That fact was tied to contention in the city prior to its construction. It lived up to its name - the Joplin Union Depot - because its use was open to multiple railroads. “Joplin’s Union Depot served four railroads: the Kansas City Southern the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, or Katy the Santa Fe and the Missouri and North Arkansas.” “Joplin had an expansive network of railroads,” says Joplin historian Chad Stebbins. The Joplin Union Depot, located northeast of the intersection of Main and Broadway streets, wasn’t the first depot Joplin had, nor the only one in town when it opened. “And so, thinking about the idea of, ‘Oh, well, it’s not developable’ - well, nobody’s even tried really, because nobody knew it was there.” What is the Joplin Union Depot? The depot has been the victim of vandalism over the years, but still reminds of another age. And there’s never been any marketing done for it,” says Lori Haun, executive director of the Downtown Joplin Alliance, of the depot’s visibility on a broad scale. “It’s just been sitting in our downtown vacant, deteriorating and deteriorating. Through its Endangered Properties Program, the Downtown Joplin Alliance announced a partnership in May with the Glenn Group to put the state-owned property on a national stage in hopes of finding a developer. Deterioration has caused the depot to be a shell of its former self - and the focus of renewed effort to find it a new purpose. JOPLIN – The Joplin Union Depot is a survivor - as it hopefully will continue to be.įor more than a century, the stately white structure from the romanticized age of train travel has remained - through time, vandals, failed redevelopment and a tornado that took out parts of the rest of the town.īut like the trains that still trundle past on the active rail line, time doesn’t stand still. Local galleries may also select your child’s work for exhibit.This story is published in partnership with Ozarks Alive, a cultural preservation project led by Kaitlyn McConnell. TJ students, for example, have won top awards several years in a row at the Ozark 7 Conference Art Show and Juried Competition. Students are encouraged to develop their own individual creative expression and may focus on the media and genres that suit them best.īeyond creating beautiful works of art, your child will also have opportunities to compete in numerous local, regional, state, and national competitions each year. In the Art History Interim course, students learn the main artistic conventions and modes of major artistic eras, and how historical events and trends are inextricably linked with artistic expression over time. In Upper School, the art elective gives students a broad range of studio experiences across a range of media, similar to a college art degree program. Their studies in Art History come to life through their studio projects. In Middle School, they continue to progress in their art knowledge and skills. In Lower School, they learn the principles of design and the elements of art. Starting in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, children learn to distinguish artwork in the studio from classroom craft activities. From developing creative problem-solving skills to connecting your child to culture of the wider world, the Fine Arts are key to helping your child become a well-rounded individual. The Fine Arts are an integral part of Thomas Jefferson’s liberal arts program.

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