While there are no photographs known of Joplin's rooming house at 2840 Armour Avenue, similar buildings in the same neighborhood are shown in this picture taken for social reformer Edith Abbott's book, The Tenements of Chicago, published in 1936; the full plate is titled "Negro Homes on the South Side."

   The actual building located at 2900 State Street reasonably matches Blesh and Janis' sketchy description of Marshall's quarters. Although no photographs of the building have been found, existing records indicate that it was a three story brick building planned with a store on the ground floor and apartments above. The building, however, was not unique to State Street, which was lined for blocks with similar buildings combining commercial and residential space. The buildings had been largely built in the 1870s and 80s by white families, who began to leave the neighborhood as African American families began to move to the area in the 1890s.
At the time Joplin and Marshall lived in the neighborhood, State Street was a busy commercial street catering to the area's black community. A wide variety of stores lined the street, with a high concentration of saloons ­ often three or four to a block. White proprietors owned many of the businesses and saloons, but there was an increasing presence of black owned businesses as well. Joplin and Marshall undoubtedly were well acquainted with Robert T. Motts' Pekin saloon, located two blocks north of Philip Gomb's place. The Pekin was considered to be a model of African American business achievement, especially after it was expanded into a regular theater in March 1906. The Pekin's musical director was Joe Jordan, one of Joplin and Marshall's friends from their St. Louis days.
   The most specific reference to where Scott Joplin lived while in Chicago is his inclusion in the 1906 city directory which shows him at 2840 Armour Avenue, a location two blocks west of Philip Gomb's saloon. No evidence has been found to indicate exactly when Joplin moved to this address, but he certainly was there sometime between May and July 1906 when the data for the Chicago directory was compiled. Interestingly, Joplin also appears in the 1906 edition of the St. Louis city directory, which had a similar compilation period to its Chicago counterpart. This dual listing suggests that Joplin was in Chicago, but returned to St. Louis sometime within the May-to-July directory compilation period for both cities.
   What kind of accommodations did the "King of Ragtime" have at 2840 Armour Avenue? Evidence strongly suggests that they were less than satisfactory ...

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