River Campus: Dream to reality

It will take some time to get used to calling the River Campus the Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts, the official name for Southeast Missouri State University's new jewel overlooking the Mississippi River on the southern edge of downtown Cape Girardeau. For several years the project to turn the former seminary campus into an arts campus has been called simply the River Campus, a durable label that will likely serve the location for a long time.

This ambitious project began when B.W. Harrison made a sizable gift to the university, with the proceeds to be used to preserve the historic seminary buildings across Morgan Oak Street from where Harrison and his wife lived and tended beautiful flower beds. University officials immediately began to make plans for the property, which included historic multistory brick buildings on a bluff with what is considered to be one of the most commanding river views in the city.

From this the idea for an arts campus was born: a collection of classrooms, rehearsal halls and performance areas that would be a state-of-the-art facility for SEMO's growing arts programs.

Last week, as classes opened for the fall semester, students began using the River Campus, even though workers are still putting the finishing touches on several areas.

In the years the River Campus has been talked about, planned, funded and constructed, the city has made the most of this major downtown development. The new highway bridge across the river opened and gave Cape Girardeau a stunning new entrance that is enhanced by the shapes of new River Campus buildings and the detailed restoration of the main seminary buildings. A new street from the bridge access toward downtown frames the west side of the River Campus. A new river overlook where the old bridge used to be and a nearby park area have been developed along the River Campus' east side. New businesses have located near the River Campus, and downtown Cape Girardeau is teeming with new development, historical recreations, restored buildings and exciting projects.

One vision for the River Campus when it was announced was that it would provide an anchor for downtown that would help stimulate development and investment. It appears to be doing that. Another vision for the arts campus was that it would attract the attention of students interested in the arts. Enrollment in those programs has grown considerably in anticipation of the River Campus' opening.

It is good to see an ambitious plan come to fruition. The River Campus is likely to be a source of community pride for years to come.