March Madness

No, not basketball, butterflies!

March Morpho Mania is an annual event at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House.

During this event, thousands of Blue Morpho butterflies flutter around the Butterfly House.

These butterflies are Native to Central and South America forests. Their wings are a brilliant color blue, but they aren’t actually colored blue.

They are lined with tiny scales that only allow blue light through.

We actually visited the Butterfly House about 3 weeks ago but the cake wasn’t there yet.

A week later, the cake was there. I decided to take Andrew back to look at the cake and play in the park.

Before we got there he said he knows what the cake will look like. He said it would be covered in butterflies. He was right.

Click on the picture to find the
 butterfly between the kids.

The Butterfly House opened its doors in September 1998 and in July 2001 became part of the Missouri Botanical Garden. If you are a St. Louis City/County resident you can get in for free on the first Tuesday of every month from 9-11 am.

Thanks Diane!

Cake artist - Marilyn Callahan

Thirty down 220 to go.

The eagle has landed

... on the cake.

The Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a great place for bird watching and hiking.

It's a place that allows you to drift away on the clouds, or to lose yourself on a trail in a marsh.  During January, it is home to eagles.

On some days, there are thousands of birds on Ellis Bay and on others, there is but a lone gull.

I always keep my binoculars in my trunk.

Those are Richs' binoculars.

Twenty-nine down 221 to go.

That cake is a Payne

The Payne – Gentry House is over 100 years old and is restored to its original beauty. 

At one time, it was a doctor’s office for the unfortunately named Dr. Payne.  I am sure that some blood was spilled in the house during Dr. Payne’s practice and I would guess that is why the cake is a blood red. 

Some say that the house is haunted. I did not notice this sinister feeling. To me it seemed like an old restored house in the front on a neighborhood park. 

Dark foreboding did not arise in me at The Payne- Gentry house, but I did get the feeling that something spooky is going on in Bridgeton.

Rich again. 

Cake artist - Genevieve Esson

Twenty-eight down 222 to go.

Someone left the cake out in a flood

The West Alton Memorial Park has the Veteran's Memorial, the Memorial Bricks and a cake.  The cake is decorated as homage to bad weather. 

The cake is adorned with floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes.  I could see how the city of West Alton would be keenly aware about the weather being that it is only about few miles from where the Missouri and Mississippi converge. 

West Alton looks to me how it would have looked like one hundred years ago.  This area might not be the best land for residential use but is a good area for farming and wildlife.

Thanks Rich.

Cake artist - Lindsay Harmon

Twenty-seven down 223 to go

Get your kicks

… from a cake mix

If the Land of Oz was reached by following the yellow brick road, Nirvana or at least a good time was reached on Route 66.
How many times have I thought about hitting the open road in a 59 Corvette with the theme song from the TV show running though my head only to awaken from my reverie on 270 during rush hour to sounds and smells of a tractor trailer hauling toxic waste? 

The open road is outdated.  Highway traffic only gets you stress and high blood pressure and the radio only commercials.









I like it when Rich, the guest blogger, brings me cake!

Cake artist - Katie Lucas

Twenty-six down 224 to go.

I hear that cake a coming coming round the bend

I like the Mercantile Library. It is a research library but to me it is a museum. 
It has plenty of artifacts, paintings, and sculptures all dealing with this area. What I really enjoy about this library is the trains. It has a fine collection of model trains but I enjoy all the literature it has about trains.  A person could find out how to rebuild the boiler for a locomotive to how many railroad ties were used in constructing the Eads Bridge.

Great railroad art and information coupled with glass pyramid makes a great home for a cake. 

The library will have many programs in honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of St. Louis.

 

Guest blogger: Rich

Cake artist - Mercantile Library

Twenty-five down 225 to go.

Look! Up in the sky!

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's cake at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport!

 

Colin and Andrew with their dad, Rob

2014 marks the Spirit of St. Louis Airport’s 50th Anniversary. The Spirit of St Louis Airport is where you can charter a private jet to anywhere around the country.

 

The airport used to host the St. Louis County Fair and Air show. The fair would feature petting zoos, food stands, and displays. The airport would shut down when the air show part was going on. Due to airport expansion, the St. Louis County Fair and Air Show was not held.

 

This year (2014) the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show returns to the airport, May 3-4, 2014. It features an interactive STEM Expo and a Veteran's Village.

The US Navy Blue Angels will headline the event.

Cake artist -Theresa Hopkins

 

Twenty-four down 226 to go.

Heritage Museum

The St. Charles County Heritage Museum at Heritage Park collects, preserves, and present the history that celebrates cultural contributions made by County residents.

The cake features the history of navigating a vessel up the Missouri River. Fits right in with the current exhibit inside the museum.

 

Cake artist - Gina Harmon

Twenty-three down 227 to go.

UMSL cake

Outstanding in its field.

I picked a good time to look for a couple of cakes at UMSL, it was spring break and I could park anywhere.

I started at the Mark Twain building and looked around but did not see any cake. I asked a few people inside the building if they knew where the cake was and greeted with a look as if I did not know that this building was not a bakery.  I explained about the St Louis 250 celebration and the special cakes made in honor of the anniversary.  Someone thought they might have seen one at the J.C.Penny building. 

No biggie I will track it down.  A tour of the campus by car and by foot yielded no UMSL cake, but I did get the current issue of The Current.

I knew where the next cake at the Mercantile Library was so I went there.  I asked the research librarian if she knew where the cake was besides the one at the library. She did not know right off the top of her head but give her a few minutes, and she would find out for me. 

While checking out the library cake another cake watcher explained to me where the cake was located.

On my way out the librarian gave me a map that showed exactly where the cake is situated.

The cake was out in the field in front of the building. Cake watching seems to be quite the rage lately there were three other people out in the field checking out the UMSL cake. I snapped a few picture of them posing by the cake with their cameras.

Let's here it for Rich, guest blogger.

Cake artist - UMSL

Twenty-two down 228 to go.

Rubber buggy's cake bumper

Kemp Auto Museum

 

Fred M. Kemp researched and collected 40 rare and classic automobiles. After his passing, his collection was donated to the museum for public  enjoyment and educational enrichment.

 

Today, the Kemp Auto Museum displays the finest collections of automobiles, including Mr. Kemp's first Mercedes Benz.

 

The auto industry grew from the horse drawn carriage. There were a few St. Louis companies that started as a buggy business that turned into an  Automobile production company.

 

The St. Louis Motor Carriage Co. was the first auto factory to have a patent on its one-cylinder that had the motor, clutch, and transmission built as one unit. When the company moved in 1905, George P. Dorris stayed in St. Louis and the patent was transferred to his new company, Dorris Motor Car Company.

 

The Moon Motor Car Company, founded by Joseph W. Moon. There were several models including one that had a radiator that looked like one on a

Rolls Royce. It's best European type product The Prince of Windsor, was named for the Prince of Wales. The amusement park Six Flags St. Louis

also features a ride, Moon Cars, using the Moon automobile body.

 

Russell E. Gardner Sr. started making banner buggies and then worked manufacturing bodies for Chevrolet. By 1919 he became a multimillionaire by selling his franchise and started the Gardner Motor Car Company.  He built luxury cars with hydraulic brakes and front wheel drive.

Cake artist - Theresa Hopkins

 

Twenty-one down 229 to go.

Sister, Sister

Holy cakes on both sides of the river.

Being that it is March and we are celebrating “Women of Character, Courage  and Commitment” it seems right to celebrate the woman who lived her life displaying  "Poverty and Christian heroism” St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. 

Duchesne was a Roman Catholic nun, who was born to a well to do family in Grenoble, France. Despite her family’s protests,  she entered the order of the Visitation. Because of the French Revolution, she had to  leave her convent.

In 1804, she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart, and met  St. Madeleine Sophie Barat , who  would be her lifelong friend, and  who sent her to the United States in 1818. At 49, she thought this would be her work. With four nuns, she spent  11 weeks at sea en route to New Orleans, and seven weeks more on the Mississippi to St. Louis.

She then met one of the many disappointments of her life. The bishop had no place for them to live and work among Native Americans. Instead, he sent her to what she sadly called "the remotest village in the U.S.," St. Charles, Missouri.  From the convent and school, she founded at St. Charles, Mo.—later moved to Florissant, Mo.—she traveled over a wide area, founding schools for girls, doing charitable work, and finally ministering to Native Americans.

When St. Rose Philippine Duchesne was at Florissant,  she was assigned to the St. Ferdinand parish that was established in 1789. The parish has a rich and deep history with the St. Louis area . Both The Old St. Ferdinand’s Shrine and  The Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne are beautiful  places to reflect on the pioneer past.

Thank you Rich, guest blogger.

Cake artist
Old Saint Ferdinand Shrine
Megan Rieke

Nineteen and Twenty down 230 to go.

Cake Walk

Via the Delmar Loop.

The St. Louis Walk of Fame was dedicated in 1988 in University City, Missouri. It has more than 80 brass and bronze stars that line the sidewalks on Delmar Boulevard. In order to be nominated for a St. Louis Walk of Fame star, nominees must have been born in St. Louis or have spent their formative or creative years here and their accomplishments must have had a national impact on our cultural heritage. Every year new nominees are inducted.

Some of the inductees include, Ozzie Smith, John Goodman, Nelly, Dick Weber, Bob Costas, the 5th Dimension, Stan Musial, Vincent Price, Brad Pitt and Chuck Berry.

This cake was decorated with some of the stars from the Walk of Fame.
While we were looking at the stars on the Walk of Fame, we found the cake at the Tivoli Theater. The Tivoli opened on May 24, 1924. A photoplay called “The Confidence Man” was played that first night and was accompanied by music from the Jules Silberberg Orchestra.

The Tivoli Theatre closed in 1994 but was reopened after a $2 million renovation it in 1995. Today the theatre houses 3 screens. It also has movie memorabilia inside that includes Marilyn Monroe, The Wizard of Oz, the Marx Brothers, and Vincent Price. Vincent Prices’ picture is painted on the cake outside the Tivoli.

The Tivoli is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Thanks Diane!


Cake artist
Gina Harmon
Henryk Ptasiewicz

Eighteen down 232 to go.

I found my cake….

At Blueberry Hill

Blueberry Hill first opened in 1972 as only a two room pub. The only decorations were sheet music that was framed on the walls and one 200 selection jukebox. Today, it has 10 rooms with tons of pop culture memorabilia, games, and live music.

 

According to Blueberry Hill’s website, these are just some of the collections they have on display inside: The Simpsons, Howdy Doody, Elvis Presley, Pee-Wee Herman, South Park, Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, Beavis and Butt-head, Batman, Beatles, Toy Story, Smurfs, Barbie, Popeye, Grateful Dead, and KISS.

I bet you can’t guess which were the kids favorite pieces of pop culture painted on the cake.

Of course we can’t forget the Chuck Berry memorabilia inside Blueberry Hill. He was the first person inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. He even still plays at Blueberry Hill at the age of 87!

This cake so far has been my favorite.

Thank you guest blogger Diane.

Cake artist - Indy Bowers

Seventeen down 233 to go.

Show Cake

The Municipal Auditorium was opened on April 21, 1934, with a production of Aida, starring stars from the New York Metropolitan Opera.

 

It had 3,500 seats and included a 9,000 seat Convention Hall. It featured an ornate main theatre, four small side theaters, with up to 700 seats each, an exposition hall, basement restaurant/bar space, offices, dressing rooms and other spaces.

 

It features classic architecture with eight Corinthian columns with sculptured panels  entitled “Discussion” and “Recreation”. There are two 10-ton limestone Missouri bears which crouch on pedestals guarding either side of the entrance.

 

During the height of its day, the Municipal Auditorium/Kiel Auditorium attracted the world's finest performers:

• Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Hope, Red Foxx, Judy Garland, and Liberace.

• Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. organized a benefit concert for Dismas House. The concert was broadcast on closed circuit television because tickets were sold for other viewing rooms.

• King and I with Yul Brenner, My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison, Hello, Dolly with Carol Channing

• Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Doors and Bruce Springsteen.

• The Rolling Stones sold-out in 75 minutes after a one radio announcement on two St. Louis radio stations.

• In 1972, after Emerson, Lake and Palmer played, rock concerts were banned from playing because of the thousands of dollars worth of damage by fans.

• It was home for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

• President Harry S. Truman gave a nationally-broadcast speech.

On May 4, 1991, a performance by the St. Louis Philharmonic marked the final event.

 

On October 1, 2011, the Peabody Opera House reopened its doors with a Grand Opening Gala featuring headliners Aretha Franklin and Jay Leno.

 

And on March 15 was my first time going here. We went to see Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias.

Cake artist - Marilyn Callahan
 

Sixteen down 234 to go.

Baked goods for the sole!

What else would you think when you see a giant cake and a humungous high heel together?

Maybe you would think of Al Bundy’s worst nightmare and Peg Bundy’s just right size bon bon. 

I would figure the Yankees of the Murderers Row era would think they are going to walk all over the St Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park. Playing an afternoon double header is going to be a piece of cake. First in shoes, first in booze, last in the American League. 

The Brown Shoe sculpture is an iconic pump made up of iconic pumps. I guess it is a Meta Pump.  I am so glad it was not sandal or even worse a crock! (Add your own pun here.)

Dignified and sophisticated describes this cake display. Add a giant string of pearls and you would have a monument to June Cleaver. Doing housework all day wearing pumps and pearls and still having time to bake a cake for when Wally and the Beaver get home from school.

Thanks to my husband, Rich, for guest blogging.

Cake artist - Jennifer Hayes

Fifteen down 235 to go.

TransporCAKEtion

Go, Cake. Go!

 

This cake is located in the Citywalk District in historic Downtown Ferguson, MO. It greets you as you enter the  town for any of its events such as farmer's market, concerts, community festivals, and parades.

 

The cake has a transportation theme. At one time St. Louis was a mini Detroit, with the top three automakers in the area. But this cake has more than cars.

 

The front of the cake has the train, I would guess, depicting the Norfolk-Southern freight line that rolls past the Whistle Stop as many as 20 times a day.

 

 

There is Spirit of St. Louis that was named in honor of Charles Lindbergh's supporters in St. Louis, Missouri, who paid for the aircraft. Charles Lindbergh flew this plane on his historic, Trans-Atlantic, non-stop solo flight from New York  to Paris, France.

 

On the back is a tribute to the St. Louis Motor Carriage Co., one of many St. Louis automakers back in the day. An old style Metro bus and the Mercury space capsule. The space capsule was built by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. Famous astronauts that rode it are Alan Shepard who was the first American in space and John Glenn who piloted around the earth.

Cake artist - Dennis Babbitt

  

Fourteen down 236 to go.

So….where did you go to high school?

Hazelwood West. Class of 1997.

You thought this was a blog about finding cakes around St. Louis didn’t you? Well, it is! That is the title of the cake we found at the University City Lion Gates on Delmar Boulevard. "Where did you go to high school" is known as "The St. Louis Question".

This cake was painted with chalkboard paint so you can write where you went to high school on it. The kids, of course, are too young for high school, so they just wrote their names. We had a special visitor with us this time, my cousin Jessica from New York. The candle on the cake looked like a pencil.

I was wondering why this cake was decorated the way it was because the cakes have been decorated with their locations in mind. I found out that the lions on the gates guard the "Gates of Opportunity". In other words, do well in high school and it will open the Gates of Opportunity for you.

The lions on the gates were constructed in 1909 by George Julian Zolnay. In 1991 they were replaced by fiberglass lions and the original lions were put in the collection of the Missouri Historical Society.

Thanks again to Diane for being the guest blogger!

Cake artist - David Jackson

Thirthteen down 237 to go.

Welcome cake

St. Louis knew you were coming so they baked a cake.

That's what I told my niece, Jessica, when she came to visit.

The cake, at Lambert Field, was located upstairs, where the ticket counters are. Where people are leaving St. Louis. I thought it should be downstairs where planes are arriving to welcome visitors to St. Louis.

It had parts of the airport painted around it. There were the arched windows that you can see from the highway. There was also the control tower in which Jessica pointed out as we drove past the airport.

The cake was roped off and I wonder if that was part of the TSA security. That's not for us to worry about, we have lots of other things to do!

Cake artist - Henryk Ptasiewicz

Twelve down 238 to go.

Historic(ake) St. Charles

Take Two.

This was our second visit to Historic St. Charles to find cakes. During our first visit the cakes weren’t out yet or had wrong addresses listed. Since Colin is on spring break and it was such a nice day, we thought it was a good opportunity to go back and find the cakes. We did find the cakes however, they weren’t as accessible as the other cakes we have found. We did not know that the places were either closed on Mondays or opened around noon (we got there at 10am).

The first cake we found was at the St. Charles County Historic Courthouse. The Courthouse is under renovations and the cake was actually blocked off with caution tape. We weren’t sure why it was, but we let the kids run down there for a quick photo. We didn’t want to stay too long by the cake so we didn’t really get a good look at it.
The St. Charles County Historic Courthouse was once the courthouse for St. Charles County. Today it is home to the county executive’s office, the office of public information, the county counselor’s office, the county council and the merit system commission.

The next cake we found was at the St. Charles First Missouri State Capitol. St. Charles was Missouri’s first state capitol from 1821 to 1826 while the capitol was being developed in Jefferson City, which is Missouri’s state capitol today.
This cake was actually hiding behind a fence and since the building didn’t open until noon, we couldn’t go in to take a good look. I was able to snap a picture between the fence posts though. /span> We did find one store that was open on Main Street, Grandma’s Cookies. We could smell them a block away. Yum!

Ten and eleven down 239 to go.

I would like to thank my guest blogger, Diane, my daughter and Colin and Andrew's mom, for writing about these cakes.

Cake artist
Zack Farmer and  Erica Kaiser
Lindsay Harmon