Historic preservation panel adds six structures to endangered buildings list

Cape Girardeau's Historic Preservation Commission has added six structures to its endangered-buildings list, including a brick house on North Street that once was a winner of a Christmas lighting contest.

In all, there are 14 buildings on the list. According to the city's website, the structures are those with historic value believed to be at risk of being lost because of significant deterioration and/or imminent demolition.

This year's additions are houses at:

A new addition to the city of Cape Girardeau's endangered-buildings list sits Monday at 318 S. Lorimer St.BEN MATTHEWS

• 611 S. Sprigg St.;
• 1305 William St.;
• 725 N. Clark Ave.;
• 400 Olive St.;
• 831 North St.;
• a single structure with two addresses at 318 and 322 S. Lorimier St.

The house at the southeast corner of North and Pacific streets is a Colonial Revival-style brick structure. The two-story house features dual chimneys and an ornate "hood" over the centered entrance, according to the commission's online list.

"The house is deteriorating quickly due to missing roof shingles, missing mortar from the brick and severely peeling paint," the commission said in its list.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin said the house appears to be vacant.

He said "the real-estate value is pretty good" because it is near Southeast Missouri State University.

Shrimplin said if the structure continues to deteriorate, the land could end up being worth more without the house than with it.

Alyssa Phares, who chairs the commission, said the North Street house has been deteriorating since 2008.

"It was kind of easy to add it to the list," she said.

"As far as we can tell, it has not been regularly occupied in 10 years," Phares said.

She suggested it would make a good home for a university professor.

But finding a suitable owner for a vacant, historic structure is not easy, she said.

"It takes time to find the people that have the vision and financial resources," she added.

The endangered buildings list includes a 2 1/2-story brick house at 611 S. Sprigg St. built around 1908 for a German immigrant and his family.

Last used as a bed-and-breakfast, it has been vacant for several years, the commission said.

Others on the list are a vacant William Street bungalow, a popular style before World War II; a two-story, unoccupied house on Clark Avenue, erected about 1900; an apparently vacant Craftsman-style house at 400 Olive St.; and a German-vernacular-style house, built around 1890, on South Lorimier.

Located near the Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, the South Lorimier house has an L-shaped layout with arched openings, a recessed entry way and symmetrical facade.

The South Lorimier Street house exterior is in "rough condition," according to the commission list.

The stucco facade needs repair, and several columns are missing from the porches, the list details.

But Phares said the River Campus could inspire artists to move into the neighborhood and renovate houses such as this.

With its two entrances, the structure also could be used as a rental structure, she said.

Besides the new additions to the endangered buildings list, eight others remain on the list.

They are:

• Broadway Theater;
• Esquire Theater;
• Fort D blockhouse;
• Marquette School;
• 635 Good Hope St.;
• 127 S. Lorimier St.;
• 14 S. Lorimier St.;
• 230 S. Middle St.

The Commission removed three structures from the endangered list -- one each on North Sprigg, South Middle and Olive streets -- because they were demolished last year.

Phares said the commission first created an endangered building list in 2012. A new list is posted online each year, she said.

While some buildings end up being demolished and "you can get a little discouraged," Phares said there have been successes, too.

Case in point, she said, is the Lorimier Apartments building. Constructed in 1925, the brick structure is being renovated.

"I think it definitely makes a difference," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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