Broadway Archives

January 6, 2018January 13, 2018

2017 Holiday Decorations

Yeah, I KNOW Christmas and New Year’s have passed, but if stores can stock Valentine’s Day candy and Easter bunnies before the first week of 2018 is over, then I can stretch the Happy Holidays a bit in the other direction. Main Street was spiffed up a little this year. Here’s how Main and Broadway looked from high over the city at Fort A. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Some folks were in short sleeves

I figured I should have the bridge in at least one shot, so here it is. I was a little chilly up on the hill, but I saw several brave souls wandering around in short sleeves.

From Common Pleas Courthouse

The color balance is a bit funky, but here’s what downtown looked like from the steps of the Common Pleas Courthouse.

Looking to the north

This was taken from the south Main Street parking lot, almost in front of Hutson’s Furniture. The building on the left would have been the old Woolworth’s building.

South from Middle Main

This was taken at the block north of Themis (see the ugly clock), looking to the south.

Buckner-Ragsdale

This is a familiar icon for anybody who bought a pair of jeans that came with a Tuf-Nut knife.

November 13, 2015March 1, 2022

The Night Belongs to Me

I like roaming the streets at night. Maybe part of it is that I don’t like to get up early. Even most of my bicycle riding was done as the sun was going down and later. The streets were quieter. People weren’t in as much of a hurry. It was fun cruising through neighborhoods chatting with people walking their dogs, pushing baby strollers or rolling their garbage cans to the curb.

If you saw a flickering light in a darkened room, you knew the residents were watching TV; if the light was steady, they were on their computer. If their windows were open, you could smell their dinners cooking, and maybe even guess what part of the country or world they were from by those fragrances.

After I dropped off my late-night meeting or sports photos at The Missourian (so I wouldn’t have to get up early in the morning to do it), I’d roam up and down the streets and alleys listening to police calls, talking to the night watchmen or just enjoying a city asleep. The cops all knew my car, so they never stopped me to see if I was up to something.

View from Fort A

The view from what had once been Civil War Fort A at the end of Bellvue is arguably the prettiest view of Cape Girardeau. I wish I had been there 15 minutes earlier so the barge would have shown up better in the reflections of lights on the river. Of course, had I been there 15 minutes earlier, the boat would have been below the bridge, and it wouldn’t have mattered what the light level was. As it turned out, I had to wait about five minutes for it to get where it is here.

KFVS antenna farm

Coming down the hill from Bellvue on North Lorimier from Fort A, my eye was drawn to the KFVS tower and the antenna farm behind it. I drove past, wondering if it was worth a shot. When I saw the crescent moon over the Marquette Hotel. I circled the block and was lucky enough to find a parking spot just about where I needed to shoot. (You can click on the photos to make them larger, by the way.)

A car pulled in across the street just about the time I got out of mine. The driver must have wondered what I was up to, because I could sense he was watching me. Finally, when I opened the door to get back into my van, he got out and walked across the street. I didn’t stick around to see if he went into KFVS or walked down the hill to what used to be the the N’Orleans, the brick building on the left.

The antenna on the right is a twin to the iconic one on the last hill on Highway 61 coming into Cape from Jackson.

April 22, 2014

Broadway Art

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 17, 2014

Damsels in Distress

The July 7, 1966, Missourian reported that one of the most damaging storms in several years passed through Cape Girardeau in three main sweeps Wednesday afternoon. Several blocks near Broadway and Caruthers and Independence and Pacific became flooded, power lines were downed and trees uprooted.

These Good Samaritans are helping some damsels in distress in front of the Cape Girardeau Surgical Group at 1912 Broadway. Click on the photo to make it large enough to identify the players.

Swimming pool with traffic lights

These guys are blasting through water nearly deep enough to submerge the car’s Confederate flag license tag on Broadway in front of Broadway Plaza.

Earlier in the day, children splashed in the water while the traffic signal kept flashing red, yellow and green, but no traffic was passing. One kid was quoted in the paper as saying, “This is the first time I’ve ever been in a pool with traffic lights in it.”

When I called Mother Monday night, she said most of the snow is off the yard, but it’s so full of water that it’s “squishy.” Once we get past the ice and snow stage, the next news from the Midwest will be tornadoes and floods.