“He doesn’t just let things happen, he makes things happen.”
“John Q. Hammons saves lives.”
Just two of the totally awesome statements in this staggeringly piece of video hyperbole regarding hotel magnate John Q. Hammons.
John Q. Hammons is a legend in Springfield, a business giant who’s name graces two office buildings, the local Chamber of Commerce, the statue above and a minor league baseball stadium, all within a two block radius downtown Springfield. We came across him on our last trip out here, after noticing the deeply sober statue of him (seen above – read dedication plaque here) at the corner of East St. Louis Avenue and S John Q Hammons Pkwy in downtown Springfield. Standing in front of his statue, it’s immediately apparent that every building you can see, save the Federal Courthouse, is named for him.
What’s so intriguing about him is his statue. I’ve never encountered a piece of statuary more somber, more honest in its portrayal of a man than John Q. Hammons bronze representation. There’s something magnificent and dignified about it, as if it’s totally devoid of pretense. It’s basically a statue of a pudgy older man in glasses and a common suit, wielding a flat file. It’s as if he showed up to sit for his statue and forgot to put his work down.
above – Hammons Tower, a strangely ominous and sort of phallic building that bears John Q.’s name. If you look up into the upstairs windows you can see giant chandeliers – I like to think that he rules his hotel empire from this black building, using his dark side powers to crush the larynx of disappointing middle managers from afar.
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It really does look like a monument to frumpy middle management.
We are in the process of tracing our family tree. My Grandmother was Jesse Mae Hammons, Her father was Leroy Hammons, mother Mildred (who died when Grandma was a young girl. Other children were James and Virgil Hammons. I wonder if there is any relationship. We are serious about genology.