Malsbury Building, 902-904 South Main Street; 1929; contributing
This single-story one-part commercial block building of brick is located on a corner lot, with two storefronts on the South Main Street elevation and one on the West Ninth Street elevation. The storefronts are altered but retain the traditional window-to-wall ratio, with display windows flanking recessed entrances. A date/namestone offset on upper facade states “JULIA E. MALSBURY 1929.” The exterior surfaces are trimmed with small light-colored masonry trim blocks and a single-stage stepped parapet is along the roofline...
Among the latest buildings in the district, this building was erected for Julia Malsbury, whose name appears on a datestone on the upper façade. Julia Malsbury (1852-1936) was the wife of pioneer Joplin merchant Francis Marion Malsbury (1843-1925) who came to the new settlement of Joplin in 1872 and operated a grocery store on Main Street. Julia was a native of Belvedere, Illinois and came to Joplin in 1873. Francis and Julia Malsbury were married in 1879. She erected this building when a widow in her seventies. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps indicate that this was built on the site of an 1880s 3-unit wood frame commercial building. City directories indicate that among the earliest tenants were Kivia Murawa, a restaurateur, and Frank Parrett, a shoemaker. By the 1950s, pawnbrokers doing business as Mission Mercantile occupied the principal retail space.
The building appears to be in good condition and is currently used as a bar.