State historic group gives thumbs up to Cape

JOPLIN, Mo. -- At a meeting today in Joplin, the Missouri Historic Preservation Council approved the creation of a new historic district and the addition of a building to an existing district in Cape Girardeau.

The decisions will now be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C., for processing, which can take anywhere from 10 to 45 days.

The newly created district will be called the Broadway-Middle Commercial Historic District. It encompasses 15 commercial historic buildings, mostly along Broadway, constructed between 1868 and 1955. The buildings are symbolic of Cape Girardeau's shift from river commerce to railroad transport.

The other portion of today's decision is the addition of the three-story Sturdivant Bank Building at the northwest corner of Main and Themis streets to an existing district.

Local historic preservationist and Old Town Cape board of directors president Terri Foley gave the PowerPoint presentations.