During the bustling 1850’s, a carriage works and livery stable took shape on the corner of Second Street and Maple Street in downtown Plattsburg, Mo. Over the years, the two-story brick building with the graceful archways was home to a roller skate factory, an auto dealership and a cabinet shop. The building fell on hard times in the 1980s and 1990s, and local citizens formed a not-for-profit corporation to save this important part of the town’s history. They gave it new life as The Community Courtyard, a lovingly renovated gathering place for all occasions.

           

The renovation process took two long years. But it finally converted the rundown stable into a showplace community center with an airy two-story atrium, a wide open second floor and meeting rooms and a courtyard on the first floor.

 

Since its opening, the Community Courtyard has housed the local food pantry and a social service agency. The building also has been home to the Clinton County Genealogical Society, GED classes, youth activities, public meetings, art fairs, baby contests and community dances. The Community Courtyard has hosted events for the Fall Festival, economic development groups and public meetings.

 

Today, the Community Courtyard is a welcoming space for weddings, receptions, parties and business meetings. Proceeds from those events keep the building as vibrant as it was in the 1850s.