Theater was constructed at the northeast corner of Fifth and Edmond Street in 1911. The building was remodeled in 1930 and survived a fire in 1933 that caused damage. The theater continued to operate until the 1950s and was demolished in 1958 with the land being used to support the expansion of a large parking lot downtown.</p>

Orpheum Theater (1911-1958)

Charles N. Regnier and Charles A. Shoup began a queensware shop on Third Street between Felix and Edmond in 1883. They moved to the Fifth Street location in February of 1887. The building was constructed for the company by A.M. Saxton the year before. They operated out of this building until 1893 when they moved to Sixth Street between Felix and Edmond. That entire block burnt in September of that year, reducing their new shop to rubble, so the company moved back into the Fifth Street location.

Regnier & Shoup Crockery Co.

The Hotel Robidoux opened in 1909 and was imploded in 1976 as part of Urban Renewal.

Hotel Robidoux

Designed by architect Edmond J. Eckel, this structure was completed in 1904. It sat on the east side of N. 5th St. In 1935, the building was sold to the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce who occupied the building until the 1960s. The Elks then moved into the Robidoux Hotel (demolished in 1976). The building was then sold again, this time to the American National Bank. The bank demolished the building to replace it with a drive-thru. 

Elks Club

The Lyceum Theater sat at the corner of Fifth and Jules Streets across from the Buchanan County Courthouse. The building was taken over by the Hotel Robidoux and converted into a parking garage for the hotel.

Lyceum Theater

Named for physician Artelius V. Banes, the Banes Building stood at the southeast corner across Fifth and Jules from the Buchanan County Courthouse.

Banes Building

The Buchanan County Jail was once attached to the Buchanan County Courthouse.

Buchanan County Jail

The City Auditorium was constructed from 1905-1909. It was razed in 1985.

City Auditorium

The Saxton National Bank was founded by A.M. Saxton and designed by Eckel & Mann in 1880. Construction completed in 1882.

Saxton National Bank

The St. Joseph Art League purchased a plot of land next to the Hotel Robidoux in October of 1948 and a year later the Hax Art Center opened its doors. The center displayed the artwork gathered by the League until the construction of the Albrecht Gallery in 1966. The Hax Art Center was thus sold off as the Art League and its collection moved to the Albrecht.

Hax Art Center

Tootle-Lemon Bank, Sixth & Francis, N.W. corner, 1899.  Designed in 1899 by Edmond Eckel Architects.  This building was later the Tootle-Lacy Bank, and then the Tootle-Enright Bank, and finally the American National Bank.  It was demolished prior to 2011.

Tootle-Lemon/Lacy Bank

Originally formed as the St. Joseph Medical College in 1882 with the merger of the St. Joseph Hospital Medical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. It became Ensworth Medical College in 1888 and merged with Central Medical College in 1905. The building was razed in 1931.

Ensworth Medical College

The Physicians and Surgeons Building was constructed in the late 1800s and served as the office complex for several of St. Joseph's early physicians and surgeons, most of whom attended the Ensworth Medical College up the road. The building was demolished in the 1970s as part of Urban Renewal and is now the northwest corner of Coleman Hawkins Park. The pillars displayed at this corner lot today were originally from the Hotel Robidoux and were salvaged during its destruction, also during Urban Renewal.

Physicians and Surgeons Building

The Schneider Building was constructed at the northeast corner of Felix and Seventh Streets in September 1887. It was the first home of St. Joseph's YMCA until 1912 when it moved to Tenth and Faraon. The Schneider Building was torn down during Urban Renewal in 1975. The spot was developed into an outdoor mall during the 1980s and is now the entrance to Coleman Hawkins Park.

Former Historic Buildings of St. Joseph Missouri

Tootle Opera House

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