When I flew over the site of the old shoe factory in November of last year, the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau was an abstract idea. When I flew over it April 17, buildings had been knocked down, scores of trees had been turned into a mountain of mulch and land was being cleared.
This is the south end of the project. Main Street runs left to right at the bottom of the photo. Mill Street is in the middle, running East-West. The first three photos were taken from over the Mississippi River looking to the west.
Old Lorimier Cemetery is the wooded area with the white tombstones showing in the left center of the picture. Click on any image to make it larger.
Trees are all that remain of Washington School
This photo is bracketed by Mill Street on the left and Mason on the right. The half-street in the middle used to be Pearl Street.
A parking lot and a few trees are all that’s left of the old Washington School, located between Mill and Pearl Streets. Look for a blue-roofed building and white parking lot. The trees east of it are where the school used to be. It was razed by the university, not as part of the casino project.
Mill Street to Sloan Creek
Heavy rain and storms have turned Sloan Creek muddy. You can see the flood gates that can be closed, blocking rail traffic when the river is flooding.
Red Star looking South
Here’s a view of the Red Star District looking south toward the direction of the casino site. The concrete pad on the left is Red Star Access, what used to be called Honker’s Boat Dock.
Red Star, once a vibrant community with many residents employed at the shoe factory, suffered one too many floods in 1993. Most of the homes in the flooded area were bought out and only open space remains.
Shoe factory site November 2010
Here are two links to several earlier stories, including more information about this photo.
Guess that is the end of the old “Mule Lip” building.
Great pictures Ken.
I walked on the earth part of the levy area last week to see what they were doing down there, but it was hard to get the perspective as in your pics.
Note how well you can see the now completed “River Walk” that goes all the wall from down town to Sloan Creek before Honker’s. They still have a lot of landscaping to do but the concrete walk is complete and it is a beautiful view of the Mississippi. City hopes to tie the River Walk into the other walking trails you have reported on. That is an exciting prospect.
Brad
Great documentation of this major addition to our city. I have not heard of the ‘river walk’ in Brad Brune’s comment and am going to check it out. Wouldn’t it be great if our current bike/walking path that connects many of our parks could be linked to the river walk and the upcoming bike lanes?
Thanks for sharing these photos and please keep it up! So excited for this project!
As per usual Ken, your photos and commentary are perfection!!
I did vote for River Boat gambling in St. Louis County, as a chunk of money from that endeavor was to go to EDUCATION; well Education’s chunk ended up in the GENERAL REVENUE, or misc., fund. Too, not all the casinos are truly on the river, such as the “boat on the moat” mess.
I realize this casino will provide more employment for Cape and surrounding environs, which is great, but, a negative element comes along with legalizing gambling in this manner, such as more people in Bankruptcy Court.
I am patiently awaiting the terrific, best-seller Steinhoff book with photos!!
Sheila