Sad News - City Museum Founder Found Dead

[jrkstl]

St. Louis City Museum founder Bob Cassilly was found dead this morning.

 

Details

 

City Museum founder Bob Cassilly was found dead in a bulldozer Monday morning at a property in far north St. Louis that he was transforming into his latest attraction.

 

The area is known as Cementland, Cassilly's newest playground at the old Missouri Portland Cement Co., at Riverview Drive and Scranton Avenue.

 

"City Museum is saddened by the loss of our founder and inspiration, Robert Cassilly," the museum said on its website.

 

Mayor Francis Slay posted on his Twitter feed: "The City has lost some of its wonder. RIP Bob Cassilly."

 

St. Louis Police Department spokeswoman Katie O'Sullivan confirmed that one man had died at the site, but O'Sullivan did not release the victim's name. The death was reported to police at about 8 a.m. Monday.

 

Co-workers found Cassilly, 61, dead inside the bulldozer's cabin, which was enclosed by a metal grate. The bulldozer was upright.

 

Homicide detectives with the St. Louis Police Department arrived on the scene as a matter of protocol, and not because police found anything suspicious.

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration also sent investigators to the scene because it is a workplace fatality.

 

Cementland is located along Riverview Drive near the Mississippi River. Cassilly had been working on the site for more than a decade. Cementland, which was running far behind its scheduled opening of 2010, was supposed to be an attraction featuring a castle, man-made mountains, elevated paths, pools and a river with tunnels for rowboats and inner tubes.

 

A visionary and an entrepreneur, Cassilly created dozens of public art sculptures across the region, including Turtle Park. He salvaged St. Louis' forgotten architectural treasures and redeveloped the International Shoe Building.

 

The City Museum, which he opened with his then-wife Gail Cassilly in 1997, was an instant hit among St. Louisans and tourists who loved its whimsical artifacts, art and activities. Today, visitors ride of the museum's rooftop Ferris wheel and scamper across MontroCity, the museum's outdoor playground.

 

But Cassilly's management style was just as unconventional as his artwork. He often worked without permits, and the museum was the subject of more than 25 personal injury cases over the years.

 

On Monday afternoon, employees of the City Museum gathered outside the building to talk and console each other.

 

"Right now, we're at a loss," said Rick Erwin, the museum director.

 

The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. It is unknown yet what the museum's schedule will be the rest of the week. But, Erwin said, there is no doubt that City Museum will continue, along with Cassily's many other projects. As recently as Friday, Cassily and Erwin talked about a list of new projects that Cassily hoped to accomplish in the coming months. Cassily had a staff of about 20 artisans who worked for him.

 

Erwin said he was not surprised that Cassily was out working on Cementland.

 

"If it's sunny, Bob's working," Erwin said.

 

Alderman Dionne Flowers, whose ward includes the Cementland grounds, said that Cassilly was apt to employ his bulldozer. Once, she recalled, residents complained at a neighborhood meeting about trees blocking their view of the river.

"The next day, he was out there with his bulldozer," Flowers recalled. "Bob was well-known for his bulldozer."

 

Cassilly's plan for the more than 15-acres of riverfront property he owned was this "adventurous kind of playground for children and adults," she said.

 

City records show that two years ago, he applied to build a $40,000 "lookout tower" on the property.

 

Finding information on Cementland, though, was not always an easy task.

 

"Bob was one of these persons that really wasn't into the details," Flowers said. "He did give me some details, but it took a lot to get it out of him."

 

Cassily's wife, Melissa Giovanna Zompa Cassily, was in California when she learned of her husband's death. She was returning to St. Louis today, Erwin said. The couple has two young children. In addition, Cassily is survived by two other children from a previous marriage.

 

 

"You think about him as this force of nature, and you don't think about those things having an end to them," said Mike Killian, an electrician who has worked at City Museum and knew Cassily for three decades.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_8eb51012-e851-11e0-af8b-0019bb30f31a.html#ixzz1Z5JqUMmy

 

 

R.I.P. Bob. May your legacy live on forever.

Edited September 26, 2011 by larrygator

[DougMJr]

R.I.P... I'm hoping to visit the museum while I'm visiting my friend at SLU, sounds like a fun place.

[odene497]

Oh no! That's really terrible to hear. The City Museum is an incredible place...and I had no idea of the other projects he's worked on. Definitely an interesting man with big ideas. Hopefully someone will continue his work.

[Chroniq]

Just to put it in context for other TPR members like myself that might have missed TPR's City Museum update, this is what he created..

 

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=610&linkid=9535&pageno=2

 

 

Impressive...... Hopefully Cementland (his next project) opens someday. If not, I hope they use that cement to pave Deja vu

[ernierocker]

^Thanks for linking that Chris. I definitely plan to make it out to his creation one of these days. He definitely left behind an amazing museum!

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

COME ON! First Ron Toomer, now Bob Cassilly? Two legends dead in a day?

[jray21]

So sad. The City Museum was the most incredibly wonderful and screwed up thing I have ever seen. It is by far the best museum in America. I hope cementland gets finished, I will totally visit it if it does!

[cal1br3tto]

Sad news indeed. I feel bad for everyone affected by this. At least he accomplished a lot in life. I'm glad people are planning to continue his projects. And yes, the City Museum is unbelievably amazing.