Pythian Castle (Springfield, Missouri)

Pythian Castle (in Springfield, Missouri) was originally built in 1913 by the Knights of Pythias and later owned by the U.S. Military. It is now open to the public and the owners offer swing and ballroom dance lessons, dances, murder mystery nights and other activities.

History

The Knights of Pythias originally called the building the Pythian Home for Children, where it served as a shelter for orphans and older members of the order. Since residence was consistently low, in 1942 it was sold to the US Military to be used during World War II. It was later incorporated into the O'reilly General Hospital system, and redefined as the Enlisted Men's Service Club, a recreational facility. In recent times it has become a private residence.

To add to the castle's many identities, it is also considered by some to be one of the more haunted places in the Ozarks. [http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=12332]

Controversy

On November 16, 2007, the City of Springfield labeled the castle a "dangerous building," and ordered it closed. According to recent articles in the Springfield News-Leader, Tamara Finocchiaro, the castle's owner, didn't apply for or obtain a business license and a certificate of occupancy, because she felt there was nothing wrong with the building. A spokesperson for the City of Springfield claimed that Ms. Finocchiaro had been given ample time to correct health and safety issues identified by the City, but she ignored these issues and continued to operate the castle in spite of having been ordered to complete the required fixes.

External links

* [http://www.pythiancastle.com/ Pythian Castle] official site
* [http://www.richgros.com/Springfield_History/Sites_HTML/PythianHome.html Springfield Historical Sites] description by Springfield historian Richard Grosenbaugh