LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: A RIVERTOWN

Dear Editor,

Cape Girardeau is located where it is because of the river; its very existence was dependent upon it when the town was established. Fortunately, our downtown area still retains much of the character of a river town. Every town or settlement has a quality or character which is the result of its initial function and subsequent evolution. This overall character is reflected by the style of the structures, their size, their placement on the land, their use, their physical condition, and their relation to the surrounding environment.

It is this overall character that preservationists seek to retain in an effort to provide visual clues or reminders as to who we are as a community and a people.

In the end, it is the people who are the ultimate focus of the historic preservationist. The built environment provides us with some of the most prominent and permanent artifacts of our civilization. By studying these structures, we can learn about the people who built them, worked in them, and molded them to fit their needs.

By preserving these structures, we enable those who are yet to come to better understand what has been.

BLAIR DAWSON

Cape Girardeau