I researched the original purpose of this fascinating building, and as far as I could tell, it operated as a dry goods store. It is very old, regardless, built of rubble wall construction. It went through a series of other uses over the years. As recently as 2016 if not later, the building had a…
Tag: Hannibal
Former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Hannibal
It must be a hidden talent, but the first major building we stumbled upon coming into Hannibal was a giant abandoned building, which in this case is the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. It’s the usual story; it was founded over a century ago by nuns, it was added on to repeatedly over the last one…
North Sixth Street, Hannibal
Turning left onto North Street, there is a Greek Revival house that has seen many changes over the years. I suspect it may have been built before street grading, and it is also obvious that its front door originally was in the far right bay of the front facade–note the overly wide lintel and poorly…
North Fifth Street, Hannibal
North Fifth Street goes up a steep hill, and is lined an array of beautiful homes built from what I would suspect are the 1850s through 1900, with the majority built around and after the Civil War. Starting at the bottom of the hill, at Center Street, we see a Queen Anne style house on…
North Fourth Street, Hannibal
Trinity Episcopal Church, designed by Joseph A. Miller in the Gothic Revival style, has a history going back over 150 years in Hannibal. The stained glass windows have an excellent pedigree of our own Emil Frei & Associates alongside Louis Comfort Tiffany. It might not be the largest church in the city, but it must…
Hannibal and the River and Railroads
North Main Street is a National Register District, and the buildings house a bunch of businesses that cater to the tourist crowd that comes from around the world to see the hometown of Mark Twain. The houses are humble right by the water, as well, as you’d expect for the wharf stevedores (does anyone use…
Hill and North Main Streets, Hannibal
Apparently someone named Samuel Clemens, whose pen name was Mark Twain, was from Hannibal. There’s a statue of two of his most famous characters, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, at the end of North Main Street. Back down on Hill Street, which intersects with Main, the houses and offices that his father worked and lived…
Former Federal Building, Hannibal
Now known as the Federal Building, this magnificent Second Empire masterpiece designed by Mifflin E. Bell was completed in 1888 and once functioned as a post office and federal courthouse for a now disbanded circuit. Typical of the Victorian Period, it is intentionally asymmetrically picturesque, with a tower on one side breaking up the composition…
Around the Courthouse, Hannibal
Thankfully, there are not oceans of parking around the courthouse, but instead the original houses of the middle and upper class of Hannibal, which are a showcase of typical Victorian Period styles. Also typical of the neighborhoods around courthouses, many of those houses are now lawyers’ offices. This first house is a great example of…
Marion County Courthouse, Hannibal
Yes, there are two Marion County courthouses! As we continue down the Mississippi River Valley, we come to the largest city in Marion County, which is Hannibal. Due to the fact that the city was so much more dominant, a second courthouse was constructed in Hannibal to deal with the larger caseload. I’m sure there’s…