Built by private subscription in 1926 as the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial by the American War Mothers Chapter of Independence, Missouri, the structure is typical in style and sentiment of buildings erected by mid-western communities as a tribute to those citizens who lost their lives in the "war to end all wars." The building also served as a community and recreation center.
Harry S. Truman, World War I veteran and former captain of Battery D of the 129th Field Artillery, 35th Division, was active in the campaign to promote the building. The memorial edifice was designed in a Neo-Georgian style by Independence architect Alonzo H. Gentry. The floor plan was drawn in the form of a Greek cross and the brickwork laid in Flemish bond. The building was constructed by M.T. Colgan for $105,750. The building lobby housed a museum area equipped with artifacts from the great war. The display area was complemented by bas-relief bronze profiles of President Wilson and General Pershing located at the east and west ends of the foyer. The foyer also included a list of the war dead on tables in the center of the north wall.
Dedication ceremonies were held on July 4, 1926. Mr. Truman and co-veteran Independence Mayor Roger T. Sermon, along with other World War I veterans, participated. The building housed offices and meeting rooms for such groups as the local Chamber of Commerce, American War Mothers, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the American Legion.
On June 27, 1945, President Truman held a presidential news conference on the basketball court of the Memorial Building. It marked his first return to Independence since his assumption of the office of the presidency upon the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A main feature of this conference, managed by Truman's longtime friend and press secretary, Charlie Ross, was the announcement of the resignation of the Honorable Edward R. Slettinius as Secretary of State and his appointment as United States Representative to the United Nations. Truman had witnessed the signing of the United Nations Charter at San Francisco two days previously.
The Memorial Building continued to serve the citizens of Mr. Truman's town during and after his presidency. It served as his polling place for over 50 years. It was at this building that he cast his ballot in the 1948 election. After his return to Independence following his presidency in 1953, the structure was used to store part of the papers of his administration until the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum could be built in Slover Park some seven blocks north of the Memorial Building.
The death of President Truman on December 26, 1972, caused the Memorial Building to become a central communications point for national and international news media. Many of the phone lines installed by the press and wire services for coverage of the state funeral service at the Truman Library are still observable.
The Memorial Building is included within the boundaries of the Harry S. Truman national Historic Landmark District and as such is also included in the National Register of Historic Places as listed by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
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