St. Louis, Missouri: City Museum

The man behind the City Museum madness is Bob Cassily. The museum of mirth, mystery and mayhem is the creation of Bill Christman. The City Museum is constantly changing. For a while there was an indoor skate park -- sadly, it is no more. But there is very much to be happy about at the City Museum. Last year, the Haunted Caves opened, an extension of the indoor playground/mazes. Also, outdoors is Monstro City, four stories of climbing fun, including two airplanes, a firetruck, and of course, more slides. I live in st. louis and love the city museum.

The City Museum is indeed one of the most amazing pieces of work I've seen lately. The immense mazework of tunnels and sculpture on the bottom floor is the product of one man, Bill Castle, who built it over a five-or-six year period almost totally out of recycled materials. "We don't exactly know what was going on his head," said the volunteer who explained all this to me. The two other floors hold an art center for kids, a place called the Museum of Mirth, Mystery, and Mayhem (featuring a mobile-home trailer they claim was a gift from Col. Parker to Elvis), an architecture museum and much, much more. Their featured display is a collection of art shoes, along with a few historical pairs. Seems the building was once a shoe factory. This place is "dementia concretia" to the extreme. It has to be seen to be believed.

An eccentric millionaire recently opened a place called The City Museum in downtown St. Louis, MO, and if you're driving through this area you shouldn't miss it. It's housed on several floors of an old industrial building in the former garment section of town, and everything in the place is made of salvaged material. There's a huge forest/cave-like area where you can crawl around, old logs that run the length of the ceiling that you can cross the room in, a giant whale you can walk through, an architectural salvage museum, a very cool beatnik bar with a giant pair of underpants, a floor full of artists, and at one time, an art car display. You won't believe how amazing this place is. And with all of its nooks and crannies and unusual materials, you'll wonder how it ever got past the insurance hurdle. Go on a weekday when there aren't so many kids. It only costs $6. 701 N. 15th (you enter at 16th and Washington) Phone is 314-231-2489.