If you've been to Springfield, Missouri, you've seen his name on what seems like every other building. Chances are you've stayed in a hotel developed by his company. I'm referring to John Q. Hammons, who died last Sunday at the age of 94.

I always wondered why Hammons chose to develop the areas to the south and east of Center City Springfield rather than focusing on new construction or historic rehab projects in the heart of downtown. This article explains why he made the choices that he did. And while I always thought that he should have focused on Park Central Square or the blocks surrounding it, in retrospect, his developments still made redevelopment of downtown possible, even if it took several years to come to fruition. And even though he ruffled preservationists' feathers by demolishing many historic structures to accommodate his own skyline just east of the downtown area, the development actually helped preservation efforts on adjacent Walnut Street, which is between downtown, Hammons' group of buildings, and ishome to some of Springfield's most significant houses. It also created a more seamless flow between Park Central Square and MSU (even though I'd like to see more development and fewer surface lots, but that's my personal preference).

Anyway, I thought this was an interesting article about an interesting man that really put Springfield on the map in my opinion. RIP, JQH.

John Q. Hammons built his own personal downtown skyline

John Q. Hammons liked to do things his way, in a big style, and on his time schedule.

He approached downtown redevelopment the same way over the years, sometimes to the chagrin of civic leaders.

In the early 1980s, they banked on getting a new Hammons project on property they had acquired near Park Central Square to kick-start redevelopment.

Hammons instead built his own downtown skyline one mile east, near Missouri State University. The development included the nine-story University Plaza hotel and meeting center, a nine-floor office building and an upscale, high-rise residential condominium. More came later.

Downtown advocates were stung, and the business and retail district a few blocks west continued to shrivel.

“I don’t think it was the jump-start we’d all hoped for,” recalled city development economist Bill Weaver, interviewed along with others in this story before Hammons’ death Sunday at age 94.

In hindsight, many say Hammons’ $27 million investment on East St. Louis Street provided something even more critical.

By then a nationally known hotel tycoon, Hammons’ name carried equity, said former city manager Tom Finnie. “He restored credibility to downtown.”

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John Q was a mixed bag of tricks, he would have done more good had he been able to keep his ego in check.

Self made billionaire, lived to 94, married to his wife for 64 years, owned 200+ hotels, one of the largest philanthropists in MO. You boil the man down to that comment?

ttricamo wrote:Self made billionaire, lived to 94, married to his wife for 64 years, owned 200+ hotels, one of the largest philanthropists in MO. You boil the man down to that comment?

He did all of that - but -

A smaller ego would have served him well

trust me on this one

Sometimes you need a big ego to get things done.

Forgot to mention he was a WW2 vet.

Beer city - unless you're related to the man or know him deeply personally, you arm chair cowboyin' pretty hard.

ttricamo wrote:Forgot to mention he was a WW2 vet.

Beer city - unless you're related to the man or know him deeply personally, you arm chair cowboyin' pretty hard.

Sorry, probably should have never mationed it, but I do have personal expreience, will not discuss, you can take my word for it or not.

Like I said, the man was a mix, I guess at the end of the day most of us are

Also my comment was pretty inert, and I did agree that he had some great accomplishments, not like I called the man a Bond villian.

ttricamo wrote:Self made billionaire, lived to 94, married to his wife for 64 years, owned 200+ hotels, one of the largest philanthropists in MO. You boil the man down to that comment?

I share your view of JQH. Yes, there was an ego. But sometimes it takes a big personality to accomplish big things. Never mind his many accomplishments in Springfield or in the business world in general- I also believe his long and successful marriage, his service to his country, and his philanthropy are what define his legacy the most.

Hammons was like Springfield's 'sugar daddy'. Sure, he put his name on nearly everything he built to cultivate and grow his brand identity, but so what? Springfield's status as a regional business and cultural center has only increased because of JQH's many investments in his hometown. According to his autobiography, which I read during a stay at University Plaza (there's a copy in every hotel room), he preferred clean slate development to historic preservation. That explains why he assembled land several blocks east of Park Central Square, and obviously it also presents fewer hurdles to create the transformative, large-scale development that has taken place in that area over the last 30 years.

So while JQH clearly ruffled some feathers with demolitions in the eastern part of Center City, I'd argue that he made downtown Springfield more relevant and ripe for ongoing renewal by bridging the gap between downtown and Missouri State University with his signature developments. It also made the public investment for Jordan Valley Park- a great oasis that connects Hammons Field to the Roy Blunt/Jordan Valley Innovation Center just north of downtown- much more viable and practical. Once the city extends JVP into the West Meadows area north and west of downtown, that will continue the transformation of Center City (the broader name given to downtown, the government center, and the universities) as well. And I give JQH a lot of credit for creating and sustaining this momentum.