PB Businesses
This is the oldest business photo we have to date.  It is of the Williams Cooperage Company, a wooden barrel manufacturer. While we do not know the exact location of the barrel factory, we do know that the manufacture of barrels and of wooden spokes for wheels was an important part of the Poplar Bluff economy at one time.
The Criterion Theatre (exterior and interior shown above) was an early PB movie house.  It sat on the west side of Main Street at the corner of Main and Pine.  In the late 1940's, cowboy movie star Tex Ritter made a personal appearance at the Criterion.  Eventually the building became the Grabers department store.  Today, the building is gone, and the area is a parking lot.
THE OLD RELIABLE - Established in 1886 as the Bank of Poplar Bluff, this PB institution has seen its share of changes.  It became the Mercantile Bank of Poplar Bluff, later shortened to just  "Mercantile Bank."  Later it was Firstar Bank, and now it is called US Bank.  Notice in the photo above that Main Street is 2-way, and that the large clock on the corner of the building is missing.
The State Bank, located at the corner of Main and Vine, later became Commerce Bank.  The old photo in the center has been "retouched," with the adjacent buildings painted out of the picture, while the one on the right shows the interior.  Today, the building houses a counseling facility.
Located along the river upstream from Wiseman Park,the building above was the old Dalton Adding Machine company.  The sign on the Dalton building was equipped with lights which were activated by passing trains so that passengers could see the company logo. 
The two photos below are different colorized versions of the same scene.  The one at the left is labeled Hamilton Brown Shoe Factory, while the one on the right says International Shoe Company Factory.   Later, this building  became the old Smiley Container Company which made heart-shaped boxes for valentine candy.
The Daily American Republic, shown here as a "modern newspaper plant" has been providing the news to Poplar Bulff for many years.  Notice in this photo that the portion of the building which currently houses the printing press did not exist.  The press that is used now is much larger, making the building addition necessary.
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This is the First National Bank, located across Business 67 from the Valley Plaza Shopping Center.
The State Bank photo below shows the entries in the "State Bank Corn Contest."