An important St. Louis, Missouri scupltor lost his life this week. 61 year old artist and entrepreneur Bob Cassilly died in a construction accident on Sunday September 26th at the site of his most recent project, Cementland.
Cassilly’s work and career began following his studies at Fontbonne University in St. Louis. His most well known project is The City Museum, which opened in 1997. Cassilly purchased property for the project in downtown St. Louis with his second wife Gail Cassilly. Cassilly developed his investment from a vacant former shoe warehouse into The City Museum, an interactive indoor and outdoor sculpture and playground for all ages. The museum encouraged redevelopment in an often ignored area of the city and in 2005 was listed as one of the “Great Public Spaces in the World” by The Project for Public Spaces.
Before he was able to focus entirely on his art, Cassilly worked renovating building facades in St. Louis. His most recent project Cementland is a 54-acre former cement factory in north St. Louis. Cassilly was working on the site at the time of his death. His work in St. Louis and other parts of the nation will be his legacy to the art and architecture communities.
