BOARD HOPES TO PRESERVE OLD SEMINARY'S ARCHITECTURE

A sign displayed in the vestment closet in the small chapel reminds viewers of the future campus' former purpose.

The architecture of old St. Vincent's Seminary should be preserved as much as possible in developing a school for the visual and performing arts, members of the River Campus Board of Managers said Monday.

The six members of the board toured the old brick buildings with Lisa Howe, Southeast Missouri State University facilities management project manager.

The group made its way through the maze of buildings, walking up and down stairs and across hardwood floors.

History professor Dr. Frank Nickell also met with the board at the former Catholic seminary in Cape Girardeau. The site overlooks the Mississippi River.

The oldest seminary building dates back to 1843.

But the site along the river has been a gathering place since the city's beginning.

"For virtually all of the history of this town, this has been a significant site," said Nickell.

Howe said Sverdrup, the St. Louis architectural firm that did the conceptual design, envisions that the main seminary building will be converted into faculty offices.

Current plans call for replacing the wooden wainscoting along the interior hallways, but board member Jerry Ford suggested keeping it and preserving some of the historic charm of the structure.

Other board members agreed.

Nickell chaired a historic preservation committee that looked at the site earlier this year.

The committee, he said, wants the old library fireplace to be preserved. Etched into the bricks on the sides of the fireplace are the names of former faculty members at the school.

Tearing out the fireplace would be "a major disaster," Nickell told the board.

University officials insisted the fireplace would be preserved.

Originally, there were 54 fireplaces in the seminary buildings. Some have been damaged over the years by vandals.

Nickell said the committee suggested the seminary buildings should be videotaped in their current state before any improvements are made.

Board member Thomas Swayne Byrd, a Charleston area architect, said the stained glass windows in the chapel should be maintained.

Ford, who has a local orchestra, said the old chapel would be a perfect place to hold chamber music concerts. "That's a good fit."

Nickell said the grassy area that slopes down toward the river needs to be preserved as open space.

He said that area is probably archaeologically important and shouldn't be built upon.

Ford and other board members said they want to have a say in the design for the River Campus before any final decisions are made by the architects.

Said Ford, "We need to make sure they are all on the same general page."