LIVING WITH LANDMARKS: CITY HAS DESIGNATED 15 LOCAL LANDMARKS, AND MORE ARE BEING CONSIDERED

For Marjorie Thompson, living at 100 Longview has been no different since her house was designated a local historic landmark two years ago.

Right now she is restoring part of the house due to gutter damage, and the mill work is expensive. It's a worthwhile expense to Thompson.

"Anyone who has any pride in their home, regardless of whether it's a landmark or not, would want to keep the integrity of the house the way my great-grandfather built it," she said.

Built in 1871, the Col. George C. Thilenius House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Longview, as it is known, was built for the man who commanded the city's four forts during the Civil War. Thilenius later was involved in the milling business, was president of a railroad and president of a bank.

The bricks in the three-story plantation-style house were made by hand, and the house has five metal fireplaces.

"My main goal is to keep it up to the best of my ability and what my pocketbook will do," Thompson says.

Fifteen places have qualified as local historic landmarks since the city created the designation five years ago. The list includes Old Lorimier Cemetery and Old St. Vincent Church but also a number of houses that are still occupied.

To qualify, the house generally must:

-- Have significant value as part of the heritage of the city, state or nation or be associated with a person significant in the past;

-- Exemplify the cultural, political, economic, social or historical heritage of the community;

-- Portray an era of history characterized by a distinct architectural style;

-- Represent a visual feature of the neighborhood, community or city;

-- Constitute a site with archaeological value.

"Something is important when you start getting to the last of the things or it's the only example still around," says Brian Driscoll, quoting someone who was talking about old-growth trees.

"That applies to lots of things," says the chairman of the city's Historic Preservation Commission.

The city's local historic landmark program is a simplified version of the National Register, though the city's program offers more protections for historic sites.

A Certificate of Appropriateness must be obtained for construction, alteration or demolition that requires a permit from the city. Work that does not require a permit but affects a significant architectural feature also requires a Certificate of Appropriateness.

But Driscoll says the city still does not have design guidelines to offer owners who may be contemplating a renovation. "We have kind of put the cart before the horse," he said.

He also says the six-page form owners are required to fill out to qualify for local landmark status lacks understandable instructions.

The local list is still growing. The paperwork is being completed for the Finley-Lee House at 9 N. Fountain, part of the city's remaining stock of German brick houses.

Driscoll said the Common Pleas Courthouse is another structure that should be designated a local landmark. "It dominates our landscape," he said.

Nine of the 15 local landmarks are also on the National Register of Historic Places. The only house on the National Register designee that is not on the local landmark list is the Oliver-Leming House at 740 North Street.

To qualify for the National Register, a structure must be at least 50 years old. But Driscoll says exceptions are made. Graceland, for instance, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Driscoll says the city still has many significant structures that have not yet joined the list. An example is the Hecht's downtown storefront with its many decorative features. "It's really unique," Driscoll said.

A Quonset hut being used as a house on Bloomfield Road is an example of an oddity that becomes architecturally interesting, Driscoll says. "The Quonset hut comes out of World War II and was mainly used for temporary, industrial or service type buildings as well as quarters by the military. To have one used as a home is unusual."

The city's Sunset area is another district of the city that may be historically significant because it represents an era -- the 1920s -- when Cape Girardeau was booming.

Nashville-based consultant Philip Thomason is compiling a study of the city's historic resources that will become a blueprint for historic preservation. That plan is due to be completed by the end of the year.

The plan will identify potential historic districts and provide guidelines for preserving the historic houses, buildings and other sites in the city.

Local historic landmarks in the city of Cape Girardeau

Old Lorimier Cemetery, 500 N. Fountain, established 1808.

Christian and Gladys Stiver House, 407 N. Louisiana.

Cape River Heritage Museum, 538 Independence, built 1909.

Hunze House, 312 Bellevue, built 1891.

Briney House, 25 N. Fountain, built around 1904-1906.

Judith Ann Crow House, 323 Themis, built 1821.

Whitelaw House, 423 Themis.

Huhn-Harrison House, 340 S. Lorimier.

D.A. Glenn House, 325 S. Spanish, built 1883.

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 131 S. Main, built 1853.

Col. George C. Thilenius House (Longview), 100 Longview, built 1871.

James Reynolds House, 623 N. Main, built 1857.

Old Hanover Lutheran Church, 2949 Perryville Road, built 1887.

George Boardman Clark House, 6 S. Fountain, built 1882.

Klostermann Block (Alliance Building), 7-15 S. Spanish, built 1905.