Preface: An efficient chauffeur is essential for a productive day of cake hunting.
46. Harris-Stowe State University
HSSU was formed when Harris Teachers College, founded in 1857 as a normal school for white students, and Stowe Teachers College, which began in 1890 as a normal school for black students, merged in 1954 as part of efforts to integrate the St. Louis Public School System. In 2005, it officially became Harris-Stowe State University.
The cake is in a plaza, next to an interesting fountain in the middle of the sidewalk. It's also near this giant concrete HSSU lettering. That was fun.
The cake is in a plaza, next to an interesting fountain in the middle of the sidewalk. It's also near this giant concrete HSSU lettering. That was fun.
47. Heritage House
Heritage House is an apartment complex for independently-living older adults, but I haven't been able to find much more than that, like a historical significance. If you know something about this place, feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post. This is a cake that we liked the back of more than the front.
48. Ford Building
This was an exciting cake for us for two reasons. 1. It was a bonus! It wasn't on the list yet when we planned our trip. We accidentally stumbled across it. We were one of the first to find it. (maybe even THE first!) 2. This was the first time that Cakelet spotted the cake first. We might have just obliviously driven on by had she not noticed it. This cake is pretty gruesome. Teeth and gums?
This building was built in 1913 and served as a Ford Dealership from 1917 to 1934.
This building was built in 1913 and served as a Ford Dealership from 1917 to 1934.
49. Scott Joplin House
I was surprised to learn several things about Scott Joplin, including that he was neither born nor did he die in Missouri, there is no accurate record of his date of birth, and he only lived in the city of St. Louis for seven years. His home is now a Missouri Historic Site. It is kept as it would have been in 1900. Here are some music samples.
50. Jefferson Bank
Number 50! 20% to goal! Jefferson Bank and Trust was incorporated in 1892. This, the Market Street Location, was the site of a 1963 civil rights protest over unfair bank hiring practices. This cake is meticulously decorated by the wonderful April Morrison, but has lost some of its beauty. (This kind of cake damage leads to great debate in the STL250 community. Seriously, there are whole factions of people who are pro-climbers and anti-climbers and both sides can get pretty worked up. We abstain from debate and respect the work of the artists.)
51. Central Library
Okay, first check out the photo gallery of the construction of the library. In 1901, Andrew Carnegie gave one million dollars (roughly $27m in 2014 dollars) to fund the building of a new central library and branch libraries. Four of those six branches are still operational. The central library building underwent a major renewal in 2010-2012 to upgrade communications and infrastructure. Today the St. Louis Public Library system (15 branches + Central) has 4.6 million items in its collection, 85,000 cardholders, over 300 full time staff, and 2 million visitors annually.
My favorite cake of the day! The base is painted in books. Lots of books.
199 to go!!