Joplin's original industries were lead and zinc mining, smelting, and associated manufacturing, and the city became the center of one of the most important mining fields in the world. In 1906 and 1907, the Connor Hotel was built to provide accommodations for parties and banquets. At 4th and Main Street, in an area that was the center of Joplin's social life for Camp Crowder's soldiers, local industries, and visitors, the eight-story French Renaissance building featured carved arabesques, a roof garden penthouse ballroom, and a glassed-in room on top with a view of the skyline. Its canopied entrance opened into a spacious, ornate lobby richly draped with lace, satins, and velvet, while the rotunda and grand stairway were finished entirely in white Italian marble with immense newel posts. Despite the dream of its last owners, Burl M. and Ceola Garvin, to refurbish the hotel, the last business there closed in 1977. Main Street became part of U.S. Highway 66 in 1926, and in 1935 U.S. Highway 66 was dedicated to Will Rogers.