08F31EBB-1DD8-B71B-0BCDF51C5297E175

Feature 263: 315-317 & 319-321 West Maple Avenue - Building #1 (in 2011)

Commercial style building

Classification: Contributing. Historic Name: Smith Garage - Building #1. Architectural Style: Commercial. Construction Date: ca. 1914 & 1920. Period 2 of Harry S Truman's Life: Establishing Community Roots, 1890-1919 (for 315-317 West Maple Avenue). Tax Identification: 26-230-10-03 and 26-230-10-04. Legal Description: Old Town, block 10, lots 44 & 45. Description: Two adjoined contributing one-story brick commercial buildings; irregular in shape; two elongated arched roofs behind parapets (one is with gable slope and the other is horizontal); brick exteriors; east side windows with segmental arches filled in; large plate glass windows on north-facing facade; east half of building facade is set back from the street about fifty feet to allow for parking. Located in mid-block along the main street that connects the commercial and residential areas of the district. • Alterations: Easternmost building shortened to create greater setback from the street; facades modernized probably several times; windows filled in along east sidewall. History/Significance: Clifford R. Smith had the easternmost building (315 West Maple) constructed around 1914. The 1916 Sanborn Company Fire Insurance map for Independence shows this steel truss service garage with a capacity for sixty automobiles; adjoining to the west was an "air dome" with a "moving picture booth.” Clifford A. Smith, born in Newton, Iowa, in 1878, had come to Independence in the early 1900s. Around 1908, Smith began operating a bicycle repair shop. As automobiles began to appear in Independence, he soon turned his mechanical skills to their repair. In 1909, he opened the second garage in Independence, located in the old Presbyterian Church building. In the early 1910s, James C. Smith, Clifford's brother, joined the business, and it moved to 217 West Maple Avenue [now a parking lot, part of Feature 188 at 214-222 West Lexington Avenue]. Clifford Smith served as president, James Smith as vice president, and Alma R. White as secretary and treasurer. Isaac H. Smith, another brother, also joined the firm. Around 1914, the Smith Garage relocated again, this time to this property at 315-317 West Maple. In 1916, Smith Motor Company became the Independence representative of the Ford Motor Company. The business continued to grow. Probably in the late 1910s or early 1920s, the "air dome" structure adjoining to the west was most likely converted to the westernmost half of Smith's expanding garage (319-321 West Maple [Feature 264]). Smith Motor Company Garage continued to occupy these two adjoining buildings until 1947, when Dwight L. Moody bought the business. Sometimes in or prior to 1962, a business was opened in the rear of 319-321 West Maple Avenue, but that fronted on Lexington with the address of 320 West Lexington Avenue [an address that no longer exists, although the location is in the historic district].

U.S. National Park Service

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Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, Code: HSTR

39.093238830566406,-94.4156265258789, Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

NPS.gov Collection

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