#254: Columbia Bottom Conservation Area

It's a sad feeling, and a happy one at the same time. As I write this post on October 25th, today was the celebration of the final stl250 cake placement. About 100 people showed up for the unveiling of the Columbia Bottom cake, not far from the Visitors Center. Several cake-hunters and enthusiasts, the media, Erin B., and the artist (Rich Brooks) attended the event. I didn't get to go, so it was quite a bummer (video may come on here soon! stay tuned...). After getting off work, I did arrive about 3 hours late from when it started. Still, it's the first (and last) time that I visited a cake the day it was placed. But from what I hear, it was a very cool gathering for everyone.

I thought it was even cooler that they put it in at least one of the confluence parks in the northern part of the St. Louis area. To me it would either have been between Columbia Bottom and the Edward & Pat Jones Confluence Park. (I actually visited the latter two days ago and I must say, it was very nice and peaceful) It's great to pay tribute to one of the things that made St. Louis what it is, and that's the meeting of two major rivers in the United States.

Alright, now...here are the facts about Columbia Bottom:

• The land was purchased in 1997 to create an urban conservation area. It is 4,256 acres.
• The land includes a 110-acre island, and about 800 acres of bottomless forest.
• A village/town once existed on the land, called Columbia, which later became St. Vrain. Probably due to obvious reasons (that it was on a flood plain), the town was no more by 1870.
• One of the missions of the Missouri Department of Conservation (which manages the area) is to help restore the habitat and scenery which matched the voyage of Lewis & Clark.
• Several activities can be done by the visitors. Hiking, fishing, horseback riding (seasonal) and bird watching are just a few to name. 
• Many trails can be accessed in this area, and several markers contain information about either history and/or the habitats that venture on the land.

The sign off the road

Visitors center

Just a look inside the Visitors Center

A map of the place (and the cake in the background!)

And did I mention you can access the confluence point between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers?! It is about a few miles from the Visitors Center, but the seemingly long drive to the point is worth looking into. After all, it is one of the very few places in the US where two major rivers meet. I took several pictures of the place, and I wish I can post them all. But here's 3 you may enjoy:

Across from the viewing area is the Edward & Pat Jones Confluence Point State Park

This is an amazing pic of where the Missouri River visibly flows into the Mississippi. If you look very closely you can see the Confluence Tower (on the other side of the river(s)).

The cake sides, which fittingly, feature a Fall theme:

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Top of the cake (that is Nancy Raymond in the background, in case you're wondering!)

Columbia Bottom Conservation Area on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website (through the Missouri Department of Conservation website)

NOW: Auctioned off for $505 from biddingforgood.com. On private property.

801 Strodtman Rd, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63138  (it is close to Spanish Lake)
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

#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

#241: Youthbridge Community Foundation

• The Youthbridge Foundation goes all the way back to 1877.
• It was called at that time, the German General Protestant Orphan's Home.
• The non-profit charitable group focuses mainly on 1)nonprofit sustainability, 2) transfer of wealth, 3) community support, and 4) leadership
• In 2005, it partnered with Washington University. Together, they started and funded Havenhouse, which is located at Youthbridge.
• In 2013, Youthbridge provided more than $1,000,000 to St. Louis youth/children's charities.

Youthbridge building

This was one of the (If I remember correctly) last 3 cakes put out. The cake, which was decorated by multi-cake artist Rich Brooks in front of a live audience at the Soulard Arts Center. This one has handprints from many fellow cake hunters:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake with handprints of those who were there when Rich Brooks painted the cake live

YouthBridge Community Foundation on FB
Official website

12685 Olive Blvd., ST. LOUIS, MO, 63141
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

#231: Maritz

It seems difficult to analyze what Maritz LLC specializes in. So I may just go a little into the history...

• Started in 1894 by Edward Maritz as the E. Maritz Jewelry Manufacturing Company, which would be the first to sell wristwatches. 
• It also specialized in selling engraved and imported jewelry from around the world.
• After the company's near-failure resulting from the 1929 stock market crash, the group re-vamped itself by focusing on employee reward programs for companies, in addition to their jewelry.
• In the coming decades, the company expanded greatly by adding travel programs and marketing research companies.
• Today, Maritz claims to be the world's largest source of performance improvement, travel and market research services.
• The world corporate headquarters consists of 174 acres, which spreads across both sides of I-44.

The cake, which is one of four cakes with the Route 66 theme (one of two painted by Rich Brooks). Maritz is located off of old Route 66 (or I-44). Get your kicks!!!

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Top of the cake

According to the stl250 website, Maritz is a generous sponsor of stl250.

Maritz on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

1400 South Highway Drive, FENTON, MO, 63099
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

#223: Meramec Caverns

Ah yes...the HOLY GRAIL of them all! At least to me, that is. This was the farthest away of all the cakes from me. Actually, I'm probably speaking for most Illinois cake-hunters. While all Missourians complain about going to Carlyle and Greenville, we Illinoisans have to drive all the way to the caverns, so there!

Some facts about the caverns:

• The caverns are believed to have existed for over 400 million years.
• In the 1950s and 60s, movies and TV shows were shot in the caves, most notably Lassie.
• Legend has it that outlaw Jesse James and his gang hid here during the 1870s. No evidence is shown...yet
• Kate Smith once sang inside the 'theater' part of the caves
• In 1935, Meramec Caverns was opened by Lester Dill, who discovered the current 4.6 miles of caves that were found.
• The most visited cave in the state of Missouri, with 150,000 visitors yearly

Here's the greetings sign:

It was well worth the nearly 80 mile drive from where I live. 

Here's a little look inside the caverns:

Neon sign, located at the entrance to the cave

This is a shot of a Lassie photo, near the place where the Lassie TV series was filmed

This was taken inside their 'theater area'

And, since I drove this far (again, the farthest for any cake), I actually hugged the darn thing! Then I took a moment to recognize what it stood for. This is a cake that represents Route 66 (one of two Route 66-themed cakes painted by Rich Brooks).

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

NOW: The cake was removed in January 2015. Its whereabouts are unknown at the moment.

Wikipedia link
Official website

1135 Route W, SULLIVAN, MO, 63079
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

#147: Saint Louis Art Museum

 'Dedicated to Art and Free to All'

Here's a place that you most likely went on a field trip with your high school or grade school Art class: The Saint Louis Art Museum! It is one of the few free art museums in America, not bad for one of the most historically important!

What I mean is this:

• Originally built as the Fine Arts Palace for the 1904 World's Fair.
• It was designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert, who is also responsible for the old St. Louis Public Library and the United States Capitol building!
• The Saint Louis Art Museum started in 1881 and was housed in a building in downtown St. Louis.
• There have been numerous extensions and improvements over the years, including an auditorium in the 1950s.
• Museum holds collections of works of art from just about every culture and time period.
• Its special exhibitions are free as well.

Art museum (along with Art Hill) by day

Art museum by night

The famous King Louis IX of France statue is located right in front of the museum. At one time, it was considered 'the city's icon'....years before the Gateway Arch came along! It is still an iconic treasure though, and definitely worth the photo opportunity.

Statue of  The Apotheosis of Saint Louis, or King Louis IX of France, the city's namesake

Front of the Art Museum

The cake, as designed by Rich Brooks. This has sort of an art museum theme, along with the cake's sponsor, Southwest Airlines:

Top of the cake

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Saint Louis Art Museum on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

1 Fine Arts Dr., ST. LOUIS, MO, 63110
Cake artist: Rich Brooks
Cake sponsored by Southwest Airlines

The cake is now on private property.