- -30- then and now (8/22/18)2
- Meet Mable at Mable's Cafe in Chaffee (8/20/18)
- Willow Grove Rockets Skate Club (8/15/18)
- Central Municipal Pool built in 1979 (8/13/18)
- Hecht's Store founder returns to Main street (8/8/18)
- Land acquired to build SEMO Port (8/6/18)
- St. Vincent's Seminary ends after 136 years (8/1/18)1
G.D. Fronabarger took lots of aerial photos including this one of Cape Girardeau that we have dated about 1956 or 1957. He used a 4x5 Speed Graphic which was the high definition camera of its day. We are able to enlarge the image to see details.
The area of trees in the center of the photo was known as Happy Hollow. Read more in this blog: Happy Hollow cleanup 1935 In the foreground is the intersection of Sprigg and Independence streets.
This section shows Sprigg street in the center connecting with the Haarig community.
At Sprigg and Independence is Grace Methodist Church. Across Sprigg is James Wheel & Frame Alignment Service with Wiethop Truck Sales to the right. North of the intersection is A.E. Birk & Son Plumbing & Heating. Read more in this blog: A.E. Birk & Son Plumbing & Heating A Gulf service station is across Sprigg.
St. Mary Cathedral is seen at the top of this section. Sharon Sanders says, "The Cobb School fire was in 1953. St. Mary's High, which stood on the corner that is vacant in the pic, was torn down in 1956. It doesn't look as if actual construction of the National food store has started yet. National opened in 1958." The John S. Cobb School is seen in the foreground. Read more about St. Mary's High School in this blog.
Here is a closeup of John S. Cobb School which educated Cape Girardeau's black children from 1890 to 1953. The building was razed in 1954, but the gymnasium was left standing.
Read more in this previous blog: John S. Cobb School razed
The site of the former John S. Cobb School is now the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab. Here is a photo gallery of the memorial sign dedication Sept. 1, 2012:
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