#247: Grant's Farm

Now here's a place I haven't been to since my childhood days in the 80s. It was great to be back. Sure, there are a lot of things I didn't remember and obviously some things had to have changed since 1988.

Grant's Farm, is without doubt, one of the most notable places for families to get together and have fun. I wish I can say this is very travel and tourist-friendly, only because there are no signs off the interstate that point how to get here. Not everyone owns a GPS, you know! Another positive and negative: + it is free, - everything else costs an arm and a leg. You can pay for parking just right in front of the place or you can walk the trail and park somewhere close for free. Either way, its 'grant'ed a great time for anyone, regardless of age.

The entrance from the parking lot

Entrance to the Tier Garden at Grant's Farm

But just think, you can see several, I mean several, different animals you probably won't see anywhere else in America. You'll be able to see them out in the 'wilderness' all over the farm via tram. At the end of the tram ride, just walk around and enjoy nature and the animals. Or just head straight toward the Tier Garden. If you are 21 and over and drink alcohol, you can get 2 free samples of selected Anheuser-Busch brand of beer. It's a great social setting, with old German music playing in the background. Or if you're up for some history, check out some Anheuser-Busch memorablia in the rooms. And, of course, the cake is located here too!

You'll also get a lot of history. Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States, once farmed here in the 1850s before his Civil War days. His hand-built home is featured here, along with the Busch family mansion. (The land was purchased by the Busch family in later years). It was finally opened to the public in 1954, making this year (2014) its 61st year in operations.

Most of you know I am not an animal person, but I thought I'd share some pics I took during the tram tour

The bald eagle was not part of the tram tour, but right when you get off, you'll see them

The cake, which sits high in the tier garden. I was unable to get the top part, in which hopefully I wasn't missing out on anything!:  (Please note: in order to get this cake, you have to take the tram all the way around to the Tier Garden. In other words, allow yourself plenty of time. Likely 35-45 minutes average, from the time you get out of your car to here.)

Right side of the cake

Right and back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Grant's Farm on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

10501 Gravois Rd., ST. LOUIS, MO, 63123   (it is actually located in Grantwood Village)
Cake artists: Ian Greenlee and Julie Krovicka

#151: World's Largest Catsup Bottle

Claims to be the 'largest catsup bottle' in the world. Unless there's some little known place in, say, Germany, Russia or some small place in Pennsylvania, then the city of Collinsville can claim the bragging rights.

I'm amazed that not a lot of St. Louisans (well, the Missourians) knew about this gem. Most of you know I have lived in Glen Carbon all my life and for us Glen-Ed people who travel down Hwy. 159 to go to Fairview Heights, this was a no-miss. Over the years it was like the tiles on the wall, it was just there. But the bottle has been getting lots of attention lately. I remember 3 years ago I logged onto MSN to check my e-mail and there was a picture of the catsup bottle on MSN's homepage. I was like, 'Wha....?'. As you are leaving downtown Collinsville on Hwy. 159, you'll see it creeping up in the trees.

• Constructed in 1949 as a water tower for the now-defunct Brooks Catsup Company. Brooks Foods would later re-locate to Mount Summit, Indiana in the late -1970s. 
• As the bottle faded within time, several volunteers gathered to raise money and restore the bottle in 1995. 
• The 'new' bottle is modeled after an original 1949 Brooks Catsup bottle.
• Nearly 170 feet tall; the bottle itself is 70 ft. 
• The city of Collinsville has been hosting its own 'Catsup Bottle Festival' every year since 1997 (first year was known as 'Catsup Bottle Appreciation Day'), at different places.

The cake, which has (sort-of) a Route 66 theme, but the logo is not seen on here. I've heard people say this cake spotlights all the special places and landmarks that once graced that highway:

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

From the bottom of the tower

*UPDATE*  7/22/2014
-Apparently the Catsup Bottle is up for sale. This happens two weeks after the Catsup Bottle festivities. It's yours for 500 grand. (source: Riverfront Times)

World's Largest Catsup Bottle on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

800 S. Morrison Ave., COLLINSVILLE, IL, 62234
Cake artist: Julie Krovicka

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

#139: Anheuser-Busch Brewery

Where do I start here? For real. I guess I can say this is one of St. Louis' beloved icons. There are many things that come to mind when outsiders talk about St. Louis: the baseball, the way we talk, and the brewery. Anheuser-Busch that is! Sure, there are other brew cities, most notably Milwaukee. But since the brands that Anheuser-Busch own continue to thrive, it is the most popular of them all. And its right here in south St. Louis!

Before I talk about the history behind the legendary brewery, I'll first get into what Anheuser-Busch owns, and what the company and the family have owned in the past:
1. Budweiser
2. Busch
3. Michelob
4. Shock Top
5. Rolling Rock
6. Land Shark
7. Natural

There are several spin-offs from the brands mentioned above. For a more detailed list, check out the Wikipedia page for brands owned by Anheuser-Busch.

The 'Busch' name and the brand commonly pop up around the city, sometimes if they are sponsored something, or if they owned it. Either way, it's always nice to know what one empire can do. For instance, Busch Stadium. Or outside of St. Louis, Busch Gardens in Florida. There is a building at SLU named for Busch, and in the zoo, as for other parts of St. Louis.

It started out as a modest place called Bavarian Brewery, which started near the Carondelet area (now South Broadway). Bavarian Brewery was started by German-American brewer George Schneider in 1852. Nearly a decade later, the brewery faced financial issues as it was sold to various people. By 1860, it was sold to William D'Oench and Eberhard Anheuser. D'Oench would sell his share in 1869 after being a silent partner. It would go to Adolphus Busch, who married Anheuser's daughter, and worked for the company and became its secretary. The company was named the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879. After Anheuser's death in 1880, Busch took over the company and began to market it to the fullest. Busch was the first American brewer to use pasteurization in order to keep the liquor fresh. He also utilized most of the technology at that time, including the bottling and refrigeration process.

Numerous events and changes have taken place from that time. During Prohibition (the 1920s to the Great Depression), the company, while dealing with a blow, began to sell non-alcoholic beverages. One of them is known as Bevo. The biggest change to date would happen in 2008, when Anheuser-Busch was sold to a Belgian-Brazilian brewing company called InBev (short for Belgian company Interbrew and Brazilian company Ambev, which merged in 2004). Much to the dismay of just about everyone in St. Louis, including its employees, fans, even Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, the merger happened and the St. Louis company became the North American branch for the newly-named Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Still, the Anheuser-Busch name continues to be iconic, and it still gives St. Louis the rightful name as a 'brew city'.

A view of the Anheuser-Busch brewery from Compton Hill water tower

And now......the cake! What one would expect, has Anheuser-Busch all over it. In such a great celebratory way, that is. Ian Greenlee and Julie Krovicka had the right idea.

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Top of the cake

The cake sold for $1,505 (highest bid for a cake through the biddingforgood.com auction!). According to Julie Krovicka (one of the artists), the men driving the beer truck on the cake was an inside joke, as the guy on the right is supposed to be a depiction of her husband, which was painted by her son Ian!

Anheuser-Busch on FB
Anheuser-Busch Wikipedia link
Official website

1200 Lynch Street, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63118
Cake artists: Ian Greenlee and Julie Krovicka