MINI-MALL STILL A POSSIBILITY FOR DOWNTOWN

A narrow stretch of space, between retail stores, is the home of "Arts in Common," a community art gallery in The Commons Mall, a block-long shopping mall in downtown Columbus, Ind.

In the same shopping center,"Kidscommons" provides a program which offers interactive exhibits for youngsters four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, featuring a $25 a year family membership.

The mall includes a number of retail shopping stores, featuring the Sears Roebuck & Co. anchor.

Although a giant retailer like Sears is not an option for downtown Cape Girardeau, a giant building along Main Street, stretching from Main to Spanish, is a possibility for a mini-mall operation.

The old JCPenney building at 5 N. Main is currently home to Riverport Trade Center, which features a variety of merchandise from silk flowers, work clothing and uniforms, tools, furniture, various martial arts equipment, incense, lace to a number of collectible items.

But, owner Betty Moore is willing to sell the 26,000 square foot, two-level structure, and talk of another "mini-mall" is springing up.

The old building, constructed in 1929, has been remodeled on a number of occasions -- 1956, 1959, 1976 and 1993, and on at least two occasions has served as a retail mini-mall setting.

In June of 1976, the building was purchased by Downtown Investments Group. It was in 1976 that JCPenney moved from its downtown location to a site in the 2100 block of William, after 51 years in the downtown area.

Downtown Investments had the pick of two sets of plans for the mini-mall -- a preliminary architect's sketch by Cape Girardeau architect Thomas E. Phillips, featuring skylights and plantings, and a set of plans by Rick Carter, who was a student in architecture at Kansas State University at the time.

Rivertown Center Mini-Mall opened in the fall of 1976 with eight shops on the ground floor with plans for eight or nine more on the second level.

The new mall featured wide entrances to shops, with brick-paved flooring. Shops in the Center included a health food store, cheese shop, ice cream shop, an arts and crafts store, plant shop, fashions for junior misses, a Merle Norman Cosmetics studio, and a Hallmark store.

The mini-mall eventually closed, but in 1985, a new owner reopened Rivertown Center.

Cape Girardeau business woman Delores Luton purchased the property, and announced plans to have several shops and businesses in the mini-mall. Businesses included a beauty shop, a Mexican restaurant, coffee and sandwich shop, a lounge, shoe store, jewelry store, lingerie shop, woodworking shop, and Rivertown Pet show. The operation eventually had 17 businesses.

The next operation in the building was Heartland Antique Emporium, which utilized the 13,000 square foot ground level when it opened with 24 antique and collectibles dealers.

The operation eventually expanded into the 13,000 square foot second level, with more than 35 dealers.

The current operation moved into the building in 1995.