Getting a boost in preservation efforts, the Marquette Hotel received national recognition when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places April 11.

Jeremy Wells, a Southeast Missouri State University student who helped write the nomination for the honor, hopes the designation will add some security to the fate of the 73-year-old building.

"One of the positive things that comes from this is it becomes much more lucrative for someone to buy it and do something with it because of the tax credits," Wells said.

Built in 1928, the Marquette has been mostly vacant since 1981.

Tiffany Patterson, national register coordinator for the Missouri Historic Preservation Program, said whoever buys or owns the property and plans to do work on it qualifies for tax benefits and can get up to 45 percent of the rehabilitation costs back.

She said 20 percent is refunded from the federal government and 25 percent is refunded from the state.

But even though the recognition includes tax incentives, Patterson said it is more an honor than anything else.

"If it's listed on the National Register it simply means the federal government considers it worthy of preservation," she said.

Patterson said there are more than 1,100 listings on the National Register from the state of Missouri, which include between 3,000 and 5,000 individual buildings.

hkronmueller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128