Bob Cassilly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert (Bob) Cassilly
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Bob Cassilly working on a dragon sculpture at Trailnet RiverView Park in St. Louis in 2008.
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| Born | November 9, 1949 |
| Died | September 26, 2011 (aged 61) |
| Alma mater | Fontbonne University |
| Occupation | Sculptor, Entrepreneur, and Creative director |
| Known for | Founder, City Museum |
Robert James Cassilly Jr. (November 9, 1949 – September 26, 2011) was an American sculptor, entrepreneur, and creative director. He was known for his amazing and imaginative art. Bob Cassilly lived in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1997, Cassilly started the unique City Museum. This museum is a huge tourist attraction in St. Louis. It brings in over 700,000 visitors every year!
Contents
Early Life and Education
Cassilly was born in Webster Groves, Missouri. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a building contractor. When he was 14, Bob started skipping school. He wanted to work as an apprentice for a local sculptor named Rudolph Torrini.
Bob graduated from Vianney High School. Later, he earned a bachelor's degree in art from Fontbonne University in St. Louis.
Bob Cassilly's Creative Career
While studying at Fontbonne University, Cassilly met his first wife, Cecelia Davidson. She was a painter and printmaker. In 1972, they went to Rome for their honeymoon.
A Heroic Moment in Rome
During their trip, they visited St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. They saw Michelangelo's famous sculpture, the Pietà. Suddenly, a man named Laszlo Toth attacked the sculpture. Bob Cassilly was the first person to react. He quickly stopped the attacker.
Restoring Buildings and Making Art
Back in St. Louis, Cassilly and Davidson worked on restoring old Victorian buildings. They fixed up more than 36 worn-down homes. This work led Bob to design new townhouses. He added cool artistic touches to them, like terracotta decorations with turtles and griffins.
These building projects helped Cassilly start his professional art career. He became famous for his public sculptures. Many of his artworks featured animals like turtles and hippos. The couple also opened and ran a restaurant in Lafayette Square.
Later, they sold the restaurant and moved to Hawaii. There, Bob continued to create art by carving wooden figures.
Creating the City Museum
Bob Cassilly eventually returned to St. Louis. He met another sculptor, Gail Soliwoda. In 1993, Cassilly and Soliwoda bought a huge building complex. It was a 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) space that used to be a shoe factory and warehouse. They bought it for a very low price.
They spent years renovating the site. In 1997, they opened it as the City Museum. This museum helped start a big renovation boom in downtown St. Louis. The City Museum is unique! It includes a shoelace factory, a real fire truck, two airplanes, and even a Ferris wheel on the roof.
In 2005, the Project for Public Spaces named the City Museum one of the "Great Public Spaces in the World." Bob Cassilly even put up a funny sign in the museum's parking lot that said, "Greedy Bob’s Parking Lot." This was because he had to start charging for parking.
Other Famous Sculptures
Bob Cassilly created many other amazing sculptures:
- He made hippopotamus statues for Hippo Playground in Manhattan's Riverside Park in 1993.
- In 1997, he added more hippo sculptures to Central Park's Safari Playground.
- He designed two giant turtles for Turtle Park in St. Louis.
- A huge concrete butterfly, called the Mysterious Monarch, was placed in Faust Park in Chesterfield, Missouri.
- His giraffe statue at the Dallas Zoo is the tallest sculpture in Texas. It stands 67½ feet tall!
- For the St. Louis Zoo, he created the Sea Lion Fountains and a 45-foot squid statue.
In 2000, Cassilly started working on a new project called Cementland. This was a plan to turn an old cement factory into a new artistic space.
Commissioned Artworks
Here are some other sculptures Bob Cassilly was asked to create:
- 1987-1989: A dinosaur for Planet Hollywood in Dallas, now in Amarillo, Texas.
- 1987: A bust (head and shoulders sculpture) of Marlin Perkins at the St. Louis Zoo.
- 1991: Six lighted entry markers for the St. Louis Galleria.
- 1996: Turtle Park sculptures in St. Louis' Forest Park.
- 1998: Mysterious Monarch and Lopatapillar at Faust Park in Chesterfield, Missouri.
- 1999: Sea Lion Fountains at the St. Louis Zoo.
- Ruins for the Roman Rapids ride at Busch Gardens Virginia.
- Apple chairs in Webster Groves, Missouri.
- 1999: Musical Lion Benches in University City, Missouri.
Death
On September 26, 2011, Bob Cassilly passed away at Cementland. A police investigation found that he died from injuries after a bulldozer he was driving rolled down a hill.
Bob Cassilly was survived by his wife, Melissa Giovanna Cassilly, and their two children, Dylan and Robert III. He also had two children from a previous marriage, Daisy and Max.
