NewsJuly 1, 2023
Himmelberger House ready for rebirth, developer says
The old brick dwelling still stands firm, but it has seen better days. It greets outsiders with its promising red brick exterior, but also chipped paint from its soffits, window trim, facing and front porch columns. To an untrained eye, much of the wood looks suspiciously brittle. A translucent layer of grime dulls the exterior...
The old brick dwelling still stands firm, but it has seen better days. It greets outsiders with its promising red brick exterior, but also chipped paint from its soffits, window trim, facing and front porch columns. To an untrained eye, much of the wood looks suspiciously brittle. A translucent layer of grime dulls the exterior.
The air conditioner units in the upstairs windows do the old home no aesthetic favors. A few bushes grow untrimmed along the front. A vine of something crawls toward the second story.
The wide front door needs some TLC, but for its age and flaws, the house, built in 1921, still raises its chin against a century of punches.
When the door opens, the Himmelberger House reveals its sturdy bones, handsome features and the aura of a wealthy family who lived and dined here 100 years ago.
Cape Girardeau couple Ben and Madawn Traxel are inspired to return the building to its debonair status and then some. The Traxels intend to convert the building, once home to one of Cape Girardeau's most prominent businessmen, into a seven-room boutique hotel that sits just across the campus of Southeast.
Ben Traxel, originally from Poplar Bluff, owns an architectural firm in Cape Girardeau. His business Tenmile Companies is at the forefront of one of Cape Girardeau's most anticipated projects -- the refurbishing of the Esquire movie theater for retail space on Broadway. Madawn is an educator at Southeast. This project is not connected to Traxel's business or the Esquire project, but rather a personal project with his wife and family. As the couple shows the house to a reporter, they both chip in and explain plans for each room, but it's Madawn who exudes excitement around every corner.
The Traxels took possession of the property on Tuesday after a long process that included a request-for-proposal bid to the university and a special use permit from the city of Cape Girardeau. The plans had to be approved by two city boards and finally the city council. That included writing a new definition for boutique hotels, for which a special use permit can now be obtained in certain zones. It was a lengthy bureaucratic process, but one Ben said was not adversarial. The opposite, in fact.
Now, the Traxels are ready to jump in and get to work.
The Himmelberger house, with roughly 6,000 square feet spread over three main floors, has provided a nostalgic canvas. Far cleaner than its exterior, the inside of the old Himmelberger invokes feelings of potential rather than pity. The old trim and hardwood floors remain intact, though some of the floors have been covered by thin carpet and will need to be removed to expose the oak hardwood. Some of the original mahogany trim and decorative panels have been slightly damaged by students hanging posters with tape. The damage is barely noticeable, but Ben Traxel sees it as he moves through the room, making a mental note of the work that will need to be done to repair the imperfections. The couple also notes an electric outlet post that comes out of the floor that was used to accommodate student workstations. And some construction-grade fluorescent office lights that run perpendicular to the building's original ceiling beams will need to be removed. Still, some original wall sconces remain intact.
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Ben and Madawn couldn't be happier about the condition of the inside of the building, 100-plus years considering. A wide, grand mahogany staircase wraps around to the second floor, which opens to rooms of varying sizes for future guests. It will accommodate five rooms, including a two-room suite, which has access to a room with three walls of windows. The third floor reveals more room including a dormer. The ceiling will have to be removed in that space to make more headroom, but it's awash with opportunity.
One of the bathrooms features well-maintained pink fixtures and tiles, a dramatic throwback to the time period. Other bathrooms include standalone tubs.
The renovation will require moving some walls, mostly to remove closets and add bathrooms for hotel guests. The bathroom accommodations represent the most significant work of the project ahead, but the Traxels also will have to add a sprinkler system and make other upgrades to make the building meet code for commercial use.
The main floor, consisting of 2,700 square feet, will greet guests with lobby and gathering spaces, though an area off to the side adjacent to the Henderson driveway entrance, will include a handicap-accessible room. The hotel will not operate a restaurant but one of Madawn's primary objectives will be to provide local flavors to guests, whether that be coffee from local shops or craft beer. She's already begun conversations with a local artisan who makes soap from goat milk.
The Traxels have moved a family heirloom, a piano, into what will become a sitting area in the hotel, off to the right side of the building's entrance, which is centered by a fireplace.
The home's first owner was Harry Himmelberger, who ran what newspaper archives called "one of the greatest lumber mills of its kind in the world" in Morehouse, Missouri. Himmelberger was a key figure in the development of The Little River Drainage District, one of the region's most historical and ambitious flood-control projects, which allowed for the development of the region's swamplands. Himmelberger's name was included in the Himmelberger and Harrison (colloquially known as the H&H) building on Broadway, which was also converted into a hotel.
Himmelberger lived in the N. Henderson house with his parents and brothers and sister. The house included maid quarters and stairwells that allowed inconspicuous access to the basement and other areas of the house.
The house was sold to the university in 1952 for use by the school's home economics department. Some of the students lived in the quarters.
The university was set to demolish the building in recent years, before reversing course and deciding to sell the property instead. University officials had said the building had fallen into disrepair and that the cost of the repairs was more than the university was willing to pay. Among the repairs cited in media reports were replacements of all the building's doors and windows due to wood rot; and significant repairs and replacements in the interior of the house. At that time, the university used the building for the Jane Stephens Honors program. The building sits at the corner of North Henderson and Rockwood, just across the street from the university's art building.
As the Traxels walk through their recently purchased property, they say they can't imagine the house being torn down, meeting the suggestion with puzzled looks and shoulder shrugs.
"The woodwork is so beautiful," Madawn said. She said she and Ben have three grown children, and their travels have taken them to university towns where they've stayed at boutique hotels. She said they've been talking about finding a property to introduce the concept to Cape Girardeau and Southeast. "We've done home renovations over the years, but this one is our biggest. It will be very personal. We want to keep things in the time period, and we want it to be fresh enough where people will want to come back."
Ben Traxel said part of the process to getting the hotel operational will be hiring staff to welcome guests and clean the rooms. He said it'll be up to him to make it profitable, but he said the generally good condition of the building will help keep renovation costs down.
He said he's already been in contact with a few subcontractors. Ideally, if things go well, the hotel could be operational within six months.
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