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 Theresa Hopkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theresa Hopkins. Show all posts
There's a lot of people who are extreme car enthusiasts - but unfortunately, I myself, am not one. To me, a car is a car! But I know everyone will disagree with me. I don't care if its a 1998 Ford Ranger or a 1957 Chevy.
At least 40 of the cars were from the late Fred Kemp, Sr.'s auto collection (they were all donated to the museum in 2004 after his passing).
Home of the rarest cars in the world, including the Mercedes Benz!
The oldest car in the museum dates back to 1886 (the car built by Karl Benz).
Most of the cars on display are hand-crafted luxury vehicles, but they tell the story about how they revolutionized transportation.
Special events are also held here, including retirement/corporate parties....even weddings!
Parking lot with banners
The Kemp Auto Museum facing Sachs Plaza
The cake, which fittingly, is the silverest!:
Left side of the cake
Back side of the cake
Right side of the cake
Top of the cake
UPDATE (6/4/2015): The Kemp Auto Museum announced its closing early in 2015, and the last day will be on June 7, 2015 after ten years. The cake is still there and the organization plans on keeping it.
It was constructed in 1902 by architect/engineer Charles Ledlic.
It was the first large electrical power plant to be erected by Union Electric (later became Ameren).
The building was intentionally placed near the Mississippi River.
Designated as a City Landmark in 1971.
Even though still in use, the building is currently not open to the public as of this writing.
Right side of the Ashley Street Power House building
Hey wait, that's my shadow! Dang it
Next to the building is the southern starting point for the Riverfront Trail. The trail is 11.8 miles long and it ends at the point of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Considered as an 'urban trail', there are many buildings it passes, plus wildlife is seen. The Riverfront Trail parallels the Mississippi River. One of the major stops on the trail is the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing.
Left side of the cake
Back side of the cake
Right side of the cake
Unfortunately at this time there is no official website for either the Riverfront Trail and the Ashley Street Power House.
Located at the corner of Biddle and Leonor K. Sullivan streets
Cake artist: Theresa Hopkins
It's hard to imagine at the corner of Olive and Boyle streets that a trendy area once existed. It is said that it was similar to the Delmar Loop, but I'll never know. In all honesty I wasn't that familiar with the whole 'Gaslight' neighborhood until now, even though I've heard bits and pieces about how legendary it was. In fact, it was for a short time. From the 1950s to the late-1960s Woodstock era, Gaslight was alive and well. All good things must have come to an end.
So what happened? Well, some fast-paced changes for that time. Remember, picture yourself in the city, post-World War II. Yes, we had the feelgood 50s, and the turbulent 60s. Let's leave out all the moments like the Civil Rights movement. If you wanted to see the latest 'up and coming' musician or comedian, this was the place to go. You can grab a beer, socialize, smoke it up, whatever. You could catch the Smothers Brothers and Jerry Stiller before they would go on to be famous. I've heard a story about a security guard having a long conversation with a young Barbra Streisand late at night, when she was a 'nobody'. Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band wrote in his autobiography about Gaslight, where he and his brother Duane performed as the 'Allman Joys'. Even local guy Miles Davis, during his peak, would perform here. But it all died a slow poison, as people faded. Crime was a major factor. There was the so-called 'white flight' and urban decay, as suburbs became more popular.
Today, most of the buildings are non-existent. If they do, they are without doubt showing signs of deterioration. Replacing most of them are upscale condos, which were built earlier this century.
And what's with the name? Gaslight? Because the streets at the time during its peak were all lit with them. It makes perfect sense that Laclede Gas was a sponsor of this cake since it was around during that time, and provided them with it.
A closer look at the 'triangle' that leads to part of the area
top of the cake
Seemingly in detail, this provides quite a comprehensive history for those who 'weren't there' (myself included) during that era. Who knew George Carlin (during his clean years) performed here?!
An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Gaslight Square
My final Illinois cake. Or so I think...that is, assuming that the remaining four cakes are in Missouri. As I write this, on July 15, 2014, there's 4 more cakes that are left to be put out. It's hard to imagine I covered the Illinois side of the 'Cakeway to the West'! I still got a ways to go, as I'm 7/10ths of the way done. I still haven't yet tackled the western Missouri side yet!
Again, by assumption, this was the last Illinois cake put out. This one happens to be in Macoupin County as it was believed that the stl250 team were searching for a location to put one in the big county. I'm not sure why they put it at Southwestern High School, but I can't say it's a bad idea either. I saw on some thread online that they were going to put it somewhere in Carlinville (the county seat), like at some courthouse or government building. I haven't been to Macoupin all that much, but there are several towns, and apparently stuff that is too good to miss.
When I was young, my church group camped at Beaver Dam Park. I'll never forget the time we went paddle boating in the lake and it rained! In fact, it rained so bad we had to go home. I know a lot of people from the southern Macoupin towns, such as Brighton, Bunker Hill and Staunton. I work with a lot of people from Staunton, since...well, there's nothing up there. A lot of people I know from Brighton were in the radio program with me at Lewis & Clark Community College. And yes, they all graduated from Southwestern.
So I was questioning about the whole cake placement thing at Southwestern. I'd say its unique for one reason: it's only a mile from the Jersey County border! Since the town calls itself Piasa, obviously after the Piasa Bird outside Alton, it makes sense to name their mascot The Piasa Birds. I never would have thought they would name their domain address after that too (?). This would make any Missourian's cake-hunting trip quite worth it as they can start in Alton, go the river road to Hardin, then take Route 16 to Jerseyville and end up here. Then go back down to Alton where they started. Just a tip :)
As a friend of mine from Brighton once said, "You can't say Brighton without 'right on'!"
Here are the cake sides, which fully represent Macoupin County and its towns:
The cake was at one time an 'indoor cake', but I believe because of high demand from cake-hunters that this was moved outside. The reason may have been because of the school being closed during the summer (when obviously not in session). Placed in the middle of the staircase, the cake was a bit hard for me to get my typical center shot, but this was better than nothing. Still, this was a thrill to stand in such an institution, which has some rich history.
Sumner High School was established in 1875, as the first high school for African-Americans west of the Mississippi River. It was one of two schools (other being Vashon) that was racially segregated in St. Louis. In 1928, Sumner moved to its current location. Today, classes are still in session...and last year's (2012-13) enrollment was 576 students. The school was named after abolitionist Charles Sumner.
The school boasts several famous alumni (see below).
Notable alumni listed on the cake:
On Bottom: William 'Pop'
Beckett, Lester Bowie, Alvin Cash, William Clay, Billy Davis, Jr.,
Robert Guillaume, Luther Bogan, Robert McFerrin (Sr.), Marshall Rogers,
R. Robinson, Jr., Wendell Pruitt, Oliver Lake, Julius Hunter, Lucye
Belue, Baikida Carroll and Harry Rogers
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
John Goodman often eats here whenever he's in town.
Jon Hamm showed America how to cut and eat Imo's Pizza on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
It is even said that Brett Hull decided to stay with the Blues in 1988 over an Imo's Pizza pie.
The most popular pizza chain to come out of St. Louis originated in the Tower Grove area in 1964. Started by Ed & Margie Imo, Ed worked as a tile cutter/setter by the day. On Friday nights, the Imos would wait until 11:30 at night to order pizza (for religious purposes) from restaurants at the Hill neighborhood. Then there was that one night a great idea struck upon the couple: why not have a pizza parlor deliver it to them?
The Imos decided to open a pizza place on Thurman Street, and the rest is history. Their first cash register was a fishing tackle box. Since the store was small, it was not a dine-in, but rather a carry-out/delivery place. Some sources point this to be the first pizza restaurant to do such thing (call-in, carry-out), but there is no real evidence or proof. Nonetheless, they have prospered into one of the most successful restaurants to come out of St. Louis. Imo's became a franchising company in 1985. As of this writing, I do not have the date of when the original location closed.
Imo's is also noted for utilizing a popular St. Louis food: provel cheese. Provel cheese is what gives the pizza its flavor, besides the cracker-like crust. It was first produced in Wisconsin (year unknown) by the Hoffman Cheese Company (now part of Kraft). However, there are many accounts as to who first used it and who gave it its name. Every Imo's franchise uses an average 25,000 pounds of provel a year.
Today, there are 92 Imo's locations (as of this writing), all in the Midwest. They are regularly defined as the originators of 'St. Louis Style Pizza', or at least iconic in that pizza genre. Of course, there are other St. Louis style pizza chains that are competing with them, most notably Cecil Whittaker's. It is also believed they are the first to cut the pizza in squares. Not true, according to Margie Imo (in an interview with Fox 2/KTVI last year): 'It's a St. Louis thing. But no, we were not the first...'
An episode of KETC Channel 9's Living St. Louis that focuses on the craft of St. Louis Style Pizza. Imo's is one of them featured.
UPDATE (8/30/2014): According to posters of the unofficial 'Cakeway to the West' FB group, there have been reports of vandalism on this cake. I've seen the pictures, and it looks like the wick and flame are gone (sad face), and the top is ruined. As of mid-November, the cake has been removed for repairs. It is supposed to make its return soon.
