CAIRO: TOURIST DESTINATION?

CAIRO, Ill. -- Theories about why businesses abandoned Cairo's downtown district are plentiful, from the arrival of the interstate highway to racial strife of the '60s. But now the city and state are investing in an attempt to make history Cairo's calling card.

Friday marked the completion of phase one of a downtown restoration project city leaders hope will lead to a resurgence in Cairo tourism.

The city's Eighth Street has been paved with brick, new historic-looking street lights have been added, a new marquee is in place on the old Gem Theater and a town clock has been installed downtown at Eighth and Commercial streets.

To celebrate, the city held its Riverboat Days Festival downtown this year. A blues band played Friday night to a crowd Mayor James Wilson said was the largest since the television show "Real People" came to town back in the '70s.

The renovation was paid for by a $1 million Illinois Department of Transportation grant.

The plan also calls for renovation of the theater and restoration of the park pavilion, which was built in 1872.

The city's master plan emphasizes historic preservation and tourism, and city leaders think Cairo has much to offer beyond the Magnolia Manor and U.S. Customs House. "From a history standpoint, we're playing to our strength," says Wilson, who directs the county housing authority.

The Gem Theater staged vaudeville shows when it opened in 1909. It was renovated in 1927, but has been closed for the past 19 years, leaving the city without a movie theater.

Eventually, Cairo hopes to turn the theater into a cultural center showing movies, plays and an entertainment series.

The marquee renovation was paid for by private donations. Money is still being raised to renovate the theater's interior, a project that will end up costing $250,000 to $300,000, Wilson says.

A barber shop quartet sang on the Eighth Street sidewalk Saturday while vendors sold barbecue, crafts and other goods.

The Rev. Derek Eurales, pastor of the First Opportunity Free Will Baptist Church in Carrier Mills, is a lifelong resident of Cairo. He is proud of the downtown revitalization.

"It shows the community has pride in the town," he said. "We want to show there is not separation, that things in the past are past.

"We are ready to move forward with a positive attitude."

Barbara Johnson was selling ice cream downtown on behalf of her church, the Holy City Church of God in Christ. She is encouraged by the mixture of people who came to the celebration.

"It's a good thing," she said. "More should happen."

Johnson says much more needs to be done in Cairo. "I'm not saying things are better."

If becoming a tourist destination sounds like a farfetched dream for a town that was once patrolled by National Guard troops trying to quell riots -- a town that built a reputation for crime -- the mayor doesn't think so.

"A lot of people say they are afraid to drive through Cairo. To people here, that's humorous," Wilson says.

He points out that the city hasn't registered a homicide in more than three years. The city has eight extra officers on patrol through federal grants.

"We take care of the problems," Wilson said. "We write a lot of traffic tickets. There's a reason. When you crack down on the little things you set an tone and you get a lot better compliance."

Wilson says many community groups have been working together on the problems of a town which has watched its population shrink every year for the past 50. For instance, the head of the city's drug task force raised the $8,000 that bought the clock.

The population now is 4,500 and Wilson thinks it has stabilized.

Cairo doesn't have the economic base to compete with other towns for factories, he says, but can capitalize on its rich history as a river town, "the confluence of America."

Wilson said the crowd that listened to the blues band Friday night at Riverboat Days "crossed ethnic and race boundaries."

In one sense, Cairo can be seen as a leader in race relations, he said.

"The City of Cairo struggled with those issues 15 years ago."

The city has a reputation, he said, "but when you do a positive it's that much better."

Last year, the city painted storefronts and boarded up closed buildings downtown. All 50 state flags were painted on the river wall. Wilson says Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Hannibal are models of what Cairo could become.

"We've got the potential to do that," he said.

Gene Koen, a former deputy sheriff, says Cairo's downtown died when the state began cracking down on gambling. His wife Shirley says the opening of the I-57 began an exodus of stores, and the resurfacing of the Ohio River bridge in the '70s kept people away.

The couple were at Riverboat Days selling crafts and praised the downtown renovation.

The Koens don't think racial unrest played a role in the downtown downturn.

"It (race) doesn't make any difference to anybody," she said.