Went to visit Cape Girardeau, which is where my friend goes to school at SEMO. I have actually never been to Cape, only have driven through it, so it was nice to explore it a little bit. I only stayed a total of 24 hours, which is enough time (in my mind) since the town is small.

I stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, which opened in the downtown area at Broadway and Fountain in the old H&H Building in 2018. I will say that it's one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in, which was surprise to me. It's the only hotel East of Kingshighway and the only hotel in the downtown area. One thing about the room I found odd was that instead of a bible, they had the Book or Mormon, which as new to me. The hotel is across the street from the recently renovated Marquette building and is next door to a 2-story building currently undergoing renovation. So this area of the downtown is improving. Elsewhere, I like all the street trees, nice sized sidewalks and the overhead street lights. It looks like all these improvements were done fairly recently. On my little trip, I went down to the Riverfront and was climbing on some rocks looking some fossils. I think I found one but am not sure. I took a picture just in case. One thing I learned is that at night, the Riverfront is where college students go to smoke weed and drink.

Here are pictures of the hotel I stayed at.





















Photos around the Downtown area...





















The levee wall and the riverfront...

I love Cape. The main street/downtown strip is quite nice, and I love that weird skinny "skyscraper". Looks like they've spiffed things up a bit since I was there last.  

the river looks beautiful.

Wow, how funny Chris.  We literally stayed there for a night last night at the same hotel.  We've stayed a handful of times and it's a nice hotel.  Top of the Marq is kind of cool, but pretty much a hangout spot for the elites of Cape.  Unnecessarily expensive.

I went to school at SEMO.  Broadway got a complete makeover probably around 2011.  New sidewalks, street lights, new street, art installations, etc.  A huge swath of Broadway would be closed at a time; hard to imagine the trivialities of Loop Trolley construction's impact on business compared to badly the road construction/rehab on the business district.

Really, most what we would do is go out to bars.  Some state parks around the area are nice.  Really, spending time on the Riverfront solidified how I believe St. Louis desperately needs to reconnect itself to the river.  It was a blast to go out for some cheap beers at Port Cape, Lodo's (RIP), Library (never the same as it was when it first opened, it's now like a complex), Mollie's (RIP), Bel Air (RIP, absorbed by the Library), Rude Dog for live music (finally did away with indoor smoking), Ragsdales (RIP), and just chill on the river.  I'd also recommend Cape Rock, which is just north of Downtown and is a bit more wildly attached to the river.  There are even some sandy beaches if the river is low enough.  There is in fact already a bar-cade, though not illustrious, called Coin Op.  We stopped in last night.  Overall, the town itself acts like the pandemic never happened.  Most bars were packed to the gills to where even as a fully vaccinated person, I wanted nothing to do with them.  We mostly stuck to Ebb & Flow Fermentations, which is actually a fantastic small brewery that uses a lot of regional yeasts and produces great sours and other styles.  The apartments above Ebb and Flow (was Mollie's that probably closed around 2013) are some of the coolest pads in town.  They're huge.  The bathroom in one was about the size of my living room now.

There are some nice AirBnB's downtown.  The hotel was definitely a nice addition.  It's apparently 80% historically salvaged (IE, original finishings, or rehabbed original finishings).

There has been a bit of vacancy more recently Downtown (last year or two).  It was quite vibrant when I was there in and out of college from 2008-2014.  Similar to St. Louis, any sort of high profile crime seemed to brand the Downtown area and people avoided it, and then it got a bit worse, as you can imagine.  It was quite busy yesterday, though.  I've never had any sort of problems in Cape, even having lived basically and unbeknownst to me, drug trade central of south Cape.  There are so many huge parking lots Downtown that could stand to be developed.

Food wise, Cafe N Me has some fantastic Thai, surprisingly.  Pilot House is a heavy portioned BBQ-forward spot north of town.  Burritoville has fantastic arm-sized burritos, nachos, dirty fries.  Lots of americanized Mexican.  Ebb has a decent food program.  Mary Jane is hailed, and was in a small restaurant called 36 last night for a quiet drink.  There was always Broussards which was decent, and the revolving door of wood fired pizza joints.  Zoi's has a great gyro.  There is a lot to cherish with the remaining urban bones of the City, I just wish there was more momentum.  At least Spanish Street is getting some pedestrian friendly retooling.  I agree with you on the music venue.  There are several small venues around Cape east of Sprigg.  Plans for the Esquire have come and gone, repeatedly, and sadly.

Overall, give Cape a visit! Most of west of Caruthers is all pretty much filled with chain restaurants.  But the campus area, Downtown, and closer to the river you can find some great architecture (antebellum and on), some decent eats and fun spots to get a cheap beer and a shot.

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

May 02, 2021

Wow, how funny Chris.  We literally stayed there for a night last night at the same hotel.  We've stayed a handful of times and it's a nice hotel.  Top of the Marq is kind of cool, but pretty much a hangout spot for the elites of Cape.  Unnecessarily expensive.

Ha. Barely missed each other. It's a nice hotel for sure. I saw Top of the Marq and wondered if it was expensive.

I went to school at SEMO.  Broadway got a complete makeover probably around 2011.  New sidewalks, street lights, new street, art installations, etc.  A huge swath of Broadway would be closed at a time; hard to imagine the trivialities of Loop Trolley construction's impact on business compared to badly the road construction/rehab on the business district.

It looks like the improvements to Broadway were done more recently, so I guess that's a good thing. The improvements are holding up after a decade of being complete.

Really, most what we would do is go out to bars.  Some state parks around the area are nice.  

My SEMO friend, and his new friends at the college, also go to the bars and hang around in the parks, but most stay on campus. 

Really, spending time on the Riverfront solidified how I believe St. Louis desperately needs to reconnect itself to the river.  It was a blast to go out for some cheap beers at Port Cape, Lodo's (RIP), Library (never the same as it was when it first opened, it's now like a complex), Mollie's (RIP), Bel Air (RIP, absorbed by the Library), Rude Dog for live music (finally did away with indoor smoking), Ragsdales (RIP), and just chill on the river. 

I wanted to eat at some of the local places, but didn't have the time. I got to experience college stuff, even though I go to Fontbonne but don't live on campus. My next visit I'll get around to trying places. I was surprised at how they kept their riverfront up despite it being cut off from Downtown by the levee wall. It was funny hearing from a few people that the riverfront is where people (college students mostly) go to smoke their weed and drink. 

I'd also recommend Cape Rock, which is just north of Downtown and is a bit more wildly attached to the river.  There are even some sandy beaches if the river is low enough. 

We visited Cape Rock and were going to walk down to the river, but it was muddy that day and I didn't want to get messy. 

There is in fact already a bar-cade, though not illustrious, called Coin Op.  We stopped in last night.

Interesting. I didn't know that. I told my friend and he didn't know that there was one either. We both don't turn 21 until the summer, so I guess it's a place we can't go yet, but next school year yes.

Overall, the town itself acts like the pandemic never happened.  Most bars were packed to the gills to where even as a fully vaccinated person, I wanted nothing to do with them.

The "like the pandemic never happened" vibe is basically every town in the state outside of the St. Louis, Columbia, KC, and Springfield areas. Most people didn't care. Having experiences a normal lifestyle in Port St. Joe in January, the vibe of the "like the pandemic never happened" felt ok to me. I know it's not for everyone, but I was fine with it.

We mostly stuck to Ebb & Flow Fermentations, which is actually a fantastic small brewery that uses a lot of regional yeasts and produces great sours and other styles.  The apartments above Ebb and Flow (was Mollie's that probably closed around 2013) are some of the coolest pads in town.  They're huge.  The bathroom in one was about the size of my living room now.

Nice to see another business mentioned. I've tried beer and other liquor before and hate it. I think I'm the only one in my friend group who is like that, but I'm not entirely sure. So I'll pass this business along to my friends.

There are some nice AirBnB's downtown.  The hotel was definitely a nice addition.  It's apparently 80% historically salvaged (IE, original finishings, or rehabbed original finishings).

I only saw one AirBnb listed on the website when I was there, but I did see a small cottage on Frederick Street that advertised on Airbnb. I guess it was rented when I was there. Looks nice. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13574684?l ... 1&adults=1

There has been a bit of vacancy more recently Downtown (last year or two).  It was quite vibrant when I was there in and out of college from 2008-2014.  Similar to St. Louis, any sort of high profile crime seemed to brand the Downtown area and people avoided it, and then it got a bit worse, as you can imagine.  It was quite busy yesterday, though.  I've never had any sort of problems in Cape, even having lived basically and unbeknownst to me, drug trade central of south Cape.  There are so many huge parking lots Downtown that could stand to be developed.

I could see their downtown area becoming more vibrant again, but it'll take some time. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. A homeless guy asked me for money, but I don't think he was homeless. He smelled like beer. I walked him down to a place that said "now hiring" and told him that he can get all the money he wants there by working for it. Then left. When I left Friday, it was a bit busy out since it was lunch time. 

Food wise, Cafe N Me has some fantastic Thai, surprisingly.  Pilot House is a heavy portioned BBQ-forward spot north of town.  Burritoville has fantastic arm-sized burritos, nachos, dirty fries.  Lots of americanized Mexican.  Ebb has a decent food program.  Mary Jane is hailed, and was in a small restaurant called 36 last night for a quiet drink.  There was always Broussards which was decent, and the revolving door of wood fired pizza joints.  Zoi's has a great gyro.

All interesting businesses I'll have to visit some time. Burritoville was busy when I went by and someone on Twitter said I should stop by there. So that's the second mention of it I have seen.  Mary Jane and Broussards are two businesses I heard people at SEMO talk about. Must be popular hang out spots. Another is Paglialis Pizza.

There is a lot to cherish with the remaining urban bones of the City, I just wish there was more momentum.  At least Spanish Street is getting some pedestrian friendly retooling.  I agree with you on the music venue.  There are several small venues around Cape east of Sprigg.  Plans for the Esquire have come and gone, repeatedly, and sadly.

All it takes is a spark to get things going. The Marquette building is office space now but I think it would've faired better as lofts. New lofts in the downtown area may have lit the spark, but we will see what happens. It can definitely get better and there are numerous empty lots where things can be built. But focusing on the empty properties first would do wonders. 

Overall, give Cape a visit! Most of west of Caruthers is all pretty much filled with chain restaurants.  But the campus area, Downtown, and closer to the river you can find some great architecture (antebellum and on), some decent eats and fun spots to get a cheap beer and a shot.

From what I've seen so far, I second this. Definitely looking forward to going back soon.

I was surprised at how they kept their riverfront up despite it being cut off from Downtown by the levee wall. It was funny hearing from a few people that the riverfront is where people (college students mostly) go to smoke their weed and drink. 

Yes, but mostly because of flooding issues.  Especially for the space that was Ragsdales (corner of Broadway and Water).  It's crazy to see shots of the flood wall holding back high flood stages.  At any rate, there are numerous entrances from Water St. onto the riverfront.  And businesses all around it.  It's just inviting and you always have the option to grab a coffee (which I should have mentioned Dynamite Coffee (now Red Banner) -- oddly one of the best baristas in the country started it), or a bite to eat and hang on the river and catch some sun.

I will echo that it was a hot spot for late night hangouts with a rogue bottle of beer from the local pub and an occasional toke.  Part of the charm.  No one messed with anyone else and just enjoyed the scenery and the sound of the river flowing and good conversation.  It's a reason I have insane amounts of Tennessee Williams-era envy of wanting to experience the old riverfront in St. Louis, even if it was possibly sketchy.  Many great neighborhoods and ideas stem from solid watering holes, inclusivity, romanticism, debauchery, raw experiences, and camaraderie.

Edit: I will also throw Annie Laurie's in as a solid recc for any thrifter.  Lots of cool vintage clothes and trinkets.  And not as tired/mothballed as some of the typical smaller town Downtown antique stores.

 . . . although I'm still pissed about the vintage racquetball courts or whatever that they tore down a few years ago . . . 

Returned to Cape for the 5th time this weekend since last year. A few things have changed, some for the better and some for the worse.

For the better...

• The renovation of a building on Broadway next to the Courtyard Hotel is nearly complete. Very slow project, but it came out nice.
• What appears to be a series of new townhomes is under construction on Main Street just north of Broadway. Those will help fill in a portion of that stretch,
• A charity has started construction on their new office (also along Main Street north of Broadway, but this is set back from the street).
• SEMO is installing a pretty large solar panel array at the Show Me Center Sprigg Street parking lot. 
• Century Casino got approval for a 9-story, 75 room hotel. Mayor Bob Fox says that it'll be a good investment for the city and take some pressure off of the Courtyard Hotel (which tends to be fully booked often). All rooms will face downtown and the bridge.

For the worse...

• From my friend's own experience, the Legends Apartment Complex has been home to a series of wild fights and shootings recently. It's one of the newest apartment complexes built in Cape and is popular for college kids. Most of the shootings and fights are assumed to be related to drugs. 
• A couple more businesses in Downtown Cape have closed including Rufus All American Red Hots. The old brewery at Main and Broadway has also been gutted. Some smaller shops on Main have gone vacant. 
• Both theaters on Broadway remain vacant.
• A few of the homeless people have gotten awfully daring and rude. They now chase people who are on scooters (one of my friends), walking or running. Some throw rocks at cars (I know so because I had one thrown at my car) and people. And one person I saw was having some sort of mental episode in the middle of the street and yelling gibberish.
• Investment in the older parts of town has been basically non-existent. It's something the government there is hoping to change since there's the room, and the buildings, to support a denser and livelier downtown area.

We'll see what happens over the next few years though. I think that Downtown Cape could get another hotel even if the Century Casino one goes up and infill development around there will likely be in the form of town houses. As for older buildings being renovated, I see those taking a few years longer than other things for whatever reason. And as for the problems mentioned above, I think if the cops in Cape started doing their jobs more, then some of those issues wouldn't be happening. There's a clear disdain pushed off by the cops if you're a college student in that town. It's almost as if they don't care what happens to SEMO students since they're only there for college and not permanently. 

I like Cape and will keep visiting. Things will get better there, just it's slow. 

There was a recent redevelopment at Spanish and William.  I think it won some awards very recently.

Shame about Rufus, when it was Stevie's burger joint it was fire.  But the owner got sued or something as I recall for malpractice.

There are tons of bright spots in Cape, but also a overwhelming layer of apathy, which is unfortunate.  We were just there a few months ago and caught some good weather and had a great time.  Not much has changed or evolved but it's a nice weekend getaway, especially if you want to pair it with a wine hop in Ste Gen and stay at Chaumet or Charleville one night.

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Apr 05, 2022

There was a recent redevelopment at Spanish and William.  I think it won some awards very recently.

I think I know what building you're talking about. There's a stunningly beautiful 2-story building on Spanish street that is a cream color. At night, it's let up nicely. That might not be the one you're thinking of, but if it is, great!

I have to give Mr. Armstrong props for coming up with a proposal to extend I-29 to Cape Girardeau, I don't see this idea being taken seriously. If anything, I would love to see an interstate connecting Kansas City and Memphis one day.

A local man presented his proposal to extend I-29 to Cape Girardeau to the Southeast Metropolitan planning Organization.

Cape Girardeau Resident Carl Armstrong says he is frustrated with the lack of progress in the region and this expansion will solve three problems that are affecting growth.

Armstrong told the board of directors that difficult airline access in the Cape Girardeau area, road access from the new Mississippi bridge, and a long span of minimal city area growth have affected the region’s progress. He says the problems are interrelated and expanding I-29 further southeast creates an easier way for people to travel. After his presentation, nobody from the board had questions, but Armstrong said he’s hopeful they’re receptive.

“I hope that they will do something with it,” Armstrong said. “I think the key to the proposal is to quit looking at this as one area of Missouri and one area of Illinois and one area of Kentucky, but to look at it as a combined region, and tourism wise it has an awful lot to offer.”

https://www.kfvs12.com/2023/02/15/sempo-board-hears-i-29-expansion-proposal/

I hate the idea of another interstate crossing through the Ozarks, extending I-29 to Cape would mean cutting through Mark Twain National Forest and the St. Francois Mountains. Surely I'm not the only one who feels this way. 

For one thing it’ll never happen why would 29 get expanded to cape but 24 can’t get expanded to St.Louis as it should besides an interstate isn’t going to spur more growth I would think desirability would be number one. What should be done is a interstate from St.Louis to Minneapolis but that’s not happening either. Does he realize 29 ends and begins in KC


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when its stated that " the state has all this extra cash"
Bears of all sorts want a share of the honey pot

I don't get why urbanists would support any interstate expansion. There's too many of them as it is.