Cape house in style of Frank Lloyd Wright added to historic register

A Cape Girardeau house fashioned in the organic style of Frank Lloyd Wright has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The home at 1150 N. Henderson Ave. once belonged to Dr. Jean Chapman, who commissioned a prominent local architect, John L.E. Boardman, to design it in 1962, said Laura Williams, a graduate student in the historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University.

She and fellow student Caryn Guth spent the past year working to obtain the home's new designation, because it is the first mid-century modern dwelling listed in Cape Girardeau County.

"All the character and defining features are still intact," Williams said.

Although an entryway door and some outdated carpeting and light fixtures have been changed over time, the home has all its original limestone on the interior and exterior, along with dark walnut paneling and built-in cabinets throughout.

Kyle Owens moves through the living room of his mid-century modern home Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.Glenn Landberg

The one-story house was built in 1963 using an irregular V-shaped floor plan onto a steeply sloped lot, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the basement area.

On the main floor, slate tiles span the entryway, kitchen and dining room, and in the living room, neutral carpet has taken the place of an orange shag rug that, although it was in good condition, one of the home's current owners decided not to keep.

"I just couldn't," said Eric Rellergert said, who lives there with his domestic partner, Kyle Owens.

Steven Hoffman, coordinator of Southeast's historic preservation program, said the home has a Wright feel because it doesn't conform to the more boxy approach of other contemporary homes. Instead, it uses a variety of shapes and brings outdoor elements inside, appearing to rise up from the landscape almost as a natural feature.

Although the home's architect worked on many buildings in the area during the 20th century, "this is probably one of the nicest," Hoffman said.

Laura Williams, a graduate student in the historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University, stands in the living room Tuesday of a mid-century modern home at 1150 N. Henderson Ave. in Cape Girardeau.Glenn Landberg

Along with irregular shapes, windows and ceilings, the walls in the house are made to seem more like screens than barriers to the outdoors.

"Those are all (Wright) techniques and are well-expressed here," Hoffman said.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

1150 N. Henderson Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.