Bob Cassilly
Encyclopedia
Robert James Cassilly Jr. (November 9, 1949 – September 26, 2011) was an American sculptor, entrepreneur
, and museum director. Based in St. Louis, Missouri
, Cassilly was the founder of the idiosyncratic City Museum
, which draws about 600,000 visitors a year and is one of the city's leading tourist attraction
s.
, to a homemaker
and a building contractor. He began skipping school by age 14 to work as an apprentice for a local sculptor. Cassilly graduated from Vianney High School
, then earned a bachelor's degree
in art from Fontbonne University
in St. Louis.
, where he carved wooden figures. 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.
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.
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 archiectural flourishes. The project led Cassilly to start making sculptures professionally. He soon became known for his public pieces that depict animals, ranging from turtles to hippos.
The City Museum was launched after he and Gail bought a 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) complex, which included the International Shoe Building, offices and a 10-story warehouse, for 69 cents per square foot
in 1983. They renovated the site and opened it in 1997 as the City Museum, helping to spark a renovation boom in downtown St. Louis
. The museum includes an aquarium
, shoelace factory, a fire truck, two airplanes, and a Ferris wheel
on the roof. The Project for Public Spaces
listed the museum among the "Great Public Spaces in the World" in 2005. 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."
Cassilly's other works include hippopotamus
statues installed at Hippo Playground in Manhattan
's Riverside Park
in 1993. In 1997, Cassilly also contributed hippo sculptures to Central Park
's Safari Playground near W. 91 Street. He designed two turtles for Turtle Park in St. Louis. 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
. Cassilly's giraffe
statue, which stands at the entrance to the Dallas Zoo
, is the tallest sculpture in Texas
at 67½ tall. His works for the St. Louis Zoo include the Sea Lion Fountains and a 45-foot squid
statue.
Since 2000, one of Cassilly's projects was Cementland
, a repurposing of a former cement
factory on a 54 acres (218,530.4 m²) site in north St. Louis.
On September 26, 2011, Cassilly died at Cementland after the bulldozer
he was driving flipped down a hill. 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. Cassilly's first wife was the former Cecilia Davidson and his second wife was Gail Soliwoda.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, and museum director. Based in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Cassilly was the founder of the idiosyncratic City Museum
City Museum
City Museum is a museum, consisting largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District of St...
, which draws about 600,000 visitors a year and is one of the city's leading tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
s.
Early life
Cassilly was born in Webster Groves, MissouriWebster Groves, Missouri
Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is named after New England politician Daniel Webster....
, to a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
and a building contractor. He began skipping school by age 14 to work as an apprentice for a local sculptor. Cassilly graduated from Vianney High School
St. John Vianney High School (Kirkwood, Missouri)
St. John Vianney High School is a private, all male, Catholic college preparatory high school located in Kirkwood, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The school was founded by the Society of Mary , a religious order of priests and brothers who continue to...
, then earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in art from Fontbonne University
Fontbonne University
Fontbonne University is a co-ed liberal arts Catholic institution of approximately 3,000 students in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Fontbonne is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North...
in St. Louis.
Career and sculptures
Cassilly built and ran a restaurant after college. He sold the restaurant, which allowed him to move to HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where he carved wooden figures. Cassilly reportedly grew tired of Hawaii and returned to his native St. Louis. While earning a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in art at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, Fontbonne, he met his second wife, sculptor Gail Soliwoda. They remained business partners until their divorce in 2002.
In May 1972, Cassilly was visiting St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in Vatican City when Laszlo Toth attacked Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
's The Pieta. Cassilly was the first to act and subdued Toth.
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 archiectural flourishes. The project led Cassilly to start making sculptures professionally. He soon became known for his public pieces that depict animals, ranging from turtles to hippos.
The City Museum was launched after he and Gail bought a 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) complex, which included the International Shoe Building, offices and a 10-story warehouse, for 69 cents per square foot
Square foot
The square foot is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit of area, used mainly in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is defined as the area of a square with sides of 1 foot in length...
in 1983. They renovated the site and opened it in 1997 as the City Museum, helping to spark a renovation boom in downtown St. Louis
Downtown St. Louis
Downtown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment, and the anchor of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Cole Street to the north, the river front to the east, Chouteau Avenue to the south, and Jefferson Avenue...
. The museum includes an aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, shoelace factory, a fire truck, two airplanes, and a Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
on the roof. The Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces is a nonprofit organization based in New York dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities. Planning and design rooted in the community form the cornerstone of PPS’s work. Building on the techniques of William H...
listed the museum among the "Great Public Spaces in the World" in 2005. 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."
Cassilly's other works include hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
statues installed at Hippo Playground in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Riverside Park
Riverside Park (Manhattan)
Riverside Park is a scenic waterfront public park on the Upper West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The park consists of a narrow four-mile strip of land between the Hudson River and the gently...
in 1993. In 1997, Cassilly also contributed hippo sculptures to Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
's Safari Playground near W. 91 Street. He designed two turtles for Turtle Park in St. Louis. A giant concrete butterfly, called the Mysterious Monarch, was unveiled in Faust Park outside the Butterfly House, Missouri Botanical Garden
Butterfly House, Missouri Botanical Garden
The Butterfly House is a butterfly zoo operated by the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and located in Chesterfield, Missouri, United States. It is a not-for-profit organization established in 1995 and opened to the public in 1998 to "increase awareness of the natural habitat in which butterflies...
in 1997 in Chesterfield, Missouri
Chesterfield, Missouri
Chesterfield is a second-ring western suburb of St. Louis and is the largest city in west St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2010 census the population is 47,484. Chesterfield also celebrated its 20th birthday in 2008.- Geography :...
. Cassilly's giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
statue, which stands at the entrance to the Dallas Zoo
Dallas Zoo
Dallas Zoo is a zoo located south of downtown Dallas, Texas in Marsalis Park. Established in 1888, it is the oldest and largest zoological park in Texas and is managed by the non-profit Dallas Zoological Society. The zoo is home to 1,800 animals representing 406 species...
, is the tallest sculpture in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
at 67½ tall. His works for the St. Louis Zoo include the Sea Lion Fountains and a 45-foot squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
statue.
Since 2000, one of Cassilly's projects was Cementland
Cementland
Cementland is a public art exhibit under construction on the 54-acre site of a former cement factory just north of St. Louis, Missouri. The brainchild of sculptor Bob Cassilly, who also created St...
, a repurposing of a former cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
factory on a 54 acres (218,530.4 m²) site in north St. Louis.
On September 26, 2011, Cassilly died at Cementland after the bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
he was driving flipped down a hill. 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. Cassilly's first wife was the former Cecilia Davidson and his second wife was Gail Soliwoda.
Commissioned sculptures
- 1987 - Marlin PerkinsMarlin PerkinsRichard Marlin Perkins was a zoologist best known as a host of the television program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1985.-Biography:...
Bust at the St. Louis Zoo - 1991 - Six Lighted Entry Markers at the St. Louis GalleriaSt. Louis GalleriaThe Saint Louis Galleria is a shopping mall in the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights. The mall is owned and operated by General Growth Properties...
- 1993 - Hippo Playground sculptures in Manhattan's Riverside ParkRiverside Park (Manhattan)Riverside Park is a scenic waterfront public park on the Upper West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The park consists of a narrow four-mile strip of land between the Hudson River and the gently...
- 1996 - Turtle Park sculptures in St. Louis' Forest Park
- 1997 - Hippopotamus Park statues at Central ParkCentral ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
's Safari Playground in Manhattan - 1997 - Giraffe statue at the Dallas ZooDallas ZooDallas Zoo is a zoo located south of downtown Dallas, Texas in Marsalis Park. Established in 1888, it is the oldest and largest zoological park in Texas and is managed by the non-profit Dallas Zoological Society. The zoo is home to 1,800 animals representing 406 species...
- 1998 - Mysterious Monarch and Lopatapillar at Faust Park in Chesterfield, MissouriChesterfield, MissouriChesterfield is a second-ring western suburb of St. Louis and is the largest city in west St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2010 census the population is 47,484. Chesterfield also celebrated its 20th birthday in 2008.- Geography :...
- 1999 - Sea Lion Fountains at the St. Louis Zoo
- - Dinosaur at Dallas Planet Hollywood
- - Ruins at Bush Gardens VA, Roman Rapids ride
- - Apple chairs, Webster Groves, Mo