Cape Girardeau building that houses Royal N'Orleans up for sale

The historic building that houses the Royal N'Orleans restaurant at 300 Broadway is for sale, commercial real estate broker Cynthia DeJournett Austin said Friday.

The Royal N'Orleans restaurant operators lease the space from Austin's clients and there are no plans in place to sell the business at this time, Austin said.

The property was placed on the market for $750,000, Austin said.

The restaurant was closed Friday, and no one with the business could be reached for comment.

Construction on the brick landmark at the corner of Lorimier Street and Broadway began in 1868, and it was first known as Turner Hall, owned by Cape Girardeau's Turner Society, said preservationist Terri Foley.

Turner Hall, designed by architect and Luxembourg native Nicholas Gonner, reflects a Missouri German vernacular influence, Foley said.

"Our area has a lot of that architecture," Foley said.

The building reflects Southeast Missouri's German heritage, having served as a meeting place for civic activities, a sort of social gathering venue for the German immigrants, who moved into Cape Girardeau as early as 1800, Foley said.

Gonner also planned St. Mary's Cathedral in Cape Girardeau and is believed to have erected other buildings in the area, their identities undocumented, according to Southeast Missourian archives.

In 1888, Turner Hall was purchased by the area Masons for $3,000 and used as a Masonic temple until 1891, when it became an opera House.

The theater hosted everything from traveling drama companies to orchestral performances to boxing matches, and Cole Younger once lectured there on his 14 years as an outlaw.

In 1904, the first issues of the Daily Republican, later the Southeast Missourian, were produced in the southeast corner of the opera house building.

At one time, a Chinese laundry and a grocery store operated from the building, Foley said.

In 1954, Richard Barnhill purchased the building and opened the Royal N'Orleans after renovation, saving the structure from demolition.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

300 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO