#250: St. Louis County Courthouse

WOO-HOO! (in Homer Simpson mode) Cake #250!!! It still hasn't sunk in yet that I have now visited the first 250 cake locations. Unbelievable. I can't believe it. I've traveled far and away and close-together places, and here I am. But of course - this doesn't necessarily mean that I am done. At the moment there are 251 cakes, plus 2 that still need to be put out. The one that I missed, which likely will be #251, is Six Flags. I'll explain more about that in my future post.

So why did I choose the St. Louis County Courthouse as my grand milestone cake? Not very many reasons, but if you recall, this was one of my 'skipped' cakes. But not intentional. The other four cakes in Clayton were in my first ten. At the time all I had was the list on me and no app or map. I was mostly going by the city the cake was in, which is how I got those Clayton cakes. A few days later, when discovering the map...I noticed I pretty much walked by the cake location without noticing! So, needless to say, I was a bit bummed. Since May I have not any urge to go back to the hustle-and-bustle of Clayton. Well...until now. I'm still wondering why this has a St. Louis address when this is located in downtown Clayton.

Now....here are the facts about St. Louis County and its courthouse, as well as its adjacent Police Department.

• St. Louis County is the largest populated county in Missouri - just 2,000 short of 1 million!
• County seat is Clayton
• The county does NOT include the city of St. Louis, which is independent
• The St. Louis County Circuit Court was established in 1815.
• The city of St. Louis separated itself from the county in 1877.
• The St. Louis County Police Department (which is also by the cake) was created in 1955.
• And, for the record, the city of Clayton is named after Ralph Clayton, who donated land for this courthouse.

Another thing that might interest you - and surprise as well, the largest populated suburban cities in St. Louis County:

1. Florissant
2. Chesterfield
3. Wildwood
4. University City
5. Ballwin

Remember, if I were to include the entire 'caking' region, most of those cities would be knocked off the list and be replaced with O'Fallon (MO), St. Charles and Belleville.

Did you know...there is a St. Louis County in Minnesota?

The courthouse building

A dedication to Buzz Westfall

And....the cake, which is located in (kind of) a hidden area. It's got an American and St. Louis flag theme. Very fitting, I'll say. This happens to be one of Rich Brooks' many cakes. He was very thrilled that one of his was my 250th.

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Official website

7900 Carondelet Avenue, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63105  (it is actually located in downtown Clayton)
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

#179: Concordia Seminary

 I'm not gonna lie, this was a bit challenging to find, driving through Clayton. But I found it :) I will warn you, if you're taking the streets and not the road, you will be driving 10 mph on those watched streets. The cake is not hard to find though, once you get to the site. Just drive through the area and park in 'visitors' on the left, and it should be easy to see on the plaza.

• Concordia Seminary is the second oldest Lutheran seminary in the United States (the oldest is in Gettysburg, PA, dedicated in 1826). 
• Founded in 1839, it is celebrating its 175 anniversary in 2014.
• It was originally located in Perry County, MO (south of St. Louis), but was moved to St. Louis/Clayton in 1849.
• Offers an array of advanced master degree programs, such as the Master of Divinity.
• A statue of Martin Luther is located on the site, which is similar to the one in Worms, Germany.
• The radio station KFUO-AM 850 operates on the campus with religious programming.

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Top of the cake

Concordia Seminary on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

801 Seminary Place, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63105
Cake artist: Janice Schoultz Mudd

UPDATE (8/24/2016): The cake is still there.

#6: Shaw Park

I first visited this on my first cake-hunting day (May 3rd), and ironically, I returned at this location on my last cake-hunting trip (August 28th), right after I got the St. Louis County Courthouse cake (my 250th). I wasn't happy with some of my early cake pics, as with most of them (the first 50 or so) I took pictures while standing up and the cake would be at some weird angle that would show both the top and the front. They say when you do things for a long time, you build up. Then you regret some things you did and go back and change them and/or replace them. Some avid cake-hunters (who have reached 250+)  have already gone out and did some retakes. I plan on doing some, but depending on location. That is, if it isn't too far to go to.

Anyway, Shaw Park factoids:

• Established in 1935, it is the city of Clayton's oldest park
• It is also the largest park in Clayton, at 47.47 acres.
• The park was established by then-Clayton mayor Charles Shaw, who was given credit for leading Clayton through the Great Depression in the 1930s. (I don't know if he was any relation to Henry Shaw)
• Areas of the park include 10 tennis courts, 9 ball fields, 3 playgrounds and two sand volleyball courts. 
• Special places inside Shaw Park include the outdoor Aquatic Center, which has an Olympic-sized pool, an adult fitness area, and some gardens including the Century Garden.

The cake, as done by Rich Brooks. He definitely shed some light on the location on this one:

Top of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

There is also a Shaw Park up in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Official website through the city of Clayton's site

231 South Brentwood Blvd., CLAYTON, MO, 63105
Cake artist: Rich Brooks
Cake sponsored by: Town & Style

UPDATE (9/4/2016): The cake was sold at an auction from the Clayton Century Foundation, where the proceeds went to enhancing the city of Clayton. The auction ran throughout the month of February 2015, in which both the Shaw Park and Hanley House cakes were being bid on. It ended on February 27, and now both cakes are on private property.

#5: Centene Corporation

• Founded in 1984.
• Headquartered in Clayton.
• Serves as a leader in the healthcare industry.
• Operates in Missouri and 18 other states (which are shown on all sides of the cake).
• Owns the rights to Centene Stadium in Great Falls, MT

Wikipedia link 
Official website

7700 Forsyth Blvd, Clayton, MO, 63105
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

UPDATE (9/4/2016): This cake was nearly destroyed in early 2015, as it was discovered near a dumpster in Clayton. It was saved by Cakemeister Jon Sanfilippo and is now a Ghostbusters-themed cake. It has been displayed at some events around St. Louis, mostly comic and pop culture ones. Some parts of Rich's design are still visible, as Jon got Mr. Brooks' blessing.

#4: Historic Hanley House

• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
• Built by Martin Franklin Hanley in 1855
• The oldest building in Clayton.
• Presently surrounded by modern homes.

Website

7600 Westmoreland Avenue, Clayton, MO, 63105
Cake artist: Andy Cross

UPDATE (9/4/2016): The cake was sold at an auction from the Clayton Century Foundation, where the proceeds went to enhancing the city of Clayton. The auction ran throughout the month of February 2015, in which both the Shaw Park and Hanley House cakes were being bid on. It ended on February 27, and now both cakes are on private property.

#3: Famous Footwear/Brown Shoe Company

• Famous Footwear, founded in 1960 in Madison, WI, is a division of Brown Shoe Company.
• Brown Shoe Co. was originally named Bryan, Brown & Company before being changed to Brown Shoe Company in 1893. 
• Founded by George Warren Brown and Alvin Bryan
• The company also distributes Dr. Scholl's products as well as celebrity lines for Fergie and Carlos Santana. 
• Corporate headquarters located in Clayton.  

Back side of the cake (displayed at Corvid's Cafe)

Top of the cake (notice the Happy Birthday St. Louis)

The cake was sold in a private auction in May 2015 where the employees could bid on it first. A caker got this and now proudly displays it! (As of 5/27/2015 it is on display at Corvid's Cafe in South St. Louis).


Wikipedia link
Brown Shoe Company on Facebook
Official website

8300 Maryland Avenue, CLAYTON, MO, 63105
Cake artist: Jennifer Hayes  (she also decorated the Piasa Bird cake)

UPDATE (9/4/2016): The cake was auctioned to Famous Footwear employees in early 2015. The winner let us (the Cakelovers) display the cake at various places during 2015 and 2016. It is now on private property.