Bob Cassilly

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Bob Cassilly working on a dragon sculpture at Trailnet RiverView Park in St. Louis in 2008.

Robert James Cassilly Jr. (November 9, 1949 – September 26, 2011) was an American sculptor, entrepreneur, and creative director. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Cassilly was the founder of the idiosyncratic City Museum, which draws over 700,000 visitors a year[1] and is one of the city's leading tourist attractions.[2][3]

Biography

Early life

Cassilly was born in Webster Groves, Missouri, to a homemaker and a building contractor.[2] He began skipping school by age 14 to work as an apprentice for a local sculptor, Rudolph Torinni.[2] Cassilly graduated from Vianney High School, then earned a bachelor's degree in art from Fontbonne University in St. Louis.[2]

Career and sculptures

Cassilly built and ran a restaurant after college. He sold the restaurant, which allowed him to move to Hawaii, where he carved wooden figures.[2] Cassilly reportedly grew tired of Hawaii and returned to his native St. Louis. While earning a master's degree in art at his alma mater, Fontbonne, he met his second wife, sculptor Gail Soliwoda. They remained business partners until their divorce in 2002.[2]

In May 1972, Cassilly was visiting St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City when Laszlo Toth attacked Michelangelo's The Pieta. Cassilly was the first to act and subdued Toth.[4]

During the mid-1970s, Cassilly renovated a townhouse in a dilapidated St. Louis neighborhood, a project that led to the construction of six new townhouses, for which he designed the architectural flourishes.[2] The project led Cassilly to start making sculptures professionally.[2] He soon became known for his public pieces that depict animals, ranging from turtles to hippos.[2]

The City Museum was launched after he and Gail bought a 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) complex, which included the International Shoe Building, offices and a 10-story warehouse, for 69 cents per square foot in 1983.[2] They renovated the site and opened it in 1997 as the City Museum, helping to spark a renovation boom in downtown St. Louis.[5] The museum includes an aquarium, shoelace factory, a fire truck, two airplanes, and a Ferris wheel on the roof.[2] The Project for Public Spaces listed the museum among the "Great Public Spaces in the World" in 2005.[2][6] In 2002, financial obligations forced Cassilly to begin charging visitors a fee to park at the museum. Cassilly hung a sign in the museum's parking lot reading, "Greedy Bob’s Parking Lot."[2]

Cassilly's other works include hippopotamus statues installed at Hippo Playground in Manhattan's Riverside Park in 1993.[2] In 1997, Cassilly also contributed hippo sculptures to Central Park's Safari Playground near W. 91 Street.[2][3][7] He designed two turtles for Turtle Park in St. Louis.[5] A giant concrete butterfly, called the Mysterious Monarch, was unveiled in Faust Park outside the Butterfly House, Missouri Botanical Garden in 1997 in Chesterfield, Missouri.[3] Cassilly's giraffe statue, which stands at the entrance to the Dallas Zoo, is the tallest sculpture in Texas at 67½ feet tall.[2][8] His works for the St. Louis Zoo include the Sea Lion Fountains and a 45-foot squid statue.[2]

In 2000, Cassilly began work on Cementland, a repurposing of a former cement factory on a 54-acre (220,000 m2) site in north St. Louis.[2][5]

On September 26, 2011, Cassilly died at Cementland after the bulldozer he was driving flipped down a hill.[9][10] He was survived by his third wife, Melissa Giovanna Zompa, and their two children, Dylan and Robert III; and two children from his second marriage, Daisy and Max.[2] Cassilly's first wife was the former Cecilia Davidson and his second wife was Gail Soliwoda.[2]

Commissioned sculptures

  • 1987: Marlin Perkins bust at the St. Louis Zoo[3]
  • 1991: Six lighted entry markers at the St. Louis Galleria[3]
  • 1993: Hippo playground sculptures in Manhattan's Riverside Park[3]
  • 1996: Turtle Park sculptures in St. Louis' Forest Park[3]
  • 1997: Hippopotamus Park statues at Central Park's Safari Playground in Manhattan[3]
  • 1997: Giraffe statue at the Dallas Zoo
  • 1998: Mysterious Monarch and Lopatapillar at Faust Park in Chesterfield, Missouri[3]
  • 1999: Sea Lion Fountains at the St. Louis Zoo[3]
  • Dinosaur at Dallas Planet Hollywood
  • Ruins at Bush Gardens VA, Roman Rapids ride
  • Apple chairs, Webster Groves, Mo

References

  1. ↑ Dougherty, Connor (May 1, 2010). "This Museum Exposes Kids to Thrills, Chills and Trial Lawyers". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 Martin, Douglas (2011-09-29). "Bob Cassilly, Playscape Creator Fueled by Whimsy, Dies at 61". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Toroian Keaggy, Diane (2011-09-27). "Cassilly's inner child was never far from the surface". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  4. ↑ Schlafly, Tom (2011-09-29). "Remembering Bob Cassilly". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Summers-Sparks, Matthew (August 25, 2007). "One Part Cement, Two Parts Whimsy, One Odd Park". New York Times: Art & Design. 
  6. ↑ PPS's The City Museum
  7. ↑ "Safari Playground". Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  8. ↑ "Bob Cassilly’s sculptures included Dallas Zoo giraffe". Dallas Morning News. 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  9. ↑ "City Museum founder killed in bulldozer accident". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. STLToday.com. September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  10. ↑ Currier, Joe (2011-09-27). "Cassilly found dead at site he worked on for years". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
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