HISTORIC HOME TOUR TO BE HELD SUNDAY

Michael Thies remembers the picture, standing on the front porch of the home at 534 Washington. The wooden columns were rotted. The porch, like much of the house, was in disrepair.

But Thies and Rick Werner saw past the dust and debris to elegance underneath.

The house is one of five on a Historic Home Tour from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, sponsored by the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at any home on the tour.

In 1994, the house on Washington, called the Huhn House, was slated to be bulldozed by the university.

But Thies and Werner stepped in to save the structure, which was built in 1903.

The oak-floored house at one time served as a meeting place for riverboat captains and Depression-era farmers. Harry Truman visited the home on several occasions.

The two men have been doing the renovation work themselves, working the past four years. Thies said the project might be done for New Year's 2000.

"It had to be gutted, but it was constructed with really good materials," Thies said. The house is filled with wood floors and trim made of Cyprus, pine and oak.

When they purchased the house, it was eight apartments with eight bathrooms. When completed, it will be returned to a single-family home.

Those who visit the home during the tour will see a work in progress.

The exterior is complete. The second floor is basically done. The third floor is "livable," Thies said. And the downstairs remains gutted.

Old photos of the house from the 1920s, when a major renovation was done, will be on display.

Also on the tour:

-- The Pollack Home, 633 Highland Drive, a 1941 Revival-style home owned by Peter and Cindy Maher. The Pollack Home almost wasn't built. After the December bombing of Pearl Harbor, a moratorium was placed on new construction. But since work on the house had started in August, it was given permission for completion.

-- The Coever House, 605 Broadway Rear, an 1872 simple-brick style home, owned by Steve and Mary Robertson. A two-room, sheep herders house was the original structure on Broadway. Years later, the family built the large home which now houses Robertson's Photography Studio.

-- The Judge Bahn Home, 34 N. Fountain, an 1895 Queen Anne style home owned by Sarah Riley and Alan Naslund. The facade of the home is characteristically Victorian. Inside, Riley has displayed her modern art.

-- The Glenn House, 325 S. Spanish, an 1882 high-style Victorian home restored and maintained by the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau. Refreshments will be served at the Glenn House during the tour.

-- Lorimier Cemetery, north Fountain and Washington streets. Free, guided tours will be presented by John Bry. Tours are scheduled at 1:30, 2, 2:30 and 3 p.m.