May is National Historic Preservation Month and understanding the purpose is good for business and community.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation led the charge in 1973 to establish this recognition and many groups across the country celebrate the theme. Locally, the city of Cape Girardeau and Old Town Cape are actively involved in promoting the main ideas of instilling national and community pride, promoting heritage tourism, and showing the social and economic benefits of historic preservation.
We don’t have to search for local benefits of historic preservation efforts. They are obvious to us every day. Here are some examples.
The Glenn House is a popular tourist attraction especially for those river boat patrons. Southeast Missouri State University incorporated the old St. Vincent’s Seminary into the design and build out of the beautiful River Campus. The old Marquette Hotel, Carriage House, and the H and H building were redeveloped into the Marquette Tower and the Courtyard by Marriott and serve as homes to many businesses including Codefi, the Cape Chamber, and Visit Cape. And recently the City of Cape Girardeau decided to rehab and build on to the Common Pleas Courthouse and Carnegie Library to serve as the new home of City Hall.
We all benefit from these projects through the preservation of our history and the economic investment in our historic district. Hopefully, we’ll see many more.
