Photos from a dangerous-looking playground


You'll either love it, or you'll lose your lunch

What happens when a wealthy urban artist with an exceptionally extroverted inner-10-year-old and a love of collecting all things architectural (interior and exterior), who believes that 1) everybody ought to be able to see his stuff, 2) the places we allow our children to play have become too bleedin' safe, and 3) it's better to ask forgiveness than permission, buys an abandoned 12-story factory in a hip part of downtown?

The City Museum of St. Louis <- Please, just click and go look at the photos, even if you don't read the stuff on the site.

We went last month (yes, despite world+dog descending on the city for the All-Star game that weekend) with #2-Son's teen autistics group. The place is astounding, whether you love art, architecture, or just climbing around.

Warning: do not view the following photos if you have problems with heights, vertigo, or the idea of children waaaay up in the air.

We forked over the extra bucks to go up on the roof, because it was open. What's so special about the roof? Well, because Mr. Cassilly has a love of adrenaline and no fear of heights, a lot of things. (All photos taken with a camera phone. Your indulgence requested.) This is what part of the roof looks like, from the ground:



Yes, that is a school bus hanging off the right-hand corner. Here's what the ground looks like from the driver's seat:



The bubbly bird-cage looking thing just left of center in the first photo? (Go back and look, I'll wait.) It's a bubbly people cage. Here're #1-Son and Daughter, climbing up to the seat:



The wee squiggle in the far left of the first photo is the very top of a two-story dome with a rope swing inside, the ability to climb down into a cage suspended from the top of the dome, and a giant praying-mantis sculpture presiding over a slide that goes back down to rooftop level:



What you can't see in that first picture is the Ferris wheel. Yes, a full-sized, four-story one. On the roof. Here's Daughter, at the top of the ride:



Alas, the museum is far enough toward the north side of downtown that you can't see the Arch in the skyline because it's behind those buildings on the left in this photo. But it's still a pretty skyline, especially towards sunset:



Oh, and what happens when the local aquarium finds itself directly in the path of a major interstate (motorway) interchange upgrade? Mr. Cassilly says, "Just stick your stuff on the third floor. Plenty of room."

Posted: Fri - August 14, 2009 at 09:43 PM   Home         | | View Technorati reactions

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