FOR THE LOVE OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS

Shirrell scraped paint around the window of her home that overlooks the Mississippi River next to the bridge on Morgan Oak Street The home was built in 1889 by a New Orleans riverboat captain.

For some house shoppers, there is one reason for choosing an older home.

Historic preservation may result, but often the motivation is love.

"They're beautiful," summed up Lynette Shirrell. She and her husband Cliff are owners of a home built in 1889 as a summer residence by a New Orleans riverboat captain. It rests on a Cape Girardeau bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

"I love to sit in a chaise lounge right by a window and read and glance out a window, read and watch the riverboats come by," Lynette Shirrell said. Fifty-five windows in her three-story, Mansard-style home offer ample fodder for reverie.

With May 14-20 designated National Historic Preservation Week, several local organizations are encouraging all to take a closer look at buildings with histories. In many older homes and other aging buildings, there is much to be learned and much to be appreciated, historic preservations say. In addition, historic sites can play significant roles in boosting tourism numbers.

"We certainly believe Cape Girardeau is rich in history. We have many, many different architectural styles which need to be preserved," said John Schneider, chairman of the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission. "Just go up and down the length of Lorimier Street, for example, there are at least 20 houses that have architectural significance," he said.

Area homes are not alone in striking design, said Bonnie Stepenoff, incoming coordinator of the historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University. "Cape Girardeau is fortunate that it has a very nice downtown with lots of historical buildings left in it," she said.

Shirrell, the incoming president of the Historical Society of Greater Cape Girardeau, is a real estate broker/salesman with Century 21 Key Realty. She is seeing signs that increasing numbers of people looking to buy homes are weighing the pluses offered by both new and older homes. Home shoppers used to typically require encouragement to look at older homes, she said. "Now, they're asking to see them."

As are a growing number of local families, the Shirrells are renovating their historic home. It is a time-consuming process that requires a good amount of patience and time, those involved in such projects say.

"It took over a year before we moved in and since then there have been many, many projects," said Emily Mellies of the Cape Girardeau home she and her husband, Steve, have restored. They reside in an 1894 modified Queen Anne.

Despite the effort involved, sticking with the project is satisfying, she said. "You do feel a sense of gratification when you finish."

The Glenn House, 325 S. Spanish St., in Cape Girardeau and the Oliver House, 224 E. Adams in Jackson are two former residences that local historical organizations offer for public tours during specified hours.

Like private owners of historic homes, both organizations, the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau and the Jackson Heritage Association, work continuously to keep the properties in good repair.

Renovation is under way of an upstairs storage room in the Oliver House. Historical photographs of Jackson will be displayed there, said Dorothy Palisch, association president.

Eight Cape Girardeau sites are recognized by the National Historic Register and three other city sites have received Local Historic Landmark designation. Several other National Historic Register sites are in Cape Girardeau county and neighboring counties.

"The city has a local preservation ordinance which was passed in February 1990. Under that ordinance is the section that deals with local landmarks, and these local landmarks must meet criteria similar to the national register of historic places," said Schneider.

Typically, within the city of Cape Girardeau, individual ordinances are required for each site that is named a local landmark. However, the commission is contemplating requesting local landmark designation for the National Historic Register sites within the city of Cape Girardeau in a single ordinance, he said.

Brenda Schloss, recording secretary for the commission, said Local Historic Landmark designation is varied in types of sites that may qualify. "It could be a home, a structure, an historical site, an architectural site, an event could have happened there," she said. "We could also designate districts." More information can be obtained by contacting the Cape Girardeau Planning Service.

The commission has compiled a handy reference tool for persons wanting to research old buildings or conduct genealogical research. Called "A Procedural Handbook for Historic Buildings," the publication is expected to be available this month.

LOCAL LANDMARKS

National Historic Register sites in Cape Girardeau

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

Oliver-Leming House, 740 North St., built 1898

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

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

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

Hanover Lutheran Church, 2949 Perryville Rd., built 1887

George B. Clark House, 6 S. Fountain St., built 1881

Klostermann Block/Alliance Building, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 S. Spanish St., built 1905