PANEL: PRESERVE SEMINARY HISTORY

The east facade of old St. Vincent's Seminary should be preserved. So should an old handball court and an ancient beech tree that grace the property overlooking the Mississippi River.

Those are just some of the preliminary recommendations of members of a Southeast Missouri State University committee that is considering what items of architectural or historic significance should be preserved in conjunction with efforts to redevelop the former seminary into the university's River Campus.

The site would house the School of Visual and Performing Arts.

Committee members said the beech tree on the grounds has been recognized as the largest of its kind in Missouri. They said it predates the seminary, which was built in 1843.

The brick, handball court dates back to the 1870s. Some of the bricks have come loose. Committee members said it needs repair.

History professor Dr. Frank Nickell chairs the committee. Nickell, who directs the university's Center for Regional History, said the handball court could rate as among the oldest in the nation.

"There are an awful lot of bricks that have names, initials and dates carved on them," Nickell said.

The committee has found several bricks with the years 1876 and 1877 carved in them. One brick carries the year 1871.

Committee members also suggested relocating a section of Aquamsi Street to allow for development of a public, green space along the river. The seminary grounds extend all the way to the river.

Even if Aquamsi were closed to traffic, a pedestrian bridge would have to be built over the railroad tracks to reach the river, committee members said.

Committee member and Cape Girardeau City Councilman Tom Neumeyer suggested a section of the old Mississippi River bridge bordering the River Campus be developed as a scenic overlook. But Nickell said the university doesn't have any control over the bridge, which is expected to be torn down once the new river bridge is built.

Southeast wants to spend $35.6 million to develop the River Campus. Cape Girardeau voters will be asked Nov. 3 to approve an increase in the hotel-motel tax from 3 percent to 4 percent and extend it from 2004 to 2030 to help fund the project. In addition, voters will be asked to extend but not increase the city's restaurant tax from 2004 to 2030.

The two tax measures, if approved, would raise $8.9 million to help fund the project. The university is raising $8.9 million through private gifts and donations, and university officials will ask the Missouri Legislature to appropriate $17.8 million for the project.

Plans include construction of about 115,000 square feet of new space.

An artist's rendering initially suggested that a new, modern-looking building could be added on the east end of the seminary facing the river. But five members of the committee who toured the site Monday said they don't want any new construction to overshadow the river side of the seminary, whose oldest brick building dates to 1843.

They suggested an addition could extend from the north end of the brick building and then proceed west in an L-shape that would provide an inner courtyard fenced in by the old buildings on one side and the new construction on the other.

Besides Nickell and Neumeyer, the committee of university and community representatives includes Brian Driscoll, president of the city's Historic Preservation Commission; Dr. Jenny Strayer, University Museum director; university benefactor B.W. Harrison whose financial gift allowed the university to buy the property; preservation enthusiast Diana Steele-Bryant; downtown merchant Charles Hutson; retired history professor Dr. Art Mattingly; anthropology professor Dr. Carol Morrow and history professor Dr. Steve Hoffman.

The committee, which was established by Nickell at the request of university president Dr. Dale Nitzschke, hopes to make its final recommendations in November.

Committee members said they understand that they won't have the last word on what should be saved at the seminary site. But Hoffman said there should be no negotiations when it comes to preserving the east side of the main seminary building. "You don't deal at all on the east," he said.

Committee members also want to see the side of the L-shaped seminary building, which looks out toward Morgan Oak, preserved as part of an inner courtyard.

Committee members said a granite grotto, built in 1954, likely will be removed, along with a swimming pool and some trees on the property.

Nickell said the seminary site has far more trees on it today than it did more than a century ago. "In the 19th century, cutting down trees was a sign of progress," he said.

Former seminary student Nicholas Maniscalco spotted the committee members as he was visiting the grounds.

Maniscalco, who is president of a credit union at the U.S. Naval Air Station in New Orleans, La., spent two years in the Cape Girardeau seminary in the 1950s. He told committee members he may retire to Cape Girardeau in a few years.

Maniscalco said he and other seminary students helped build the grotto. He said he would be willing to dismantle the grotto and reassemble it at another location if the university won't preserve it.

Committee members suggested the grotto granite could be reused as a wall in a park-like setting along the river or as part of an outdoor amphitheater in the future.