# Woodruff Building

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{{Short description|Historic building in Springfield, Missouri}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Woodruff Building
  | nrhp_type = cp
  | partof = Springfield Public Square Historic District
  | image = Woodruff Building Springfield MO Sept2025 A.jpg
  | caption = The Woodruff Building in Springfield, MO as seen from the corner of St. Louis St. and Jefferson Ave. (ca. 2025)
  | location= 331 Park Central E.<br>[Springfield, Missouri](/source/Springfield%2C_Missouri)
  | coordinates={{coord|37|12|33|N|93|17|25|W|display=inline,title}}
  | locmapin = Missouri#USA
  | built = {{Start date|1911}}
  | added = May 5, 2006
  | area = Less than {{convert|1|acre}}
  | partof_refnum = 06000331<ref name=nris>{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
}}

The '''Woodruff Building''' is a historic [high-rise](/source/high-rise) located in [Springfield](/source/Springfield%2C_Missouri), [Greene County, Missouri](/source/Greene_County%2C_Missouri). Built in February 1911, it is often called [Springfield's](/source/Springfield%2C_Missouri) first "[skyscraper](/source/skyscraper)". Originally a [commercial style](/source/Chicago_school_(architecture)) design with hints of early [art-deco](/source/art-deco), a 1959 remodel gave the building turquoise enamel panels with a [mid-century](/source/Mid-century_modern) look. It houses ten stories.<ref name="nrhp">{{cite web |last1=Miles |first1=Mark |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |url=https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Springfield%20Pub%20Sq%20HD%20BI.pdf |website=Missouri State Parks |publisher=United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service |access-date=21 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Woodruff Building Expansion Job Starts |publisher=Springfield Daily News |date=March 7, 1959}}</ref>

It was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) in 2014.

==History==
In 1908, local business leader, [John T. Woodruff](/source/John_T._Woodruff) purchased the land at the corner of Jefferson Ave. and Park Central East, across the street from his newly constructed Colonial Hotel, another of [Woodruff's](/source/John_T._Woodruff) properties. [Woodruff](/source/John_T._Woodruff) would construct the city's first "[sky-scraper](/source/sky-scraper)", comprising 276 offices, a bank, drug store, post office, tobacco store, barber shop, and billiards parlor. It was touted as [Springfield's](/source/Springfield%2C_Missouri) "newest, most modern, fireproof business structure."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaitlyn McConnell |title=The Influential Dedication of John T. Woodruff |url=https://www.springfieldchamber.com/the-influential-dedication-of-john-t-woodruff/ |website=Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce |access-date=21 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=John T. Woodruff Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=170898 |website=www.hmdb.org |access-date=21 August 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1959, [Woodruff](/source/John_T._Woodruff) sold the building to F.X. Heer for $700,000. Heer expanded the building, adding 23,000 square feet to Springfield's largest office building, at a cost of $650,000.<ref name="sgcld">{{cite web |title=Woodruff Building, Springfield, Mo. |url=https://sgcld.thelibrary.org/lochist/postcards/woodruff_building.cfm |website=sgcld.thelibrary.org |publisher=Springfield-Greene County Library District |access-date=21 August 2025 |language=en}}</ref> The building changed hands to Warren Davis Properties in 1994, followed by the Vecino Group in 2013.

The Vecino Group would undergo a $13,000,000 rehabilitation of the blighted property, converting it to apartments with retail on the street level. They renamed the building "Sky Eleven", a tribute to the building's construction year of 1911.<ref name="sbj">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Brian |title=Woodruff owners sketch out $13M renovation |url=https://sbj.net/stories/woodruff-owners-sketch-out-13m-renovation,17499 |website=Springfield Business Journals |publisher=Springfield Business Journal |access-date=21 August 2025 |language=en |date=3 April 2013}}</ref>

Many original details and accents remain to this day but the 1959 remodel is most prominent with the turquoise panels and aluminum windows.

<gallery>
Woodruff Building Springfield MO Sept2025 ArtDecoAccent.jpg|Art Deco accents preserved on the exterior of the Woodruff Building in Springfield, MO.
Woodruff Building Springfield MO Sept2025 Sign.jpg|Placard outside the Woodruff Building, Springfield, MO.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri}}

Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1911
Category:Buildings and structures in Springfield, Missouri
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Greene County, Missouri

{{GreeneCountyMO-NRHP-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Woodruff Building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodruff_Building) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodruff_Building?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.