A REAL FIXER-UPPER: SOUTHEAST STUDENTS DETERMINED TO SAVE MARQUETTE HOTEL

When Jeremy Wells looks at the decaying Marquette Hotel building, he sees more than a heap of aging bricks. He sees an historical landmark worth saving.

"History is not something you can manufacture," he said, gesturing toward the building's yellowish brick walls, decorative, ceramic trim and hanging marquee signs.

"If this building is torn down, you're permanently removing a piece of history. You can read about history in books, but this is the real thing. If you destroy it, you're destroying history."

That's why Wells, a student at Southeast Missouri State University, is mobilizing a group of students and concerned citizens to research the building's history for evidence that it should be preserved, and, at best, find a buyer who will restore it.

Wells is leading the charge, gathering information about preserving buildings like the Marquette, determining its best use, attending city meetings and rallying volunteers.

Others are focusing on historic research, digging through dusty old documents, searching for clues about the building's glory days as one of the area's premiere hotels.

"My first impetus was just trying to get the city council aware that there are people in this town who don't want this torn down," Wells said. "Now I'm in the phase of trying to get some background history and information on similar rehabilitation projects like this."

But the clock is ticking for Wells and the others, as city officials on Nov. 15 set a 120-day deadline for the building's owner to clean it up, find an owner or face possible demolition.

The history of the Marquette, a vanguard of Cape Girardeau's downtown area, is one of atmospheric highs and depressing lows. Constructed in 1928, the building has been vacant since 1981, except for a piano store that operated on the ground floor.

Cape Girardeau resident Thad Bullock owned the building from 1969 until his death in 1999. His widow, Ruby, inherited the property, but her daughter, Carol Bullock, is charged with maintaining it and wants to sell it.

City condemnation

The six-story, Spanish-influenced building stands on the corner of Broadway and Fountain Street. Once one of the city's finest hotels, the building was shut down by the Missouri Division of Health in July 1971 for safety reasons.

Numerous real estate inquiries have been made about the property, although the most promising deal is on hold for lack of funding.

Asking price for the property is about $700,000, according to Carol Bullock, who lives in Kensington, Md., and admits she was slow to maintain the property after her father's death, citing family and work commitments.

But the lack of improvements led the city council, weary of watching the building fall into disrepair, to begin condemnation proceedings on June 5. On June 19, city officials sent a letter to the Bullock family, requesting structural and cosmetic repairs be made to the property.

Bullock came to Cape Girardeau and oversaw the repairs, which she said were completed by July 5. By mid-July, the city posted condemnation notices on the building, even though an Aug. 3 letter sent to Bullock acknowledged that all violations outlined in the June 19 were rectified.

Then came the threat of demolition.

That 120-day deadline set in November got the attention of Wells and fellow historic preservation students. The group is searching for a solid, historical information that will keep the building from being bulldozed.

Wells, in searching for details about preservation and finding a potential buyer, gleaned a great deal of information from staff at the newly organized Old Town Cape-Main Street office.

The Main Street program, of which Cape Girardeau became a member earlier this year, is an organized effort to guide and support downtown revitalization.

Catherine Dunlap, who has been on the job as director of Old Town Cape for less than a month, said she was "not at liberty to talk about the Marquette Hotel" because the project is not something the organization has adopted a stance on yet.

Remodeling vs. destruction

Robin Seiler, a native of Sikeston, Mo., is a student who volunteered to help with the Marquette effort.

She said that before getting involved, she drove by the building hundreds of times, never noticing architectural details or giving the building a second thought.

"See the brick detail at the top? My daughter and I had never noticed that before," she said, pointing toward the building's roof. "It's just beautiful."

As far as the Marquette's history, Seiler said the facts had always been vague to her.

"I knew it was at one time a very exclusive, fancy hotel, and that's about all I knew," Seiler said. "I was born in '62. It's been sitting empty since I was old enough to remember."

Both Wells and Seiler said they can understand that the city council is eager to see something done with the building. They are not, however, certain that demolition is the most appropriate course of action.

"The money they're going to spend to tear this down is going to be just phenomenal," Seiler said. "If they would put that kind of money into it instead of tearing it down, it would go a long way."

The problem with that, both students admit, is that the property is privately owned and can not be renovated by the city unless the city purchased it.

Looking at evidence of the structure's foot-thick, reinforced concrete walls, Wells noted that the building seems to be structurally stable.

"It's not going to fall down," he said. "It seems like what the city is most concerned with is that bits and pieces of masonry might fall down. That's really an issue that should be addressed."

Wells encourages others to get behind the effort to see something productive done with the building.

"This is the last standing hotel downtown," he said. "It would be a shame to see it torn down because not only of the great architecture but because there's a huge amount of history this represents."