Broadway Archives

April 21, 2023

Tinsley’s Ghost Sign

Several months ago, I parked on Broadway to take some photos of the old Broadway Theater after it was damaged by fire.

When I walked back to the car, I saw something that looked vaguely familiar.

When I got home, I looked in the City Directory for the street address, and confirmed that the sign marked where Hirsch-Tinsley Appliance Co. (later just Tinsley Appliance Center) was located.

It’s funny how the ghost of a sign can bring back memories.

We might have bought TV there

The Zenith television in the corner of this Christmas 1966 photo might very well have been bought at Hirsch-Tinsley.

Kermit Tinsley

Mr. Tinsley died in 1979. Here is a copy of his obituary that ran in The Missourian on February 21, 1979.

April 22, 2014

I didn’t make it to the fancy opening of the 2014 Cape Girardeau Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on April 6, but I did notice some strange figures lurking along Broadway on a recent drive. Monday night had a light rain falling, so I decided to cruise down Broadway to see if the nice glistening streets would give a different look to the seven sculptures placed along the street.

This one was located on the north side of Broadway, in front of KZIM radio and across the street from The Missourian. It took quite awhile for the right car to come down the street to make the work shine. I parked my car in the driveway of the old Federal Building so my headlights brighten up the front of the radio studio. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Between Sprigg and Frederick

I didn’t take notes, but this feels like the south side of the street between Frederick and Sprigg looking west.

Between Fountain and Middle

This piece is in front of the Sun & Tan Tanning Salon between Middle and Fountain. I parked my van in what would have been the old Rialto Theater alley and let my headlights illuminate this one.

In front of Annie Laurie’s Antiques

This spooky guy is in front of Annie Laurie’s Antiques and across from Shivelbine’s Music just east of Frederick.

Missed three of the seven

Cruising in the dark and rain, I missed seeing three of the seven. The Missourian listed the following locations for them:

The north side of Broadway between Fountain and Lorimier streets
The south side of Broadway between Lorimier and Spanish streets
The north side of Broadway at the Pacific Street intersection
The south side of Broadway between Sprigg and Frederick streets
The south side of Broadway between Middle and Fountain streets
The north side of Broadway at the Frederick Street intersection
The south side of Broadway at the Vasterling Suites courtyard

Is it art?

The Missourian’s comment section was full of people grousing about the sculptures. Some questioned if they were art or junk.

I’ll leave that for the experts. I remember one of my photo profs at Ohio University looking at some pictures a student turned in. “These have to be art,” he said, “’cause if they ain’t art, then they’re pornography, and pornography is against the law.”

February 1, 2014

Blechle’s Grocery

This corner, just east of Park Avenue on Broadway, looks quite a bit different today. Turn to Google’s Street View to see a recent photo. On March 11, 1967, the buildings on the right housed Blechle’s Grocery (that’s the way it’s listed in the City Directory. Since it’s adjacent to the SEMO campus, the sign emphasized liquors, though).

The the two buildings on the right have been spiffed up. What used to be the Broadway Coin Wash is now a boutique. What used to be the grocery is an empty storefront in the Google photo.

Things that are gone

There are some things in the picture you won’t see today

The brick building around the curve used to be Werner’s Super Market. The university knocked down the market and most of the houses in the area.
A newspaper rack in front of the grocery.
A sign for a public telephone over the fuzzy guy’s head on the right.

The 1968 City Directory said Ruth Froemsdorf lived at 1231A Broadway, which would have put her above the coin wash. Another section, with more detail confirmed that she she was the third grade teacher at Trinity Lutheran School.

Aerial of the area

This November 2010 aerial shows Broadway from just west of Park Avenue and Capaha Park on the left to Sprigg Street on the right. You can see what it looked like in 1966 here.

Click on the photos to make them larger.

January 5, 2014

Kage House

I never knew the brick two-story building at 120 Broadway even had a name. I took a photo of it in 2010, but it was an afterthought, rather than a target. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Last summer, I wandered down Broadway to shoot the empty lot where the former First National Bank sat and discovered the American Queen riverboat was docked on the riverfront.

While I was trying to compose a photo that incorporated both the boat and the parking lot, I heard a voice from On High. I was pretty sure it wasn’t coming from the former General Baptist Church up the hill, so I looked over my shoulder.

Kage House is short-term rental property

The voice came from some nice folks from Texas who had rented the top floor of the Kage House for a brief stay in Cape. They invited me to shoot from the deck attached to the back of the building. I didn’t go inside, but they said it was very comfortable.

That’s when I learned the property has been converted to a short term rental property with rates cheaper than a lot of Interstate hotels with a lot less ambiance.

House on Downtown Home and Garden Tour

From a May 7, 2012, Missourian story quoting Keith Diebold:

When was your home built?

Sometime between 1860 and 1870

How long have you lived there?

In 2008 several of my friends were visiting Dave Hutson and noticed a “for sale” sign on the building at 120 Broadway. As a kid driving with my parents on Broadway to shop on Main Street, I was always intrigued by two buildings, the second being what I later found out was named the Kage House. A short time later my family and I took procession of the latter of the two. We do not live in the house but use the apartment on the second level as a place to stay when we visit. We also do short-term rentals to out-of-town guests.

What attracted you to the house?

I considered it to be a diamond in the rough, and after a few years now it is slowly starting to sparkle. It has not only been a fun hobby for the last three years renovating the building (my wife keeps telling me to find a less expensive hobby) but also has given me a chance to connect with some old friends and have made some great new friends in the process.

What is an interesting feature of the house?

The land was once owned by Louis Lorimier, who in turn passed it down to his daughter. At a later date it was sold for 300 gallons of whiskey. This is for sure one of the most intriguing features of the house as well as the methods in which the building was constructed. Living in Europe for 10 years and spending a great deal of time in New Orleans had given us a chance to see many buildings that were hundreds of years old that are still standing tall and will still be there in hundreds more. The Kage House, I am sure, will be one of those still standing long after I am gone, as it possesses some of those same quality traits of construction, built with only brick, stone, timber and steel.

Category: Broadway