The Olivia Apartments, located at 320 Moffet Avenue in Joplin, Missouri, is a five-story apartment building with a raised basement designed by local architect Austin Allen in 1906. Constructed of red brick, this U-shaped building is accented by Bedford limestone ornamentation, light colored brick cross hatching. It has a flat roof. The building measures approximately 100 feet by 125 feet and is divided into three bays. The primary façade is symmetrical, with projecting center bay and gabled porch. Stone stairs lead to the wood and glass main entrance doors. Two sets of French doors with sidelights fill the second through fifth floor, with spiral brackets holding the remains of balustraded balconies. The second through fourth floor outer bays contain two sets of paired one-over-one windows with a small twelve-light sash window between them. The first level contains a glassed porch with a dentiled cornice. Ribbed brickwork and paired windows are found at the corners of the first level, and paired fixed pane six-light windows are found in the basement below. The building takes up ,the majority of the lot, with the exception of the small front yard that is contained by a stone wall. Though time has taken its toll on the building, the Olivia Apartments look much as they did when constructed. The parapets at the roofline have been removed, as have the balustrades from the balconies. With the exception of these changes the building is in good condition, with little alteration to the interior. The building continues to retain most of the architectural elements it possessed at construction, and retains integrity of location, setting, association, materials, workmanship, and design...
The Olivia Apartments, located at 320 Moffet in Jasper County, Missouri, is locally significant ... in the area of ARCHITECTURE. When mining mogul A. E. Bendelari moved to Joplin at the turn-of-the-century he discovered and developed one of the richest mines in the area. His success led him to invest $150,000 into one of the first luxury apartment houses in the city, which was seen as an "encouraging indication of the faith of Joplin's own citizens"' in the boomtown's continued growth. Designed by local architect Austin Allen in 1906, the Olivia Apartments are a representative example of the luxury and sophisticated craftsmanship that made Allen a prominent figure in Joplin and across Missouri. Constructed by Dieter and Wenzel, the building incorporated technological and spatial developments that became synonymous with the firm's grand Joplin structures, and manifests the quality workmanship,the company boasted across the country. As an apartment hotel the building catered to wealthy clientele, offering services and amenities to both tenants and the visiting public unlike any other local apartment house of the time.
The building appears to be in fair to good condition however is currently vacant and is waiting for a developer to restore the building.