MARQUETTE OWNER RELIVING HOTEL'S '20s GLORY DAYS

The Marquette Hotel may have been the bee's knees when it opened its doors during the Roaring '20s, but the tired vanguard of Cape Girardeau's downtown posi-lutely needs an overhaul.

Now, facing a looming deadline to sell the building or risk possible demolition, owner Carol Bullock wants the public to relive the hotel's glory days.

That's why the hotel lobby will be open to the public Saturday afternoon for two hours only during a 1920s-themed reception.

Bullock, who lives in Maryland and maintains the Marquette on behalf of her mother, said she will be dressed in a flapper-style costume and welcomes interested residents and potential buyers to look at the lobby and talk with a group of historical preservation students from Southeast Missouri State University. The student are documenting the building's history.

"We're not having an open house, per se, because we don't have the facilities," Bullock said. "But if they know Carol Bullock, or if they want to see the lobby, they should come by."

The building, which is not heated and has no available restroom facilities, will be open from noon until 2 p.m. for viewing and refreshments.

Guests are asked to enter from Fountain Street. In a hotel-style greeting, they will be welcomed by a receptionist and asked to sign a guest book.

Cleaning crews have been working this week to get the lobby in tip-top shape for guests.

"The students will be taking pictures and documenting historic information," Bullock said. "We want people to see what the students are trying to achieve."

Built in 1928, the Marquette has been mostly vacant since 1981 and faces city-imposed demolition if not sold or improved by March. Cape Girardeau resident Thad Bullock owned the building from 1969 until his death in 1999. His widow, Ruby, inherited the property, and her daughter, Carol Bullock, is charged with maintaining and selling it.

The six-story, Spanish-influenced hotel once was one of the city's finest. The Missouri Division of Health shut down the hotel operation in July 1971 for safety reasons, but part of the ground floor later became Thad Bullock's piano studio.

Even though the building officially was condemned by the city, councilman Tom Neumeyer, whose ward includes the Marquette, said Bullock can do with the property as she wishes, including hosting a reception.

Numerous real estate inquiries have been made about the property, but it has yet to be sold. Asking price is about $700,000, according to Carol Bullock.

City officials, weary of watching the building fall into disrepair and worried about trespassing, began condemnation proceedings in June. By mid-July, the city posted condemnation notices on the building and asked Bullock to make numerous structural and cosmetic repairs.

Bullock made most of the requested repairs, and in November, the city imposed a 120-day deadline for Bullock to find a buyer or improve the building. After the deadline, which is sometime in March, the city could proceed with demolition plans.

Historic preservation student Jeremy Wells is leading a volunteer group that has vowed to prevent the Marquette's demolition and see it sold to a buyer who will restore it. Group members are researching the building's history, collecting old photographs and anecdotes, and studying marketing and viable business possibilities.

"One of our goals is to attempt to see if there's a way the Marquette could make whoever invests in the property money after rehabilitating it," he said.

Wells said the group will be at the building Saturday taking digital photographs and making notes about the building's interior features. The information will be included in a report the group is compiling. None of the group members have ever been inside the building.