Well, there were some camera malfunctions along the way, but overall we had a terrific time finding cakes along the U City Loop today. The girls had their last day of Vacation Bible School, and after their closing program, we all headed towards the Lion Gates at University City. Hungry for lunch, we headed for Blueberry Hill. Along the way, we spotted the cake for the St. Louis Walk of Fame. I took lots of pictures of the girls and the cake, and then we moved on to the Blueberry Hill cake before getting a seat inside the restaurant. When we were inside, I checked my pictures, and saw that I still had the camera set the same way it had been for the program at church. Yikes! So we ended up retaking the Blueberry Hill pictures, and later got the St. Louis Walk of Fame again. I'm glad I checked! Here's one of the first pictures I took...it's ok, but not as clear as the retakes. I like these smiles, though!
Blueberry Hill opened in September of 1972. Joe and Linda Edwards are the owners, and Joe is the one who thought of the St. Louis Walk of Fame, which is located outside the restaurant. Chuck Berry still performs at Blueberry Hill on the third Wednesday of each month. I haven't ever been to see him, though. It's in the book 100 Things To Do in St. Louis Before You Die.
The Blueberry Hill cake has some terrific detail. In fact, Holly thought it was a completely different cake when we passed it later in the day. She started crying, insisting so vehemently that it was a different cake. She even yelled, "You just don't understand me!" We had to show her pictures to prove that we had already seen that cake, and it was just a different side with pictures she didn't remember.
The Loop was a very busy place to be this afternoon! It was tricky finding a spot to park. There were lots of cakers out and about, but lots of other folks, too! We walked from Blueberry Hill to the Tivoli Theater, and then on up Delmar to the Moonrise Hotel and Regional Arts Commission. We were lucky to run into people who helped us find the U City Lion Gates cake and the COCA cake. I'm not sure we would have found them without help.
The Tivoli Theatre was opened in May of 1924. The cake outside the theatre has lots of heads on it, and if I'm not mistaken, they're all Vincent Price at various points of his career. He has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
This cake is for the Regional Arts Commission. I like the "all words" design. The theme of this cake is "Art is Everywhere." The RAC is the largest annual funder of arts in the region. They give grants to individual artists, nonprofit arts, and other related programs.
The Moonrise Hotel is definitely unique! The cake is appropriately themed, too. The Moonrise Hotel is known for it's rooftop bar and spectacular views. Sounds like fun to me! The reviews I've read online are mostly good. Looks like a place to file away for later...
We noticed lots of stars in the St. Louis Walk of Fame as we walked up and down Delmar. Here are my retakes from that cake:
Tom was excited to go in Vintage Vinyl. This cake has seen a lot of visitors; you can tell by the worn spots. This cake says, "250 years of music...thanks!" Vintage Vinyl has been named one of the top 10 record stores in the nation by USA Today. Too bad we don't have a record player anymore...at least I don't think we do.
The girls and I waited just inside Vintage Vinyl, letting Daddy browse. Chloe and Holly were thrilled when I gave them each a quarter, and they quickly put those quarters to use!
I see this and I can't help but think of Uncle John's record collection:
This is the U City Lions Gate cake. It's painted with chalkboard paint and poses the infamous St. Louis question, "Where did you go to high school?" That, of course, is one of the first questions at St. Louisan asks any new acquaintance. Well, at least I can say I've been asked that a LOT. Tom and I didn't go to high school in St. Louis City or County, so we're looked upon as outsiders by those who did. (Smile.) There was a spot on the base of the cake where chalk goes, but there was no chalk anywhere in sight. I took some liberties with my editing program...
I like the edited version better! Here's the cake as we found it:
We were really disappointed not to have any chalk...so we looked around very carefully until we found a chalk fragment. Although it was more like a tiny sliver...or crumb, even. But it was enough for a little writing, and that's all that matters!
This is the cake for the Center of Creative Arts...or COCA. Really, for being the Center of Creative Arts, this cake is pretty plain! But it's colorful.
The last cake for the day definitely qualifies for the "Strangest Cake" category. I'm still trying to figure out the theme, or story...and I've got nothing. Maybe I can find something out about it online. The top is a big face. And I don't know what is going on on all of the sides. But we like this one, nevertheless! (Chloe was actually dying to see it after I told her about the face on top that scares some small children.)
Checking it out...
Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have wanted to pretend that I was eating this cake! But Chloe and Holly did.
Liza Fishbone is the artist for this cake and the Turtle Park cake. I still can't find out what she was going for when she painted this one.
Love the pictures! And the fun continues!
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