In celebration of the city of St. Louis's 250th birthday this year (2014), there was a special cake. Times that by 250, that is!
Called 'Cakeway to the West', 250+ cakes have been placed all over the St. Louis area, including the Metro East. Places that have cakes include historical landmarks, parks, museums, popular restaurants, as well as government places. These are just a few examples as the places represented St. Louis in a memorable way.
Showing posts with label living st. louis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living st. louis. Show all posts
Not too far from the cake at Lafayette Park is the plaza itself. This cake is notable for being the 250th cake put out. Several cake-hunters I know who have been doing this since the beginning claimed this as their 'milestone' cake.
The cake, which has a unique food theme, and centers on St. Louis goodies! The hamburger and hot dog, by the way, are rumored to be introduced at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, but there have been no legitimate claims, as they were served at special occasions years before they became popularized at the Fair. Same goes for iced tea, which I believe is supposed to be on the left side, also has been rumored to be first served at the Fair. It has since been proven untrue.:
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Lafayette Square
One of St. Louis' most iconic hotels was built in 1922.
The Park Plaza was added two years later. The buildings were not merged until 1947.
Of the combined two buildings, it is 28 stories high.
Besides the hotel, there are restaurants, bars and a movie theater. Also, at the top, guests can take in spectacular views of Forest Park as well as downtown.
Several well-known figures have performed and stayed here, such as some members of the 'Rat Pack' and the Rolling Stones. Every U.S. President from the 1920s to the 1980s have visited here as well.
In 1956, the Chase Park Plaza Hotel hosted the Miss America contest.
Professional wrestling matches were often held here in the 1960s and 1970s
Closed temporarily in 1989 to the mid-90s
Named as one of the 'Historic Hotels of America'
The cinema part of the building
Left side of the cake
Back side of the cake
Right side of the cake
An episode of KETC Channel 9's Living St. Louis, which focuses on Chase Park Plaza
It wasn't brought to my attention until recently that St. Louis was the new home of the World Chess Hall of Fame. Hey, I knew we had the National Bowling Hall of Fame, but now this. I guess I'd have to say this is quite a thrill and should be for St. Louisans. Let it be known that I am not a chess player and unfortunately I have never taken the time to learn the legendary game (or sport?). Maybe sometime down the road.......
As I was cake-hunting on foot at good ol' Central West End, I did stumble in here, looking for the cake. I didn't realize it was actually across the street at the Chess Center! But I did hang out in the Hall of Fame Museum for quite a bit. Spent most of the time in the gift shop talking to these two guys who worked there. I've never met that many people who were happy with their job. Period. These people were so enthused to tell me so much about chess and the Hall of Fame. They pretty much answered a lot of my questions.
The WCHOF was originally in Miami for several years, but for reasons unexplained, the organization decided to move. In the mid-to-late 2000s, they were scouting for a new location. This means overseas as well, as chess is without doubt, more popular all over the globe. Of all places, St. Louis looked to be a great candidate, possibly because the Chess Center on Central West End was highly acclaimed. And like that, was history. The WCHOF opened in St. Louis in 2011, and hopefully it will be there for years to come.
Since that time, many internationally-known chess players have visited St. Louis. By that term, I mean people who are only known in the chess world. Maybe not Bobby Fischer (who passed away in 2008), but many people who have won chess tournaments and championships all over the world. It's a totally different world, I must say. But in a good way :)
The museum is worth checking out, and it is FREE.
St. Louis is also home to the World's Largest Chess Piece (standing at 14'7")!
Front part of the building
Description of the World's Largest Chess Piece
An enlarged chess board too!
And now, the Chess Center, which is located across the street (and where the cake is at!):
Frontal view of the building from across the street. It was a bit hard to get, mostly because of the trees and cars parked...but, better than nothing I guess
The sign
Through the Chess Club window, you can actually view games live as well as live interactive ones. How flipping cool is that? (Well, if you're a chess freak that is...)
Not gonna lie: the place seemed really chill. Just people doing their thing. College students reading, and people of all ages playing chess outside. There were a few chess tables outside the building. I wanted to take a picture, but I didn't want to come off as rude/annoying. Again, this was a part of St. Louis I had not seen up until that time. People having fun and not disturbing others. And loving it.
Back side of the cake
Left side of the cake
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to the Chess Club
I stopped by here on the Fourth of July, as I was headed to Fair St. Louis. Regretfully I didn't go in (hey, it was closed that day!). However, I do hope to make it back sometime soon. The place is not hard to find if you get off the Memorial Ave. exit off of I-55/70 as there are signs that point how to get here.
In college (at SIUE), I was a History minor. I took a couple black history in America courses, and in one of them we talked a lot about Katherine Dunham. Dunham, by the way, is the namesake of SIUE's Dunham Hall, which hosts the music, theatre and communications departments. In my opinion, history hasn't been that kind as she has gone underlooked. Dunham should be known for the way she revolutionized the dance culture, and how she went out of her way and opened doors for several people. Ever heard of Eartha Kitt and Alvin Ailey? Without Dunham, they probably would not have gained notice in the entertainment world.
For the record, Dunham was not really from East St. Louis, or from the St. Louis area. In fact, she didn't come here until her 50s! She was originally from the Chicago area, but she did move around. She did open up the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York City and operated it for several years. While in East St. Louis, she collaborated with people from numerous professions to create a liberal arts program at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (or SIUE).
What? There's bars on the door?
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Katherine Dunham
One of the most interesting parts of cake-hunting is standing in spots that were grand (or in a better sense of terminology, popular, alive, etc.). There I was at the Boys & Girls Club, off of Grand Avenue, just outside the busy part of the city. But then I thought, well...this was once a busy part of the city too! I was setting foot on what used to be Sportsman's Park 60 years ago.
As much as I hate to say it but it is often easy to forget that St. Louis had 2 Major League baseball teams at one time. First, you have of course...the Cardinals. Then you also have the St. Louis Browns, which played in the city for more than 50 years. Hard to believe if you think about that deeply enough! During the first half of the 20th century, St. Louis was still in the Top 10 largest cities in America, so it wasn't unusual for a large city like ours to have two teams. (Today, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City are the 3 biggest US cities and each have 2 MLB teams)
Another thing worth mentioning that is easy to forget: the Browns and the Cardinals played against each other in the 1944 World Series. Even more interesting enough, this was the only WS that was played entirely in one stadium, which was Sportsman's Park. You gotta remember though: in 1944 America was fighting in World War II, so some baseball players were not able to play. Some sports critics even called this World Series a 'fluke'. It had its moments though.
So what happened? Like why aren't the Browns with us no more? Well, technically the Browns do exist...but in a different city. They are now the Baltimore Orioles. Short version of the story: the Browns, in reality, were an underperforming team, only going as far as the 1944 American League pennant. Attendance was rapidly going down in the early 1950s, while the booming Cardinals were on fire. 1953 would be the last season the Browns would play in St. Louis, but there have been talks for the longest time to put the team in Baltimore. To this day, the Orioles have pretty much distanced themselves from their past incarnation.
The St. Louis Browns have quite an interesting history. For a detailed version of it, check out their Wikipedia page.
Sportsman's Park had been the home of both St. Louis teams for a long time. The Browns were the tenants, starting in 1902 up to their demise, while the Cardinals moved here in 1920. The Cards would play here in 1966, until their big move to Busch Memorial Stadium that year. It was on May 8, 1966 that a helicopter did a ceremonial move of the home plate from the old to the new stadium. The grandstand would be torn down later that year.
The Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club is now the home of the former ballpark. The ball field still exists; however, it is used for different purposes for all kinds of sports. You'll see a great tribute to both places in the cake pictures below:
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Sportsman's Park
Located in 'The Ville' neighborhood in St. Louis, the Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center serves as an orphanage.
Annie Malone, born in 1869, was one of the first African-American female entrepreneurs. She rose from poverty in Southern Illinois (she grew up in Metropolis, IL) to building an empire for her hair-care products. The business proved to be revolutionary, with sales of her products as well as Malone's marketing techniques. Malone was a multi-millionaire by the 1920s, but by that time she was donating her wealth to different African-American organizations and programs that helped people of that race.
It was in 1922 that she helped the St. Louis Colored Orphans Home build a facility which stands in the Ville, which also carries her name (along with the street it is on). In 1888 the St. Louis COH was first organized, as a non-profit organization. It was and still is a way for neglected, abused and street-wise kids to be provided with education and certain programs. Malone later had to deal with personal and business issues the last 30 years of her life, while moving to Chicago's south side. She passed away in 1957 at age 87.
The place is also known as 'The Annie Malone Mansion'.
Left side of the cake
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Annie Malone
Not many people know that there was an independent village just north of St. Louis, simply known as North St. Louis. Established in 1816, this was to separate itself from the busy part of the city at that time. It was annexed into the city of St. Louis in 1841. Its status went from village to neighborhood.
The north St. Louis neighborhood was a densely populated area for quite some time. History, at the moment, does not record the period of time, but the area suffered for several decades as people moved out of the area and businesses and buildings were becoming deteriorated. Crime was happening. Things got so bad that in 1977, the business district was in redevelopment but all it did was 'welcome crime'. Needless to say it was a failed project.
It wasn't until 1981 that a group of people from that neighborhood banded together to form the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. They would re-build each other's homes while cleaning up the area at the same time. The group continued to move forward by giving the Crown Square, the area just across from Crown Candy Kitchen, a complete facelift. After several years, the experiment worked and the pedestrian mall opened in 2010. This would only be the beginning of several current and future redevelopments in the area that brought us its classic red-brick buildings and its award-winning community gardens.
Here are some of the 'dummies' (or whatever you prefer to call them) that I believe are to help re-live the past of North St. Louis:
Right side of the cake
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Old North
