The former Marquette Hotel originally opened in 1928 and was the focal point between St. Louis and Memphis for hospitality.  The Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture, the ornate painted terra cotta, and the exotic tiles make the inside and outside appearance remarkable.  The original hotel had 75 rooms with a carriage house for vehicles and 40 more rooms were added in 1936.  The hotel was the social center of the region into the 1960’s.

The Hotel closed in 1971 and was mostly vacant until condemned by the City of Cape Girardeau.  Vaughn X. Prost, developer and builder, purchased the property in 2002 with a vision to restore the historic hotel into a mixed use commercial development of class “A” offices, restaurant, and banquet facility.  Prost Builders of Jefferson City, Missouri, the design builder, completed the historic restoration, renovation, and addition.  Governor Bob Holden dedicated the facility on September 8, 2004 noting the public-private partnership which was necessary for the project success.

Today the exterior and the lobby greatly resemble the original look of the opening in 1928.  Most of the interior areas have been converted into office space for the State of Missouri.  The first floor commercial areas were converted into an upscale restaurant and bar.

The original metal windows have been restored.  Modern insulated windows were added inside the metal window to give the building environmental efficiency.
A seventh floor was added to above the sixth floor roof which incorporates the original corner towers and is offset from the edge of the building which leaves a wide patio for observation of downtown Cape Girardeau and the Mississippi River.

When restoration began the building had fallen into great disrepair.  The sixth floor had heavy water damage.  When it rained it rained all the way into the basement.  The structural integrity remained in tack so the renovation had a strong base to start from.

Surprisingly, it was named after the owner of the Marquette Concrete Company, who was prominent in its construction, and not the French Explorer.

The Marquette Hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Prost Builders, Inc. received the 2006 Preserve Missouri Award from the Missouri Alliance for Historical Preservation for its preservation of the Marquette Hotel.  The Marquette Hotel was the first building to be taken off of the Missouri Top Ten List of Endangered Buildings

In 2005, Prost Builders Inc. received the first Old Town Cape Preservation of Heritage Award for the Marquette Towers Project for extraordinary achievement in preservation.  This award exemplifies the effect Prost Builders Inc. has had on many Missouri downtown areas by leading the renovation of these often blighted areas and thus the saving of many historic downtowns.