AWNINGS: THEY'RE MORE THAN JUST WINDOW SHADES

Awnings and canopies, those graceful fixtures of the urban landscape that combine form and function in the simplest of design, have come a long way from canvas and wooden framing. In Cape Girardeau, they are familiar, eye-pleasing amenities.

Many downtown stores have awnings, ranging from the small, dome awnings found over windows at the N'Orleans Restaurant on Broadway to the 30-foot-long awnings of Hecht's Store on Main Street.

"Awnings come in all sizes and shapes," said Herbert E. Sanders, who has installed the canvas coverings throughout Southeast Missouri for almost 35 years.

Sanders, who got into the business as a part-time venture in 1961, is familiar with the language of awning jargon. He knows the meaning of acrylic, canvas, bull-nose, tow frames, ducks, deadloads, liveloads and denier.

Sanders and his wife, Lois, operate R&R Awning Co., which has installed the majority of awnings in Cape Girardeau over the past few years, including one of longest in town: a 120-foot awning on an office building at 1606 Independence.

Most recently Sanders installed a L-shaped awning-canopy at Fredericktown, a project that included a 60-foot awning and a 30-foot bull-nose canopy from a building to the sidewalk.

Sanders started his business while he was a firefighter with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department.

"My business at that time included washing windows and taking awnings down for the winter while installing storm windows," said Sanders. "Occasionally we would replace an old awning. This eventually evolved into an almost full-time business."

When Sanders retired from the fire department in 1986, he continued his awning and canopy business. That business today sends him to a number of Southeast Missouri towns.

Although an awning by definition is "a piece of canvas stretched on a frame before a window as a protection from sun or rain," over the years awnings have developed into more than just window shades.

Awnings have protected people from the elements for thousands of years. As early as 2500 B.C., boats that carried pharaohs down the Nile River had awnings made of animal hides.

Today, awnings, which are supported by the building to which they are attached, and canopies, which are supported by poles, have many purposes. They provide semiprivate spots along busy sidewalks, offer shelter where people can wait out thundershowers, and keep sunlight from fading items in display windows.

In the movies there are scenes where falls are broken by awnings and canopies. And, in at least one real-life case, a canopy saved a life. In 1974, a baby fell from an eighth-floor window on Madison Avenue in New York, landed on an oilcloth canopy and had only a swollen lip to show for it.

Nobody keeps official tabs on awnings, but the Industrial Fabric Association International, a trade organization in St. Paul, Minn., estimates that New York has more awnings than any city in the U.S. The association said awnings sell best in California, Florida and New York.

Awnings, said an association spokesman, were originally made to provide shade for individual apartments. At one time some buildings had awnings on every window until the 1950s, and the advent of air conditioning.

Though awnings have been used since ancient times, the history of today's residential and commercial awnings begins in the 1800s. Early in that century, canvas awnings were simple, utilitarian affairs, typically cotton sailcloth nailed to a wooden frame.

Water pipes proved to be good framing. The pipes could be bent into various curves and shapes, and were durable as frames. By the turn of the century specialized awning hardware was being developed.

That development spurred the use of awnings for more homes and businesses. The fabric could be laced on, permitting a better fit and look, and it allowed the awning cover to be taken down easily in winter and reinstalled in spring.

The availability of colors became the springboard for architectural uses of canvas awnings. And instead of being perceived as strictly shading devices, awnings contributed to the fashionable look of a house and buildings.

Cloth remains the most poplar awning material. Awnings range in prices from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on size, style and quality.

More and more awnings today are designed to make a statement.

At My Daddy's Cheese Cake in downtown Cape Girardeau, a black awning displays the store's logo in white. The awning is functional, say its owners. It shades the windows, dresses up the front of the building and gives the company an identity.

Hecht's Store officials agree that the primary purpose of awnings at their stores is to provide shading for the show windows. With five stores downtown, the awnings also give each store individuality.

At Chateau Girardeau, a retirement complex, a canopy that extends from the main entrance of the apartment complex provides convenience from the weather.

In addition, said public-relations director Rick Bowzer, the burgundy canopy designates the area of the main entrance.

A woman who stopped under an awning during a light summer shower recently may have expressed the meaning of awnings best: "Thank goodness for awnings," she said. "They're great. You can stand under them and watch the world go by. They decorate the sidewalks. I can't imagine any business area without them."