Survey aims to redefine Cape's downtown

By Peg McNichol ~ Southeast Missourian



Next week, 3,000 Cape Girardeau residents will get an important piece of mail, according to Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape.

It is a simple survey about downtown Cape Girardeau.



"We see, time and again, the importance of having community input in the way we plan our direction and move forward," Mills said. "It has been very successful in the past."



The survey is one piece of Gov. Matt Blunt's Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri, or DREAM, Initiative. Cape Girardeau is among Missouri's first 10 DREAM Initiative cities. Old Town Cape Inc. is managing the DREAM Initiative for the city.



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I guess I need to post some photos of Cape Girardeau some time. For those of you that don't know, I am an alum of Southeast Missouri State University, so I called Cape Girardeau home between 1993 and 1997. Saint Louis is home, but I'll always be fond of the time I spent in Cape.



I've often heard "cute" and "quaint" to describe Cape Girardeau, and I'd have to agree with that assessment. It's a quintessential river town, and recently it's made great strides to make its riverfront more attractive and useful. Colorful and interesting murals now line the floodwalls on both sides at Riverfront Park downtown, and a new trail is being built to connect Riverfront Park (in the heart of downtown) with a river access point to the north, and to Southeast Missouri State's River Campus (in the old Saint Vincent's Seminary) to the south.



Cape Girardeau is experiencing considerable commercial growth as it emerges as the leading retail center between Saint Louis and Memphis. For years Paducah has had more shopping than Cape, but I'd say Cape Girardeau is catching up. And a new interchange being built between Cape Girardeau and Jackson on Interstate 55 is expected to bring even more development- Southeast Missouri State is planning a research park on the site of its former university farm at the interchange, and THF Realty owns a large chunk of land and is planning some large-scale retail developments there (nothing has been named yet, though).



With all of the new development, though, I'm most excited about what's going on downtown, with the efforts to revitalize the riverfront and tie downtown in with the main Southeast campus to the north and the new River Campus to the south. Cape's downtown has lagged behind other small cities for years, but it's coming along nicely, and I'm glad it's one of the first cities selected for Governor Blunt's DREAM Initiative.

Pretty much every time I've been to Cape, it was to visit friends at SEMO, so I never really got a taste of the downtown area. Is it within walking distance of the campus?



I've heard that enrollment at SEMO is way up, and I would guess that it will continue to go up because it offers an unbelievable value when compared to other colleges and universities in Missouri and elsewhere in the region, many of which now have tuition levels that are practically unattainable for most people without the help of major scholarships and loans. (that was a really long sentence) If SEMO can keep growing, maybe Cape can position downtown to tap into the base of students and reap some major rewards.

Three one four, you a "krackel" alum as well? How about the White house? The pike lodge? I would have bumped into you drunk somewhere.

I lived there from '95 to 2002, did a lot of Hist pres work there, and did some surveys for city hall of the city's sidewalk infastructure. Which meant I walked the WHOLE city. It's a much more interesting city than it gets credit for. Like St. Louis, there are a lot of hidden architectural gems, and it's interesting to see how the city physically developed.

DeBaliviere, the walk from the campus to downtown is an easy one, and if you take Broadway, the old commercial street, you get a great view of the mississippi and illinois as you walk down the hill to the riverfront.

DeBaliviere wrote:Pretty much every time I've been to Cape, it was to visit friends at SEMO, so I never really got a taste of the downtown area. Is it within walking distance of the campus?

It's a bit of a hike, but it's mostly an easy stroll. The core of downtown Cape Girardeau is L-shaped. There's a six square block area focused on the riverfront, where the Court of Common Pleas Building (former city hall, now home to some county offices) is situated. It is on a steep hill, and the rest of downtown businesses are mostly focused on Broadway north and west of that hill.



The downtown area ends around Pacific Avenue, which is eight blocks away from the river, and the Southeast campus is just a block or two to the north. Just to the west along Broadway you'll find Houck Stadium and Houck Field House, along with a new entrance to the campus at the Henderson Avenue intersection. So while this portion of downtown is rather spread out along Broadway, Southeast is trying to tie the campus in better with that portion of downtown.

I've heard that enrollment at SEMO is way up, and I would guess that it will continue to go up because it offers an unbelievable value when compared to other colleges and universities in Missouri and elsewhere in the region, many of which now have tuition levels that are practically unattainable for most people without the help of major scholarships and loans. (that was a really long sentence) If SEMO can keep growing, maybe Cape can position downtown to tap into the base of students and reap some major rewards.

When I started there 14 (gasp!) years ago, there were less than 7,000 students. The last I heard, total enrollment is approaching 11,000. Accordingly, the campus is spreading out in each direction, and there are several businesses along the stretch of Broadway close to campus that are frequented by students. Hopefully Cape Girardeau will improve the streetscape along Broadway between Henderson Avenue and the riverfront, because they recently improved it at the intersection (with the help of Southeast), and they did well to widen Broadway not long ago without making it unattractive or displacing existing businesses.



Personal aside- there are two former movie theaters (The Esquire and The Broadway) in the 800 block of Broadway I'd love to buy and renovate if only I had the money. Mr. Edwards? Mr. McGowan? Care to float me a loan?

captainjackass wrote:Three one four, you a "krackel" alum as well? How about the White house? The pike lodge? I would have bumped into you drunk somewhere.

Three for three, captain, although I preferred The White House since it was a short stumble back to campus even if it was a bloody dump! I'm sure we did bump into each other at some point!



Cape Girardeau reminds me of Saint Louis in the sense that people sometimes overlook the character that makes it a special place. They generally focus on the mall, the hospital, and Doctors' Park on the west side of town and the plethora of restaurants, retail outlets, and car dealerships that surround them. That part of town is nice enough, as there are many conveniences that make life in a small town more bearable, but people overlook far too often the great built environment and architectural gems that can be found east of Kingshighway. If I ever moved back to Cape Girardeau, I'd first look into the Sunset area near Capaha Park and Southeast Missouri Hospital along with the streets that are closest to Southeast Missouri State University.



Part of what makes Cape interesting aside from the built environment is the physical environment. It occupies a great setting on the Mississippi and the city is beginning to take advantage of it as I mentioned previously. It's very hilly and sylvan in nature, and even the more suburban parts of town are more interesting than what can be found in other cities. Aside from the older core of town, I also like the Mid-Century ranches that can be found near Cape Rock Drive and Perryville Road.



So yeah, I guess you could say I really like Cape Girardeau!

I personally feel that the response to these questionnaires will be summed up with "Less bars, more big employers." As far as a location for a pub crawl, they've got it. And antique stores. They suffer from the same predicament as most small towns, that there are plenty of places for people to go downtown and eat/drink, but no one goes downtown except the people that work in those restaurants/bars. And the 6 women that run the antique stores, which curiously enough all have the name "annie" in them, can't really sustain the foot traffic. Dave Barry wrote a great column back in the 80's about the plight of the small town main street. Something about a tax for every extra "e" in the name, like Olde towne shoppe, or something like that.

In the last few years I think Old Town Cape (heh) has done a good job identifying the kinds of businesses they'd like to attract downtown, locating properties that are ideal, etc...



314, did you ever make it to south cape? There are a lot of nice examples of german vernacular hidden back there, a lot of times covered by asbestos siding. I've got some survey pictures I did for the HP program, I'll scan them at some point and post them.

captainjackass wrote:I personally feel that the response to these questionnaires will be summed up with "Less bars, more big employers." As far as a location for a pub crawl, they've got it. And antique stores. They suffer from the same predicament as most small towns, that there are plenty of places for people to go downtown and eat/drink, but no one goes downtown except the people that work in those restaurants/bars. And the 6 women that run the antique stores, which curiously enough all have the name "annie" in them, can't really sustain the foot traffic. Dave Barry wrote a great column back in the 80's about the plight of the small town main street. Something about a tax for every extra "e" in the name, like Olde towne shoppe, or something like that.

I think you and Dave Barry both summed it up well. There's no dearth of bars or places to buy someone else's rubbish in downtown Cape. I'd love to see a bit more diversity in what's offered downtown, but I get the feeling that's going to happen sooner or later. The stars seem to be aligning finally- the city has invested heavily in the riverfront's appearance and function, Old Town Cape seems to be moving in the right direction, and the Southeast River Campus is a shot in the arm for the area.

In the last few years I think Old Town Cape (heh) has done a good job identifying the kinds of businesses they'd like to attract downtown, locating properties that are ideal, etc...

314, did you ever make it to south cape? There are a lot of nice examples of german vernacular hidden back there, a lot of times covered by asbestos siding. I've got some survey pictures I did for the HP program, I'll scan them at some point and post them.

I've seen some of those places, but it's been awhile since I've been to South Cape for much, so I'd love to see those pictures if you get the chance to scan and post them. Speaking of South Cape, I was really disappointed when they tore down the old St. Francis Hospital at Good Hope and Benton streets several years ago. I know that surrounding neighborhood has had its issues, but the Haarig business district (along Good Hope just south of the main downtown area) has potential IMHO.



BTW, there's an old school building (Jefferson School, I think?) that's for sale for a whopping $50K. It's another case in which I wish I had the money to rescue an old building and give it a new lease on life.



I've got some specific ideas for downtown Cape Girardeau that I'll discuss some time when I haven't already written a couple of tomes in one thread!

Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever been to Cape. I'll have to get down there sometime.



BTW, my neice will be attending SEMO next year.

Framer wrote:OK, I just got back from a couple of days down around Cape Girardeau. You guys were right, it really is a nice town. I loved the old Downtown area, and I found it to be quite full of people and activity (even with the college kids gone for Christmas Break).



I walked and drove all over the city, and found it to be chock full of great old homes, hilly streets, and terrific views. A Great American City, to be sure.

I'm glad you enjoyed Cape Girardeau. It is such an underrated place IMHO, so I'm always glad to see people discover just how nice it is.

One question, though. What's the deal with that crazy 10-story tower on Broadway? I assume the TV station uses it for transmitting, but it looks like people have offices in it too. Got to be the smallest floor-plates on any highrise I've ever seen. Crazy.

Ah, yes, Hirsch Tower. It was built in 1968 and is home to KFVS-TV, the local CBS affiliate. Most of the TV station's offices and studios are located on the first two floors of the building, with professional offices above. My guess is that the developer was hoping to build a signature building that was as tall as possible despite the limited demand for such a building in downtown Cape Girardeau. It's been many years since I've been inside Hirsch Tower, but I'm pretty sure those floorplates cannot have much more square footage than my home, which is an 1100SF bungalow. Hirsch Tower is a great example of Brutalist design, but because of the small floorplates from the third floor up, it's oddly proportioned to say the least.