Got a damp spot in your yard? I do and I often wonder if it is a spring. Perhaps it’s a historic site. There’s a spring now marked in an fairly obscure spot at Providence Road and Mick Deaver Drive and it’s mentioned in a 1991 article by Frances Pike of the Columbia Daily Tribune….
Author: diannaobrien
History blogger. Writer. Traveler. Curiosity drives me. I share what I learn at CoMoHistoricPlaces.com. My newest book, Historic Movie Theaters of Columbia, came out in October 2021. My 2017 book, From Melon Fields to Moon Rocks highlighted the life of Columbia resident Charles W. Gehrke, 1917-2009, a scientist and entrepreneur who founded ABC Labs, now Eurofins.
The history behind The Blue Note building
Yes, you’ve heard right: Richard King is selling The Blue Note at 17 N. Ninth St. But this former “movie palace,” won’t be going the way of other movie venues in downtown Columbia, Missouri. These two articles, “Richard King sells The Blue Note, Mojo’s,” and “Richard King passes torch, sells The Blue Note, Mojo’s.” The…
It’s a park, it’s an airport, it’s a Stephens training location
All history can become hidden, but it is sometimes it seems especially true for women’s history. This Stephens College blog post article spotlights a sign that was discovered during a demolition of an old building at Cosmo Park that revealed a bit of women’s history that probably has been nearly forgotten. The post outlines the…
Hear the historic piano of John William “Blind” Boone
Just the way a historic home can make the personality of a historic person come to life, so can the instrument of a long-gone musician. On June 12, 2014, the Boone County Historic Society is hosting a night of music with some selections played on the famous Chickering Grand piano, the piano made famous by…
Historic homes + facts = amazing stories
I love historic homes because inside of them — inside every home — is a story. No need to add color, make anything up, each house offers a tale worth telling. The aptly named “Fairy-tale” house at 121 West Blvd., North is no exception. But until last year, the story got one big fact wrong….
Skyscrapers, preservation and development
Can preservationists learn to love skyscrapers? Sure. Because it’s not the height, the location or how old a build is that matters — it’s quality and how the building will serve people. In this article in the New York Times, “Sure, Build it in My Backyard,” the website of Nikolai Fedak is highlighted. The name…
See history yourself and save a historic road
On Sunday, May 2 p.m., a public forum on a stretch of the historic road, the Boone’s Lick, will take place. The meeting will be in the Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Church at 2600 N. Locust Grove Church Road. So why plan on attending this event and what does it have to do with…
Tips on making the past present
It is so easy for the past to slip away, a building gets a new tenant, a new use or a new name and bingo! The past is gone. But in Cape Girardeau, Lindsey Lotz, a Southeast Missouri State University, has created posters to bring history into the present for four downtown buildings. The buildings…
Gawkers: Opportunity knocks
‘Tis the season — for home and garden tours. Each day, my inbox is flooded with releases about historic homes, via my Goggle alerts. Now, it’s filled with announcements for tours and it gives me an opportunity to bemoan Columbia’s lack of annual historic home tours. Sure, we have the Kitchens in Bloom, a tour…
Four surprising ways to peek inside historic homes
Getting a look inside a historic home can be a challenge. Few of us are willing to knock on someone’s door and ask for a quick tour. But these four ways can give you a genteel way to see inside historic homes. But these are only four ways to look inside a historic home. How…
Explore CoMo History 