Feature 269: 416 West Maple Avenue (in 2011)

Classification: Contributing.
Historic Name: Soldiers' & Sailors' Memorial Building; World War I Memorial Building - Main Building.
Architectural Style: Classical Revival.
Construction Date: 1925.
Period 3 of Harry S Truman's Life: Developing Political Skills & Associations, 1920-1933.
Tax Identification: 26-230-09-12.
Legal Description: Old Town, west 50 feet of lot 35 & all of lots 36 & 37.
Description: Contributing two-story brick (set in Flemish bond on facade) civic building; cross-shape plan; flat steel truss roof with high parapet; brick exterior with brick pilasters & Indiana limestone decorative details; flat cement stringcourse forms a pediment that is centered on the south & west walls; multi-pane double-hung sash windows, seven bays wide on south facade, with brick voussoirs & Indiana limestone keystones above; ocular & shield-shaped details as well as swags of draperies, decorate the pediments; stairs with wrought iron balustrade lead to three double-leaf doors surmounted by broken pediments on the south facade & flat entablatures on the west wall; brick foundation with a raised basement. Located on the northeast corner of West Maple Avenue & North Pleasant Street on a high terraced parcel, with sidewalks along the west & south property lines; Methodist Church to the east on same block; Palmer Junior High School to the west across Pleasant Street; Presbyterian Church to the southwest, diagonally across the street.
• Alterations: In 2001-2002, the rear north wall (devoid of architectural detail) was removed & an addition was built to enlarge the performance stage, the exterior was repaired & aluminum windows matching the historic ones were installed, all utility systems were updated, a new entrance lobby & elevator were added to the northwest corner, new floor constructed in gym, new seats resembling the historic ones were installed in the auditorium, & the kitchen was upgraded.
• Noncontributing Veterans Memorial wall [Feature 270] was installed in recent years at the east side of the south wall that faces Maple Avenue. The wall is made of polished granite & is inscribed with the names of local individuals who lost their lives in the course of their military service.
History/Significance: On July 4, 1926, Harry S Truman, a World War I veteran, [former] county judge for eastern Jackson County, & chairman of the dedication committee, oversaw the dedication of the Soldiers' & Sailors' Memorial Building. The building served as Harry & Bess Truman's polling place for more than thirty years, & notably in the 1948 presidential election, which Truman won. The Memorial Hall was also the only place that Truman ever held a press conference (on July 27, 1945) in Independence. Truman initiated a war bond sale at the building during World War II, & he dedicated a liberty bell, given by a French city, there, which was later moved to the Truman Presidential Museum & Library. A large quantity of Truman's presidential papers was stored in the Memorial Building between 1954, after Truman returned to civilian life, & 1957, when the Truman Presidential Museum & Library was completed.
On January 16, 1925, the "Independence Examiner" announced that workmen were tearing down the old J.C. Pendleton home in preparation for the construction of the new Memorial Building, built by the American War Mothers in memory of soldiers & sailors who fought in World War I. The building, intended to be a center of civic life in the community, was to be used for public meetings of all kinds & athletic events. It would also serve as the headquarters for the American Legion, of which Truman was a member, the Independence Chamber of Commerce, & other civic organizations. The Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, & other city clubs contributed special features to the building. City government leaders selected Independence architect Alonzo H. Gentry to design the building. Interior spaces included a gymnasium-theatre, meeting & projection rooms, room for the heating system, & even a "janitor's suite," according to the May 28, 1925, issue of the "Independence Examiner." On June 25, 1925, M.T. Colgan was awarded the contract to construct the building for around $105,000. Grading began ten days later, under the supervision of H.R. Foley. On August 16th, the cornerstone was laid. The Randall family, long-time Independence masonry contractors (William R. & Adrian), reportedly completed the brickwork on the building.
Over the years, the building served as a gathering place for hundreds of community events, including fraternal & charitable club meetings, concerts & sports events, political & cultural gatherings, & funeral services for notable Independence civic leaders. In the late twentieth century, the building fell into disrepair. In 2001-2002, the Independence Parks & Recreation Department, the property owner, restored, enlarged, & updated the building.