Joplin City Attorney Perl Decker pleaded with the growing mob to break up, according to newspaper and other historical accounts, as did Mayor Thomas Cunningham, but the crowd soon stormed the jail and took Gilyard from his cell.

[12] In 1933 during the Great Depression, the notorious criminals Bonnie and Clyde spent some weeks in Joplin, where they robbed several area businesses.

Bonnie and Clyde escaped after killing Newton County Constable John Wesley Harryman and Joplin Police Detective Harry McGinnis; however, they were forced to leave most of their possessions behind, including a camera.

The main road through Joplin running east and west was designated as part of U.S. Route 66, which became famous as more Americans took to newly constructed highways.

In the 1960s and 1970s, nearly 40 acres (16 ha) of the city's downtown were razed in an attempt at urban renewal, as population and businesses had moved to a suburban fringe along newly constructed highways.

Christman's Department Store stands (converted into loft apartments), as does the Joplin Union Depot, since railroad restructuring and the decline in passenger traffic led to its closure.

Other notable historic structures in Joplin include the Carnegie Library, Fred and Red's Diner, the Frisco Depot, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, and the Crystal Cave (filled in and used for a parking lot).

[citation needed] On May 5, 1971, Joplin was struck by a severe tornado, resulting in one death and 50 injuries, along with major damage to many houses and businesses.

[14] On November 11, 1978, Joplin's once-stately Connor Hotel, which was slated for implosion to make way for a new public library, collapsed suddenly and prematurely.

A waterfall, Grand Falls, the highest continuously flowing in the state, is on Shoal Creek on the southern end of the city.

[16] The city has undertaken Agenda 21; a major project to revitalize its Main Street downtown district, which lies on the historic Route 66.

It has refurbished building facades, sidewalks, and added old-styled lamp posts, flower baskets, and benches to highlight the historic center of the city.

Eagle-Picher Industries, Tamko Building Products, AT&T Communications, and Schaeffler Group are noted employers in Joplin, and Leggett & Platt (a Fortune 500) is located in nearby Carthage.

The event attracts runners from across the country, and features USTA certified courses which start and end in the historic downtown area.

Celebrity runners featured at the prerace banquet have included Bart Yasso, Sarah Reinerston, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, and Jeff Galloway.

On June 11, about 270 registered runners and volunteers turned out to help clean debris and sort donations, contributing more than 1,200 hours of service.

[21][22][23][24] On Sunday, May 29, President Barack Obama, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate visited and toured Joplin to see what the damage looked like and attended a memorial service for the deceased.

In July 2011, the City of Joplin entered into a contractual agreement with a master developer company, hired to assist in nearly $3 billion in reconstruction efforts.

One of the recommendations in the study was to develop a conference center with an incorporated or adjacent hotel which could accommodate groups up to 2,500 and include multi-use exhibit space, breakout rooms and the newest technology.

One by Sharon and Lance Beshore, one by Barbara and Jim Hicklin, and seven by Harry M. Cornell Jr., an art collector and chairman emeritus of Leggett & Platt Inc.[33] On February 7, 2019, the Joplin Rotary Club donated over $9,800 which funded signage at the entrance of the walking paths in Mercy Park.

[34] The sculpture garden represents a $200,000 investment by community members who looked for the works of art, bought them, and donated them for permanent display.

The museum contains wings dedicated to (a) local history, and (b) the minerals of the world, particularly those found during the era of lead and zinc mining in Southwest Missouri and the Tri-State Region.

An outdoor display near the museum features used mining equipment used for production in the Joplin region, including pieces of heavy machinery.

The Ghost Light or Spooklight, a mysterious orb supposedly spotted by locals and tourists, is also located in the region around Joplin.

Today, Joplin is home to Missouri Southern State University, founded in 1937 as a junior college and expanded in the following decades.

Messenger College also operated in Joplin until 2012 when the Pentecostal Church of God moved the campus to Euless, Texas that year.

The campus is nearly 20,000 square feet and includes a large lecture hall, learning studio and lab dedicated to osteopathic manipulative medicine courses.

[62] In 2013, the Economic Development Administration awarded the city $20 million to relocate the dated library to a new facility along 20th Street, in the heart of the tornado area.

Costing nearly $20,000,000, the new facility has meeting and event rooms and spaces, an outdoor plaza and courtyard, children's, teen and adult book collection areas, and maker-spaces and equipment for creative arts and business innovators.

Today, part of the city is served by the Sunshine Lamp Trolley, which commenced service in July 2007, and expanded to three routes in 2009.