Old souls find haven in Downtown Cape

Emily Vines and Josh Sellers describe themselves as old souls. Spending time at the historic duplex built in 1900 that they rent in the downtown district of Cape Girardeau proves the description true: their extensive record collection resides on the shelves built into the wall, quilts Josh's grandma made adorn the beds, and most of their antique furniture was passed down to them by their parents and grandparents or comes from Annie Laurie's in downtown Cape.

This appreciation for the past was the foundation for their decision to move downtown.

"I fell immediately in love with downtown because it was the freedom of expression which is hard to find, I think, sometimes in this part of the state or in this part of the country, and the fact that you can do that in your backyard is so cool," Josh says. "A big part about living downtown is just seeing the history where it is as it progresses through time. Being able to live in a piece of Cape history is really cool but also super important for us just to maintain that and make it accessible to people our age."

The duplex features much of the original woodwork, flooring and decorative ventilation grates, as well as characteristic quirks like electrical outlets on the floor. And then there's the fireplace: all original tiling they've heard an architect installed in numerous buildings throughout downtown Cape at the turn of the 20th Century.

Emily says it's important people her age and in her income bracket know they can live downtown; she says the best way to find a place is to talk with people who can connect you with the right home.

She says the search is worth it.

"We have this historic landmark right here. You can walk to it," Emily says, referring to the river. "It's something that brings people together. Every single person that goes to the river, they're different, but everyone is still drawn together by the river. So it's just kind of this nice gathering space for everyone."

Josh agrees; this communal aspect is why he recommends making the move.

"It's become even more welcoming to any walk of life, background, income. I think that's important when you're building a strong community," he says. "Also, walkability, green space. Leave your house, and learn your neighborhood. And that ties into sense of community, too, which I think is so important. I just think it's unique here. It's all walks of life. It's people our age, it's much older people, it's people our parents' age. Downtown is for everybody."

Emily Vines and Josh Sellers enjoy their historic downtown duplex.