Former home of Broadway Theatre set for demolition in coming months

A long-simmering question in downtown Cape Girardeau moved closer to a resolution Wednesday.

The City of Cape Girardeau took the first steps to demolish the building that formerly housed Broadway Theatre, located at 805 Broadway, as crews removed the scaffolding from the facade of the building.

Nicolette Brennan, public information manager for the city, said an engineering firm is currently putting together a demolition package. The first step in that process is to survey the structure.

"Once the engineering firm gets us the demolition package, it will detail the job to tear it down safely with respect to the adjacent building, Broadway and infrastructure. Then we will put the project out to bid," Brennan said.

As the scaffolding was removed, a portion of Broadway was closed off. The building caught fire in March 2021, damaging its roof and facade.

The city-imposed deadline for repair was March 12, after a 45-day extension was granted to the owners. In April, Brennan said the City of Cape Girardeau was communicating with the building owners as they tried to raise funds to save it. According to previous Southeast Missourian reporting, the cost for repairing the facade and roof could total $1 million, and the cost to stabilize the structure could range between $150,000 and $300,000.

The building is one of 28 properties listed on Cape Girardeau's condemnation list.

The theater opened in 1921 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

It is planned to be demolished in the summer months.