Historic sites offer regular hours

Cape River Heritage Museum, Glenn House, Old St. Vincent's Church and Red House Interpretive Center will be open 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays

Cape Girardeau's abounds in history, enough so that visitors often come here in hopes of getting an up-close look at some of the places and monuments that make this community's past so rich and vibrant.

There are several Civil War sites in Cape Girardeau -- forts, battlefield, commercial buildings -- that each tell a bit of that story. The city's murals on buildings and on the Mississippi River floodwall are both informative and works of art. The Missouri Department of Conservation's nature center is a popular destination, and thousands have enjoyed visual and performing arts at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.

Cape Girardeau also boasts four important historic attractions that are of particular interest to visitors, and thanks to funding from the Convention and Visitors Bureau they all have consistent times that they are open during the summer.

The Cape River Heritage Museum, the Glenn House, Old St. Vincent's Church and the Red House Interpretive Center will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, starting Tuesday and continuing through Sept. 6.

All of these sites offer tours given by knowledgeable guides who not only relate history and interesting stories but are also available to answer questions.

The CVB-sponsored program to have regular hours at these locations provided all of the funding last summer. This year the CVB is underwriting 75 percent of the cost, and the plan is for 50 percent funding next summer and 25 percent funding for summer 2011.

Having these wonderful historic places open during regular hours all summer should be a big boost for tourism and a great convenience for visitors to our city.