College Apartments (Springfield Business College, Park Central Apartments)

This building was constructed in 1910 and was part of the growing Springfield Business College. In the years ahead, the Draughon Business College which had been established in 1907 grew into Springfield's largest vocational business school. This led to a decline in the significance of Springfield Business School which vacated this building in 1927. At the same time, the growing Draughon Business College moved into the historic, expansive Wilhoit Oil Company building. In 1928, this former college building was converted to an apartment building. By the 1990s, the building was in poor repair but recent renovations that followed a return to investment in the downtown area has given the building new life. The former college building now functions as Park Central Apartments.

Constructed in 1910, this building initially served as an expansion of the Springfield Business College until 1928 when it became known as the College Apartments building. The historic structure and association with one of several colleges that once operated in Springfield speak to the population boom, job growth, and commercial construction in Springfield from the Civil War through the 1920s as Springfield grew into an important commercial hub for Southwest Missouri and the Ozarks during the early 20th century. The desire by people to capitalize on the availability of jobs created a demand for vocational training. 

Queen City Business College, founded in 1892, was the city's first business school, operating out of a building strategically located along the Walnut Street trolley route and next door to the Commercial Club of Springfield (Chamber of Commerce). Students learned such vocational skills as typewriting, accountancy, stenotype, and sales techniques, to name a few.

Springfield Business College opened in 1905-1906 after State Normal School (modern-day Southwest Missouri State University) took over Springfield Normal School. As part of the transition process, J.A. Taylor. a director and instructor of Springfield Normal School, consolidated its business department with Queen City Business College, which he also owned and operated. The immediate success of Springfield Business College led to the institution's need to expand its facilities, hence the decision to build the now-historic two-story facility in 1910.

Springfield Business College built the facility in response to its needs and the promise of continued growth. However, within a few years, Draughon Business College, established in 1907, rapidly evolved into Springfield's dominant vocational business school. As a result, Springfield Business School shifted from expansion to contraction. By 1928, Springfield Business College departed the building and merged with Draughon, which had moved into the historic Wilhoit Oil Company building (Draughon functioned as Springfield's leading business school through the 1970s). 

After the school vacated the building, developers converted the historic structure into an apartment complex, which speaks to the urban transformation of downtown Springfield and a response to the city's increasing demand for working- and middle-class residential rental accommodations. However, the Great Depression began a trend of overall decline for Springfield's Public Square and downtown area. So, while occupancy rates stayed high through the early 1930s, vacancies became the story as the century progressed. 

A strategy to rename and revitalize the building as the Park Central Apartments, coinciding with redevelopment plans for Springfield's Public Square, proved unsuccessful; the facility experienced a substantial decline. By the mid-1990s, the property had been vacated, and then a 1999 fire resulted in the City of Springfield citing the structure for dangerous building conditions. Nevertheless, the building survived, and recent renovations have allowed the building to function again as an apartment complex. 

Burton, Richard Lee. "Registration Form: E.M. Wilhoit Building." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 2004. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Wilhoit%2C%20E.M.%2C%20Bldg.pdf.

--- --- ---. "Nomination Form: College Apartments (Springfield Business College, Park Central Apartments).National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 2003. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/College%20Apartments.pdf.

Fairbanks, Jonathan and Clyde Edwin Tuck. Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri. Volume I. Indianapolis: A.W. Bowen & Company, 1915. https://thelibrary.org/lochist/history/paspres/index.html.

Powers, Mathew and Clio Admin. "E. M. Wilhoit Building; E.M. Oil Company." Clio: Your Guide to History. September 29, 2022. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.theclio.com/entry/157624. 

Thomason, Phillip. "Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic and Architectural Resources of Springfield, Missouri." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1998. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Historic%20and%20Architectural%20Resources%20of%20Springfield%2C%20MO.pdf.

--- --- --- "Registration Form: Springfield Warehouse and Industrial Historic District." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1999. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Springfield%20Warehouse%20and%20Industrial%20HD.pdf.