Tag Archives: Bob Cassilly

El Diablitos

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Diablitos

Diablitos

Saturday afternoon, while we were cycling back home from Humphrey’s, we decided to take Laclede for a change of pace. We went to Humphrey’s in the first place, because we were entitled to some sort of deal there. It turned out to be just happy hour pricing, but hey, who knew? We felt entitled, because we had just set a new Guinness World Record, but I’ve already gone on and on (and on) about that. We are the Champions, my friend … Oh shush! Everyone already knows how great you really are, which may not be the same as how great you think you are.

Anyway, we were biking back on Laclede, which took us through a portion of the CWE that at least I don’t normally see. Normally, when we ride, we take East-West streets that are further north. It is always a joy to ride down a new street. There is almost always something new to see and then later drone on about here. In this case the most notable sights fell under the category of “Leapin’ Lizards, Batman!”

First up was the Cantina Diablitos, with its pair of drinking sombrero clad T-Rexes on the roof. I can’t even guess what they must be discussing as they stand over the rather vizierate corpse of a third dinosaur. Diablitos means ‘little devils’ in Spanish. Like Humphrey’s, Cantina Diablitos is in the shadow of Saint Louis University and must be a popular watering hole for the students. I did not go in, but only stopped in the parking lot to take this picture. We’ll have to save its interior for another adventure. 

The other sight that I’ll mention is a block of condos west of Vandeventer. Their facades were inlayed with Bob Cassilly terracotta. Different condo blocks had different animals inlaid in them. I liked these dragons the best. Cassilly is best known as the founder of the idiosyncratic City Museum, which is one of Saint Louis’s leading tourist attractions. Before he created the City Museum, Cassilly ran a terracotta factory in the City of Saint Louis.

Cassilly's Dragons

Cassilly’s Dragons

Mythopoetic Psychocosmology

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We think of wakefulness & the mythopoetic psychocosmology of dreams as separate states; however they interoperate in curious ways.

I offer a hat tip to Dan for the title of today’s post and by consequence, the steer to the above quote. Both are quite suitably obtuse. Their origin is the marketing department for a new video game, “Sword and Sworcery”. It is currently only on the iPad, but an iPhone version should be out before the next “solstice”, just in time for Christmas. Can you wait until then, Dan?

Artist, Bob Cassilly, was found dead Monday morning. Mr. Cassilly, 61, is best known as the founding spirit of the City Museum [2] [3], a Saint Louis icon and a national treasure. Cassilly was found in the cab of a bulldozer at the site of his latest project, Cementland, on Riverview Drive. According to a Post-Dispatch article:

Bruce Gerrie, curator of architecture at the City Museum and Cassilly’s friend for more than four decades, arrived at the accident scene after Cassilly’s death. Gerrie said it appeared the bulldozer had slid off a rocky hill and flipped a few times before landing upright. “He’s lived on the edge,” Gerrie said. “Bob lived a life of excitement and I’m glad that he didn’t have to suffer from anything. He went out as he was.”

Mayor Slay tweeted, “The City has lost some of its wonder. RIP Bob Cassilly.” Both the police and OSHA will be investigating his death.

I never met the man, but I have enjoyed the work that he inspired. Dan once had the opportunity to work with Cassilly, but a previous commitment prevented him from taking up that opportunity, now he never will. Cassilly also created Turtle Park, which Dan did get the opportunity to play in, while he was still a child.

The photographs with this post are of a couple of the dancers from Quixotic Fusion, a Kansas City group that headlined this year’s Dancing in the Streets Festival. Quixotic Fusion incorporates music, dance and aerial performances on stage and backs them up with original composition, choreography and visual design. This was Quixotic Fusion’s first performance in Saint Louis.