This 115 room Hotel in MO closed in 1971
Marquette Hotel, Cape Girardeau Missouri

Designed to impress and attract visitors arriving via the newly constructed Cape Girardeau Bridge across the Mississippi River from Illinois, the Marquette Hotel served as the foundation for much of the social and business life in Cape Girardeau from its opening in 1928 into the 1960s. Construction was largely funded by local investors and from its inception, the Marquette Hotel played a central commercial role in the city.
The first hotel was built in Cape Girardeau in 1806 by William Ogle close to the present intersections of Themis and Main Streets. It was a modest single-story building, apparently in the form of a dog-trot log cabin. Simple structures such as this served Cape's lodging needs until the St. Charles Hotel, named after famous hotels in Europe, was built close to this site c. 1838. It offered some of the first luxury accommodations in Cape Girardeau. The Riverview Hotel came next, built in 1857 in the then-fashionable French Second Empire style. As with the St. Charles, it was meant to provide fine accommodations. It was located within a couple of blocks of the St. Charles, at the present intersection of Broadway and Water Streets.
During the nineteenth century, more modest hotels were constructed, including Hay's Hotel, built shortly before the Civil War at 111 and 113 Independence Street (later known as the Aquamsi Hotel), the Prescott House, or "Huhn's Place," built around 1870 at 34 North Main Street by Henry and Barbara Huhn Jr., who were German immigrants, and the Ellis Hotel, built c. 1850 at the corner of Lorimier and Broadway Streets.
The early twentieth century saw three more new hotels erected: in 1903, the Terminal Hotel, named for its proximate location to the railroad depot, at 123-127 Water Street; in 1905, the Idan-Ha Hotel, at 131 Fountain Street; and c. 1908, the Park Hotel, located at 209 Broadway.
In 1916, a massive fire, which started in the nearby Houck building, destroyed both the Riverview and Terminal Hotels. The burned hotels were never rebuilt. More than likely, this fire directly led to the construction of the Marquette Hotel in 1927-28 because of the shortage of better hotel rooms.
After World War II, the existing hotels in Cape Girardeau began to decline significantly, no doubt due to the increased building of motels in the expanding suburbs close to the new interstate freeways. With this decline, the hotels in downtown Cape Girardeau were allowed to fall into disrepair. The modest hotels were the first to be torn down in the 1950s: the Aquamsi Hotel, the Prescott House, and the Ellis Hotel. Then in the 1960s, the St. Charles Hotel was torn down, and the Park and Idan-Ha Hotels burned. This left the Marquette Hotel as the last standing hotel in the downtown area, and the oldest in Cape Girardeau.
The Cape Girardeau Hotel Company purchased the western 90 feet of lot 14 in range "E," located at the corner of Broadway and N. Fountain, from Jenni A. Wilson on July 29th, 1927, for the future hotel. At the time of the purchase, a two-story house stood on the lot and was demolished to make room for the hotel. Construction began in the late summer of 1927 and was completed in late fall 1928.
Construction of the Marquette was not without problems, nor was it without potential tragedies. On June 12th, 1928, a worker nearly lost his life. James Mathis, an employee of A. H. Gerhardt and Sons, the general contractor, fell 40 feet to the pavement. Miraculously, he escaped with minor injuries. During the winter of 1927-28, wet and heavy rains not only delayed the work, but also caused the freshly poured foundation of the Marquette to collapse making it necessary to pour a new one. Construction on the hotel was constantly delayed so that the intended opening of the Marquette did not happen concurrently with the Mississippi River bridge opening on September 3rd, 1928, as was originally intended. It was not until November 17th, 1928, that the Hotel Marquette could commemorate the hotel's opening with a "Grand Gala."
The grand opening of the Marquette was a gigantic social affair, with over 8,000 people attending the festivities. Thousands of people crowded Broadway Street in front of the hotel before the "Grand Opening" ever began. The attendance far exceeded anyone's expectations. Hotel staff greeted visitors dressed in "flashy Spanish costumes." Festivities began at eight o'clock in the evening and continued until midnight. Only a few hundred personal invitations were sent, but newspaper advertisements promoting the event prompted the community's attendance.
The local Louis K. Juden Post of the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps along with the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band paraded in full uniform down Broadway just before the scheduled 8:00 p.m. opening signaling commencement of the event. People were escorted into the lobby through the Fountain Street entrance and continued from there into the coffee shop. From there they proceeded into the kitchen followed by a tour of the dining halls and then back into the lobby. From this point, they rode the two elevators up to the third floor where they inspected the hotel rooms. They then descended down each floor, stopping at the mezzanine overlooking the lobby and viewed the only radio station in Cape Girardeau, KFVS (of the Hirsch Battery and Radio Company). Music for dancing, scheduled for 9 o'clock until midnight, was played by a local eight-piece orchestra named the "Collegians" in the Dining Halls. The hotel was officially open and overnight guests were welcome to be the very first guests of the new hotel. Ironically, the "first" guest at the hotel was Mr. Lewis First, a traveling salesman from Kansas City.
Distinguished guests attending the formal grand opening banquet and dance included Charles L. Harrison, President of the Cape Girardeau Hotel Co., who presided over the opening banquet; Rev. Charles H. Morton, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, who gave the invocation; Ralph E. Bailey, former Congressman and resident of Sikeston, was the principal speaker; Russell L. Dearmont, representing Mayor Barks; Peter Anderson of St. Louis, president of the Interstate Hotels Company; Herman Willdebrand of St. Charles, president of the St. Charles Hotel Co., that is also a piece of the Interstate chain; and Herbert Hahn of St. Louis, secretary of the Interstate Hotels Co. Out-of-town business guests included Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Manske; Mr. and Mrs. George F. Bartling and family, from St. Louis (representing the Manske and Bartling firm); J. N. Roth and Sain Plow both of St. Louis (representing Famous-Barr-the company that furnished the hotel); W. A. Packer, Phillip Zigenfus, Kenneth Funston, Hugh Gordon, businessmen from St. Louis; Howard Mitchell and his guests from Kansas City. Other important guests included Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Matthews of Sikeston, Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Stallcup of Sikeston, and Mr. and Mrs. John Himmelberger, Jr. of Morehouse, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Bergmann of Cape Girardeau and their daughter, Mrs. Dallas Evans of Flint, Michigan.
There are three conflicting accounts on exactly where the name "Marquette" came from for the hotel. The first and more probable explanation is that the name was chosen because of Father Jacques Marquette's contribution to exploring this area of the country. Specifically, he was the French explorer who helped Louis Jolliet record the outline of the banks of the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Arkansas. There is a replica of the Marquette family crest, designed by the architect that was placed on the facade of the hotel over the main doorway. The second interpretation focuses on the Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company stating the hotel was named after the cement company as a token of respect and friendship. During the hotel's construction, the Marquette Cement Co. showed great interest in Cape Girardeau and helped whenever needed in community endeavors. The final explication is that the hotel was named Marquette as a reflection of the spirit from the early Spanish settlers. Supposedly, the name was that of an early Spanish explorer who traveled the Mississippi River and visited the shores of Cape Girardeau when it was just a small village.
A unique feature of the Marquette was its rooftop gardens, which the public first saw in the spring of 1929. At the time, the roof of the Marquette was the highest point in the downtown area and offered a spectacular view of the river and surrounding countryside, and many people came to enjoy the sites.
On January 24th, 1936, William Berberich, the president of the Marquette Holding Company (previously known as the Marquette Hotel Company), announced plans to erect a 40-room addition to the Marquette. The five-story, $70,000 addition was to be located directly over the coffee shop. The original architect, Walter P. Manske, would design the addition. Construction began on March 1st, 1936, and was finished by October 8th, 1936. The design of the addition was an exact duplication of the original construction down to the original Spanish-styled ornamentation.
After the completion of the addition, the Marquette, unable to recover from the scars left from the depression, and despite attempts to rejuvenate business, was sold at a great loss to William Berberich, Sr., Mabel Berberich, and Robert F. Berberich (former board members of the Marquette Hotel/Holding Company who reorganized as the Berberich Company) on December 21st, 1936. The original $300,000 hotel was purchased for $92,950.
In 1951, with business having improved markedly, the main floor of the Marquette was renovated. The coffee shop and restaurant were extensively remodeled, and a lounge with a star-shaped bar was added. During this time, the heating and cooling system was updated with Carrier units.
In the 1960s, due to competition from motels along the new Interstate 55, the Berberich Company decided to sell the Marquette. On December 23rd, 1969, the Marquette changed hands once again at the price of $100,000 to Thad Bullock, whose wife, Ruby, is the current owner (as of October 2001). Mr. Bullock moved his family into the hotel and used the lobby as a piano/organ studio while continuing to run the hotel until the Board of Health closed it down on July 1st, 1971. The Bullocks lived in the Hotel until the mid-1970s, and the piano store continued operation until the late 1990s, when Thad Bullock died. Since then, the building has been vacant.
After it opened, the Marquette immediately became the central hub of social gatherings in the Cape Girardeau area and remained so until the 1960s. It also was one of the finest dining locations due to the excellent chefs employed through the years. It became the most popular place to hold banquets, weddings, receptions, and club meetings. KFVS radio, the first radio station in Cape Girardeau, broadcast from a glass wall booth on the mezzanine where the owner/operators interviewed local and visiting celebrities. During the early years when KFVS was the only radio station in Cape, the lobby stayed filled with people enjoying the live broadcasts. The Marquette also served as the meeting place for the Rotary Club and Lions Club until the 1960s. The Marquette had its share of celebrities visit including people like Eleanor Roosevelt and Alben Barkley, from Paducah, Kentucky, who served as a Vice-President under Franklin D. Roosevelt. Even Dwight David Eisenhower reserved a room while campaigning throughout the country, but unfortunately had to cancel.
From its inception, the Marquette Hotel has played an important, and sometimes central, role in the commerce of Cape Girardeau. It was created to help the economy of the city, and local businesses and private citizens paid for its construction. A large number of businesses participated in its construction, and many were eventually located in the hotel building itself: The building of the Marquette was even attributed with bringing a new railroad and factory to the city.
In 1926, community leaders recognized the need for a bridge across the Mississippi linking Cape Girardeau with the neighboring state of Illinois to bolster the local economy. At the time, there weren't any bridges crossing over the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, that would accommodate the usage of the automobile. Influential people in the community of Cape Girardeau, Missouri chose the location for this bridge, or link, connecting Missouri to Illinois.
In 1927, a group of Cape Girardeau businessmen launched a proposal for a grand new hotel to accommodate the anticipated increase in visitors via the new bridge. The Cape Girardeau Hotel Company was the result of this collaboration, and in June 1927, it made a public stock offering. The Marquette Hotel Company was represented by Charles Harrison, president; W. J. Kies, Vice-President; C. A. Vandivort, Secretary; and Alfred Harty, Treasurer. Members on the board of directors included J. A. Ridgon, F. A. Groves, and R. B. Dickenson (who was from Chicago Illinois-the only member not from Cape Girardeau). Half of the investment money came from Cape Girardeau while the remaining half came from outside the area. Both private citizens and business leaders purchased stock in the hotel. $160,000 in mortgage bonds, bearing 6% interest, were first issued for the construction of the hotel and were payable over the next twenty years. Then $100,000 in preferred and common stock was offered. Almost $60,000 of this $100,000 was purchased in Cape Girardeau and the rest was sold to local connections outside the immediate community. The Preferred stocks yielded 6% cumulative interest and were sold for $100 per share. The Interstate Hotels, Inc., of St. Louis, on a fifteen-year lease agreement, which would supply sufficient proceeds to cover interstate charges and bond debts.
A large number of regional businesses contributed to the building of the Marquette including the Marquette Cement Company (Cape Girardeau), T. L. Gerlach (weather-stripping expert from Cape Girardeau), P. T. Langan Lumber Co. (Cairo, IL), Fichler Heating Co., (St. Louis), Southeast Missouri Lumber Co. (Cape Girardeau), La Salle Iron Works (St. Louis), Pollack Brothers Plumbing and Heating (Cape Girardeau), and Waldheim-Platt & Co., Inc. Investment Securities (St. Louis).
The Marquette Hotel is well known as the third location of KFVS, the first radio station in Cape Girardeau. The first location was at the Hirsch House, located at 318 S. Frederick St., where Oscar Hirsch made his first broadcast on July 25th, 1925. Between 1925 and 1928, Mr. Hirsch relocated his radio station to a battery store located at 318 S. Frederick St. From here he broadcast using a 50-watt transmitter. KFVS then moved to the second floor of the Marquette Hotel, where it began broadcasting on the opening day of the Marquette on November 18th, 1928. The second floor housed a glass wall booth looking out upon the mezzanine where the owner and radio operators interviewed local and visiting celebrities. During the early radio years of Cape Girardeau when KFVS was the only radio station in Cape, the mezzanine stayed filled with people enjoying the live broadcasts.
Many businesses occupied the Marquette during its history. When it opened, it included Mr. Cherry and his son's floral business, Dormeyer's Drug Store, and Chester Kassel's photographic studio. Later on, a beauty shop was located in the building. The Marquette was also given credit for motivating the location and building of the Missouri Pacific Railroad to Cape Girardeau and the arrival of a new factory (not identified by name).
Building Description
The Marquette Hotel, located at 338 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style from 1927-1928. It is six stories high, includes a full basement, and has 115 guest rooms. It is constructed of reinforced concrete and brick with a flat concrete slab roof. The building is distinguished by its Spanish-style towers found at the southwest, southeast, and northeast corners. The first story of the main building is rectangular in shape and measures 82' 10" x 137' 11"; from this rises five additional stories in the shape of an "L" if viewed from overhead. The north wing of this "L," starting from the southwest corner of the building, projects northward, and fronts Fountain Street. The east wing projects eastward from the same starting point, and fronts Broadway Street. The east wing was original to the building, while the north wing was added in 1936, adding 40 more rooms to the original 75. The northeast portion of the building remains only one story high and contains a kitchen and restaurant. The sides of the building facing Broadway and Fountain Streets have ornate, Spanish/Moorish-style designs executed in terra-cotta tiles. The north and east backsides of the building appear purely functional with none of the highly decorative Spanish-inspired design elements that profusely cover the facade and west elevation. Attached to the north end of the building is a 82' x 90' one-story garage, built immediately after the hotel opened in 1928, for the use of customers. From the north side of the garage to the north edge of the property is an asphalt parking lot that is historically part of the hotel. The buildings immediately around the Marquette were mostly built in the first three decades of the 20th century. However, a small skyscraper has been built (c. 1965) about a half block to the east. Directly across from the Marquette is the Federal Building, a New Formalism-inspired building built c. 1965.
The facade and west elevation were designed to impress the public and contain most of the exterior ornamentation on the building, consisting of buff-colored, wire-cut brick in a running bond and terra-cotta tiles. The facade and west elevation are almost completely original to the 1928 construction date and the 1936 addition date.
Twin Spanish-style towers, approximately sixteen feet square, and of identical design, flank each side of the facade. The towers extend approximately nine feet above the level of the roof and have hipped terra-cotta tile roofs with double Romanesque arched openings separated by Moorish-style spiral columns. A wrought iron balconet (false balcony) is in front of each double-arched opening. Each of the four corners of each tower has quoins of glazed terra-cotta. The apex of these corners has a rope design extending from the bottom of each tower's roof to the top of the belt course. Along the roofline, between the towers, is a railing constructed of glazed terra-cotta tiles framing an infill of unglazed terra-cotta tiles with the appearance of hollow fish scales. Approximately every six feet across the railing is a pylon about one and a half feet tall, also of glazed terra-cotta. The whole top of the building above the last belt course of white brick is faced with a repeating raised brick design in the shape of diamonds.
The top three floors, sandwiched between the top two white brick belt courses, are faced with running bond brick. All the windows in this section, except for the middle six (arranged two across and four high), are triple metal casement windows with a total of 30 individual panes of glass. The middle six windows are of the same metal casement design, but only have two parts to them and consist of 20 individual panes of glass.
Directly beneath the second belt course from the top is a five-foot high section that is defined on the bottom by an ornate cornice (described below). There are eight windows across in this section, and all are of the same 30-pane metal casement window design, except for two in the middle that are of the 20-paned metal casement design. At the bottom of the windows is an ornate cornice with a repeating acanthus leaf design decorating the top curved portion followed by a row of dentils. In the center of the building on top of the cornice is the Marquette family crest embellished with elaborately detailed terra-cotta tiles.
The bottom third of the building (defined as the section between the ornate cornice and the ground) projects approximately six inches from the top portion of the building. The windows on the second floor repeat the exact same pattern of windows found above; eight windows in total, with a pair of 20-paned metal casement windows in the middle, and the rest being 30 paned units. The middle portion of this section (approximately twenty feet across) projects an additional foot from the rest of the facade and is faced in brick raised to create a diamond design similar to the top portion of the building. On the top of these windows are blind arches decorated with bas-relief floral/plant designs. On either side of the two 20-paned metal casement windows are intricately detailed oval frames surrounding protruding hooks that hold the chains for the front hotel awning. Above this awning is another crest with the initials H. M. for Hotel Marquette. The awning, about eighteen feet wide and projecting ten feet from the facade, is a later addition from the nineteen-fifties. It has broken neon tubing spelling out the name "Hotel Marquette." Beneath this awning are two full glass doors, which were added in the 1950s, and flanked by sidelights, now boarded-up.
On the west side of the bottom floor of the building is a square wood paneled opening with a door on the left side that dates from the 1950s. Next to this opening is another opening that is slightly larger and looks like a large window boarded over. On top of both openings is a flattened arch with a keystone in the middle. The right opening is boarded over; however, the opening next to it has the original divided pane glass (approximately 4" x 4" panes). The arches above the openings are framed in ornate glazed terra-cotta tile. The same square opening design, topped with a flattened arch is also evident on the right-hand side of the building. However, both openings have been completely boarded over. On the bottom of the building, at ground level, is a row of glazed terra-cotta tiles.
The west elevation, facing Fountain Street, repeats many of the same architectural elements as the facade, with some variations in window size and spacing. The first thirty-five feet of west elevation measuring from the left comprise the 1936 addition to the Hotel. The design of the addition was identical to the rest of the building and was executed using the same materials. Because of the eight-year gap in construction, the bricks used to face the addition are a slightly lighter color than the rest of the facade and clearly delineate the addition.
Terra-cotta bases cover the foundation between the brick and the sidewalk. The top of the terra-cotta base is capped by narrow, glazed terra-cotta narrow trim. The windowpanes sit on green marble, separating them from the sidewalk, which is visible only under three windows.
The back half of the Marquette Hotel is entirely unornamented as opposed to the rich decoration that is found on the facade and west elevation; instead, the back of the building is entirely functional in appearance. The structure of the building is clearly evident from the exposed piers and spandrels of reinforced concrete with brick in a Flemish bond used to fill the interstices. Each vertical pier is approximately 1.5 to 2 feet wide and each horizontal spandrel is approximately 1.5 to 2 feet tall. These pier/spandrels create a grid, with cells approximately 12 feet wide by 10 feet high that covers the entire back (north) side of the building. Visually, the appearance is similar to the Chicago School early skyscraper style of the early part of the 20th Century.
The north elevation of the north wing is divided into a grid of three cells horizontally, and six cells vertically with 20-paned casement windows positioned in various places within the cells. The bottom two floors have windows that are replaced with fans and other ventilation devices (this is the side of the building where the kitchen and coffee shop are located).
The east-facing elevation of the building found furthest west is divided into four cells horizontally, and four cells vertically. In the middle of this elevation, the roof drops about 1.5 feet going left to right at the point where the 1936 addition was built. Most of the casement windows found on this elevation consist of 30 individual panes of glass each. The roof of the restaurant/dining area is easily visible from this side of the building and consists of a large amount of metal ductwork and mechanical equipment used for ventilation and heating/air conditioning.
The north elevation of the building consisting of the back wall of the east wing is divided into four cells horizontally, and four cells vertically. A Spanish tower rises approximately 20 feet from the top of the northeast side of this elevation. At the top of the tower is a belt line made of white bricks or terra-cotta material. Above this is a Romanesque-style arch that is repeated on all four sides of the tower. The hipped roof of the tower is pitched very low and covered with terra-cotta tiles.
The first sixteen feet, horizontally, of the elevation found furthest east has the same kind of buff-colored wire-cut brick in a stretcher bond that the facade and west elevation do (the sides facing Broadway and Fountain Street). This section also projects thirteen inches further than the rest of the elevation laid in the plainer brick found on the rest of the back of the building. Quoins, executed in white brick or stone, occur where this elevation meets the facade in a corner and where the buff-colored brick changes into red brick. The center section of this elevation has a series of four doors ascending the side of the building, corresponding to landings on the exterior metal fire escape. A large Spanish tower, 15 feet square, is located at the southeast corner of the building and continues past the roofline. The top of the tower has two Romanesque arches placed next to each other separated by a Moorish style spiral column. At the bottom of these openings is a wrought iron balconet. The four corners of the tower have a more minimal version of the quoins found lower on the building. The corner of the upper part of the tower also has a stylized Moorish rope design extending from approximately 3 feet below the roofline to the top of the tower. The hipped roof of the tower is low-pitched and covered in terra-cotta tiles.
The roof of the east wing has a rectangular one-story high brick structure built on top of it. There is an entrance door on the south side of this structure and the hipped roof is low-pitched and covered with terra-cotta tiles. When the building was constructed, this structure on the roof was intended to allow access to the roof garden. Nothing visible remains of the roof garden, and the original cement of the roof has been covered with tar.
The garage is approximately 82 feet wide by 90 feet deep, positioned directly north of the hotel, and is one story high. 30 feet of the southeasternmost part of the garage is attached to the hotel, thereby creating a small blind alley approximately 10 feet wide between the two buildings. The garage continues the same design motifs found on the main building. The building is symmetrical in design and materials with the main facade facing west (Fountain Street). The three remaining elevations of the garage are covered in the same red brick as the backside of the main hotel building; these are laid in a Flemish bond. As with the main building, the garage appears to be of reinforced concrete construction with a flat roof.
Starting from the left side of the main facade, there is a divided pane window with metal mullions; there are 20 individual panes of glass, and the window does not appear to open. Next to the window is a series of three identical openings that are very similar to the window openings found on the ground floor of the main building. The shape is that of a rectangle topped by a flattened arch. These openings appear to have been the original garage door openings; however, today they are entirely boarded over. Next to the garage door openings is a divided pane window of identical design to the one on the north side of the facade.
The north side of the garage building is partially buried beneath the ground and it is faced with red bricks in Flemish bond. The east side of the garage directly abuts the neighboring building on the next property, and the south side of the garage directly abuts the north side of the Marquette Hotel building along its southeast edge.
The Marquette has 115 guest rooms. When it was originally constructed in 1928, it had 75 rooms. 40 rooms were added in the 1936 addition. Of these, 97 have full baths and 18 have sinks only and share eight bathrooms. The size of each guest room varies between 9 feet, six inches by 15 feet to 19 feet by 18 feet. All guest rooms are on floors three through six. There is a large lobby with a mezzanine, coffee shop, kitchen, restaurant/dining area, lounge, and former barbershop/music parlor on the ground floor. There is also a full basement that was used for storage, staff, and mechanical systems.
The most architecturally significant portion of the interior of the building is the hotel's lobby. Although it was remodeled in 1951, many original details from the 1928 construction remain. These include ornate floor and wall tiles, stenciling, and light fixtures.
Upon entering the lobby from the Fountain Street entrance, the spaciousness of the room is immediately apparent. It is approximately 40 feet wide by 50 feet deep. The ceilings are over twenty feet high. The middle of the lobby has a series of three square columns, front to back. Around the entire perimeter of the room, and around the base of the columns are original glazed tiles going up the wall forming a tile wainscoting. These tiles have an ornate, colorful floral design. The entire floor of the room is also covered in original glazed tiles in a similar design. The ceiling of the lobby has a series of original false beams covering it. Although the ceiling was repainted in 1951, original floral stencilings from the 1920s show through peeling paint. All of the walls in the lobby are covered in rough Spanish-style stucco, which appears original. Some sections of stucco have fallen due to water damage.
The structural portions of the main building and garage are made of reinforced concrete. The roofs of these sections are also made of reinforced concrete. The walls of the restaurant/kitchen area are constructed of load-bearing brick, while the roof is wood frame. All plumbing and electrical systems in the building are routed through special channels built through the concrete (no systems are embedded in the concrete).
Of special note is the method used in constructing non-load-bearing walls inside the main building. These walls are built from gypsum blocks that superficially resemble compressed cinder blocks. Gypsum is the same material used for sheetrock and wallboard, but instead of sandwiching the gypsum between paper, it was formed into blocks approximately twelve inches wide by four inches deep and then marked with the words "gypsum." Electrical and plumbing was routed through channels cut into the soft gypsum and then plaster was applied directly over the blocks.

Main facade elevation, looking north (2001)

Facade and west elevation, looking the southwest corner (2001)

Detail of bottom of window arch (2001)

Detail of facade (windows over the marquee) (2001)

North elevation of garage and parking lot (2001)

North and east elevations (2001)

East and west elevations (2001)

Garage facade (2001)

Room on second floor (2001)
