2 minute read
OF THE TOWNS talk
by bill beggs jr.
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The Metro
We got some lime-coconut flavored seltzer water by mistake in our last Instacart grocery delivery. Instantly it made me think of the Harry Nilsson novelty song from 1972: “Put de lime in the coconut, drink ‘em bot’ up / Put de lime in the coconut and call me in the morning…” It’s been an earworm ever since. Sorry if just mentioning it did the same thing to you. I honestly hope the incessant calypso beat doesn’t drive you coco-nutty enough to call the doctor in the middle of the night, pleading for a tummy-ache remedy. The sparkling water ‘beverage’ didn’t cause indigestion, but left me feeling kinda “meh.” OMG: There’s a whole grocery aisle stocked with this bland stuff. When did that happen? Randy and Jane had
Central Library
An exhibit of stark, evocative Richard Sprengeler photos showcases the unfinished last project of the late sculptor and visionary Bob Cassilly, who wanted to turn an abandoned cement factory in north St. Louis into a castle-themed amusement park. After having worked on the project for more than a decade, envisioning turrets, mounds, a sculpture garden and other ideas as eccentric as those at his beloved City Museum, Cassilly died at the controls of a bulldozer that flipped over in September 2011. He was 61. Cassilly was trying to outdo himself at Cementland—if it ever were to be finished, who could know whether it would have been remotely similar to his grand plan. The property was stuck in probate for years before finally being awarded to Melissa Giovanna ‘Gigi’ Zompa Cassilly, who’d at first expressed a desire to complete her late husband’s vision for the 54-plus-acre site near the river. It was sold in June 2022 at auction for $785,000. A portion along the riverfront sold to Beelman Trucking Co. for $1.4 million two years before that. The remainder has languished and is now overgrown and covered in graffiti. Sprengeler’s photos will be arrayed on the third floor of St. Louis Public Library’s Central Branch through Sept. 22. If you haven’t visited our awe-inspiring Carnegie Library downtown, you’ve yet to admire a prime example of grand architecture at the turn of the (previous) century. It boasts some of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts and Neo-Classical Architecture in the United States. Designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert and completed in 1912, the structure, which occupies a full city block, is a historic treasure. In 1901, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie had made a substantial gift that allowed for construction of the Central Library and six neighborhood branches, four of which still exist throughout the city today.
Grand Center
a cooler full of black-raspberry flavored water at their 50th-anniversary party. That was the first time I’d tried any variation of this stuff, which tastes like nothing more than a fruit soda left on the kitchen counter overnight for all the ice in the glass to melt. Someone must like it, or think they’re dieting by replacing real lemon-lime soda with “guilt-free,” zero-calorie lime-coconut water that smells only faintly like you “put de lime in the coconut.” Or maybe it’s some other exotic-yet-flavorless ‘flavor,’ like fuji apple, strawberry-kiwi or mango. I’d say none of it even has 1% more flavor than bottled water, which I’m not going to address here except to remind readers that most everywhere in the StL, fresh cool water comes right out of the tap. Still too warm? Fill a pitcher and refrigerate overnight. And, anyhow, when did coconut become such a thing? I like it in cake or a candy bar, but in perfume, shampoo and deodorant? Please, people, keep your tropical fantasies to yourselves—some of us have to share elevators with you!
