Ivers Square facelift takes shape in advance of Friday's concert; special ceremony coming June 8

Major renovations to Cape Girardeau’s Ivers Square and the iconic gazebo are moving ahead this week in advance of Friday’s scheduled Tunes at Twilight concert.

It’s all part of an effort to transform the former Common Pleas Courthouse Park, which the city renamed in June 2017 to pay tribute to former slaves James and Harriet Ivers.

James Ivers served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He and other former slaves enlisted at the courthouse square.

The statue of a black Union soldier is seen at the National Veterans Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. A bronze statue like this one will be placed in Ivers Square at the Common Pleas Courthouse in downtown Cape Girardeau.Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration

For many area residents, Friday’s concert will mark the first opportunity for them to see the renovations.

Old Town Cape executive director Marla Mills said the improvements are funded by grants and individual and corporate donations.

“We are super excited about being able to upgrade the park,” Mills said, adding she believes the improvements will result in greater public use of the site.

The improvements involve two separate, but complementary projects.

The first centers on remodeling the gazebo and re-landscaping the area around it, as well as fixing up the fountain, including adding new seating around it, said Mills, whose group works to revitalize the city’s downtown.

The project is funded by a $127,650 grant from the Partners in Preservation group, awarded through the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express in partnership with Main Street America.

Work on the fountain has been completed. But the seven stone benches that will be installed around the fountain have not arrived and won’t be in place by Friday’s concert, Mills said.

As for the gazebo, it has received electrical upgrades, as well as a new roof designed to resemble the gazebo as it looked in the 1920s, she said.

Work was delayed on the gazebo earlier this spring as crews waited for delivery of fascia fabricated for the structure, according to Mills.

“We are trying to get as much installed as possible (before Friday’s concert),” she said.

Instead of the past gray hues, the refurbished gazebo will be outfitted in colors of tan and beige, Mills said.

The second project involves installation of a “United States Colored Troop” statue.

Award-winning sculptor Roy W. Butler of Tennessee crafted the soon-to-be installed statue. The statue was scheduled to be installed last week in front of the Common Pleas Courthouse Annex, but the work had to be delayed because the pedestal was not in place, Mills said.

The statue pays tribute to black Americans who fought for the Union Army during the Civil War.

The statue and related improvements are projected to cost about $60,000. A $10,000 grant from the Missouri Humanities Council has aided with the project.

As part of the park improvement projects, interpretive signs will be installed, detailing the history of James and Harriet Ivers as well as the history of the other Civil War monuments on the site.

The new statue will be unveiled at a dedication ceremony June 8. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the unveiling at 11 a.m., organizers said.

Dramatic portrayals of Cape Girardeau historic figures Harriet Ivers and the Rev. Spotswood Rice will be held, according to Old Town Cape.

Rice, who served in the Union Army, pastored St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau after the Civil War.

Turner Brigade Civil War re-enactors will participate in the event.

Music will be provided by Black Light Choral ensemble and a strolling string band.

Area residents who turn out for Friday’s Tunes at Twilight concert also will have plenty to celebrate as well.

The first concert of the spring is billed as “Blues at Tunes.” It will feature Paul Childers — a Nashville, Tennessee, native — whose music blends pop, rhythm and blues and soul.

Lorimier Street will be closed to traffic from Broadway to Themis Street to accommodate the expected crowd, Mills said.

The concert is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. In advance of the concert, pilots with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and their crew, 65 people in all, are scheduled to meet and greet the crowd, starting around 6:30 p.m.

The event is tied to the air show, which will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The Blue Angels are the headline act for the air show.

Airport manager Bruce Loy welcomed the opportunity to tie in the concert with the air show.

“We’re real excited about it,” he said.

He added, “This is the one chance you have to be able to say ‘hi’ and actually shake hands with them, and I would hope thank them for their service as well.”

Southeast Missourian culture reporter Joshua Hartwig contributed to this story.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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