The Story

The Ozark Hotel, also known as the Zehe Building, was built in 1911 at 203 Poplar Street and served as both a hotel and commercial building into the 1980s. The hotel was operated by A. C. LeBeaume in 1931 and is documented at 203-205 Poplar (1929) and 203 Poplar (1931) in city directories.

The building was three stories tall, rectangular in plan, and built of brick with Colonial Revival influences, under a hipped roof and set on a stone and concrete foundation. The central bay of the front facade carried concrete balconies on both upper floors.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1994 (reference #94001402), as part of the Poplar Bluff Multiple Property Submission. The building was photographed in October 2014 and recorded as no longer standing by January 2018. The exact year of demolition is not yet documented.

Sources:

• 1929 City Directory - https://poplarbluff.org/library/images/city%20directories/1929%20city%20directory.pdf
• 1931 City Directory - https://poplarbluff.org/library/images/city%20directories/1931%20city%20directory.pdf
• National Register of Historic Places nomination, Zehe Building (ref. #94001402), Missouri Department of Natural Resources
• Wikipedia, "Zehe Building" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zehe_Building

⚠️ RESEARCH NOTE: Information compiled from historical references and city directories. Details are subject to verification and may contain inaccuracies