The imposing white Bedford stone building that sits vacant at Main and Poplar streets has a storied history in Poplar Bluff’s downtown. Hailed as “The Old Reliable’’ in the early 20th century, the building was constructed in 1914 as the new location for The Bank of Poplar Bluff. When it first opened, a 1915 newspaper headline blared “Elegant Bank Is Opened For Public’s Gaze.’’
“This afternoon the throngs began to pour into the bank and all during the afternoon,’’ cooed the Weekly Citizen in the July 2, 1915 issue. “...The interior is finished in tile, marble, mahogany and brass and the finish is super elegant… It proves that the directors and stockholders have faith in their town and their people.’’
A vintage 20th-century postcard adorned with the building’s neoclassical design asserts the bank was “one of the chief factors contributing to Poplar Bluff’s continual growth for more than a half century.’’
The question today is whether the building will be part of a future revitalized downtown.
“It has an uncertain future, for sure,’’ said Kyle Pershing, the Cushman & Wakefield listing agent for the property. “I’ve had quite a few showings, and since had a few offers that were too low to respond to.”
Most lookers were considering the 18,300 square-foot property for office space, said Pershing. But Jim Chrisman, 79, who helped spearhead the Poplar Bluff Historic Depot renovation, sees the space as ideal for a restaurant, banquet hall or brew pub. Pershing said so far “nobody has had that sort of creativity for it.”
“What we need is a spark plug,’’ said Chrisman, who feels the city is preoccupied with developing the Shelby Road area. “Somebody who will take the horns and put together a development plan for downtown and make it happen.’’
Chrisman himself has a vision of several old buildings along Main Street being rehabbed and turned into a pedestrian shopping area.
“I think there are a lot of people that share my vision for downtown,’’ he said. “The problem is there’s nobody with money that shares my vision.’’
Originally listed for $1,000,050 when it first went on the market in 2019, the price of the former US Bank has dropped more than 50%, to the current $450,600. Still, there have been no takers.
Pershing says he is the sales agent for several former US Bank properties located in small towns.
“But this particular one has been extra difficult,’’ he said.
“We’ve dropped it considerably,’’ Pershing said. But “no investor wants to put down huge amounts of money when the building across the street looks burned down.”
The bank building, which houses a metal safety-deposit vault and three other vaults as well, is designed for a single tenant and would require significant money to convert, he said.
The Bank of Poplar Bluff opened for business Dec. 26, 1886, and moved into the old “Bell Building’’ at 200 S. Main St. in 1901, according to Kati Wylie Ray, a board member of the Poplar Bluff Museum.
The new building was built on the same spot in 1914 and opened with fanfare on July 2, 1915. In 1985, the bank was sold to Mercantile Bank, then became Firstar Bank in 2000 before being purchased by US Bank in August 2001, according to Ray, author of “Poplar Bluff Tornado,’’ recounting the deadly storm of May 9, 1927, that killed 86 residents.
Miranda Fickert, 44, a vice president at Sterling Bank, worked for 14 years inside the building when it was a US Bank branch.
“It was a really cool old building,’’ said Fickert, who worked at the bank from 2004 to 2018. “It had its quaintness and its stories, but it’s a really neat old building.’’
Fickert says that the building has a “half floor’’ between the first and second floors, a dirt-floor basement, and a dumbwaiter that was used to transport files from the first to the second floor. She also remembers looking out her window straight into an “unsavory’’ part of downtown.
She says she hopes the building is reincarnated to become part of Poplar Bluff’s future revitalized downtown.
“I love the old downtowns that have been restored,’’ Fickert said. “I don’t know what would succeed in it. There’s tons of opportunities that people can make it into. It’s a beautiful building. It has such potential.’’
Morgan McIntosh, executive director of the Downtown Poplar Bluff Inc., says one reason for the lack of interest in the building may be that the selling agents are located in St. Louis.
“I’m not sure that a lot of people know it’s for sale,’’ said McIntosh, whose annual $50,000 salary as downtown development director is paid for by Poplar Bluff’s tourism revenue. “It’s not listed with a local agent, but I think it’s a great property and has a lot of potential.’’
She’s bullish on downtown Poplar Bluff and says that “within a year it’ll look like a totally different district.’’
Stephanie Knoppe, a realtor with Poplar Bluff Realty who has flipped houses, says she has shown the property to several clients who have passed on it. She says rehabbing old buildings takes a lot of capital and beaucoup work.
“Everybody watches way too much HGTV, and they make it look easy,’’ said Knoppe, who had her very first checking account at the bank when it was Mercantile Bank. The future buyer of 200 S. Main St. “is going to have to be someone who loves the building and doesn’t look at the dollar sign to do it.’’
“The biggest problem is that it’s been a bank for so many years, and that’s what everybody thinks of it as — a bank. And even when you walk into it, it still feels like a bank,’’ Knoppe said.
Whoever will take on the project will have to have an “extremely creative mind.”