{{Short description|Abandoned public art project in St. Louis}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} thumb|right|250px|Cementland in 2015 '''Cementland''' is an incomplete public art exhibit on the 54-acre site of a former cement factory just north of St. Louis, Missouri. The brainchild of sculptor Bob Cassilly, who also created St. Louis' City Museum, it contains giant concrete sculptures and obsolete machinery, and was planned to have navigable waterways, among many other features.<ref>Wilson, D.J. [http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2000-09-13/news/there-he-goes-again/full "There He Goes Again"], ''Riverfront Times'', 13 September 2000.</ref>
Much of the landscaping is built on dirt dumped by local construction companies, who used the land as a dump before Cassilly purchased it and who paid him for the privilege. Cassily was funding the construction of Cementland himself; the free material and income from the dumping helps underwrite what he said would "otherwise be an unaffordable project."<ref name="NYTIMES" />
The site, outside the city boundaries in the village of Riverview, provides a view of the Gateway Arch. “In the afternoon, when the sun shines on the city, you get this nice reflection. You don’t see all the trash and stuff. It’s the best view of the city,” Cassilly said.<ref name="NYTIMES">Sparks, Matthew Summers. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/arts/design/25ceme.html "One Part Cement, One Part Whimsy, One Odd Park"], ''New York Times'', 25 August 2007.</ref>
On September 26, 2011, Cassilly was killed at the Cementland site, and it was initially reported that he died when the bulldozer he was driving flipped down a hill. However, in October 2016, medical expert Dr. Arthur Combs concluded that "Almost every rib on both sides of Cassilly's body were broken... Which could not have come from a bulldozer accident."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_8eb51012-e851-11e0-af8b-0019bb30f31a.html|title = City Museum founder killed in bulldozer accident}}</ref> Despite this conclusion, St. Louis Medical Examiner, Michael Graham, said "We will stick with our original findings. We feel this was an accident".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fenske |first1=Sarah |title=Bob Cassilly Was Beaten to Death, Medical Expert Concludes |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2016/10/11/bob-cassilly-was-beaten-to-death-medical-expert-concludes |website=Riverfront Times |publisher=Riverfront Times |accessdate=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012160224/https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2016/10/11/bob-cassilly-was-beaten-to-death-medical-expert-concludes |archive-date=12 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Cassilly family said that they had hopes to continue construction on the project, but in 2022 they sold the site at auction for $785,000.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kukuljan|first1=Steph|title=Bob Cassilly's unfinished Cementland sold at auction for $785,000|url=https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/bob-cassillys-unfinished-cementland-sold-at-auction-for-785-000/article_c0464ba1-87eb-5c25-83d5-be5a7bf62d54.html|website=stlTODAY|publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|accessdate=12 September 2022}}</ref> St. Louis photographer Richard Sprengeler has extensively photographed the site as part of a 2022 series.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cementland: Bob Cassilly's Unfinished Masterpiece|url=https://richardsprengeler.com/category/galleries/gallery/cementland-bob-cassillys-unfinished-masterpiece/|publisher=Richard Sprengeler|accessdate=12 September 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20161019073225/http://www.cementland.com/ Official site: Cementland] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130417032926/http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/09/cementland_bob_cassilly_photos.php Article and photos of the project] * [https://sublunarphotography.blogspot.com/2012/08/cementland-part-2.html Photos]
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Category:Museums in St. Louis Category:Art museums and galleries in Missouri Category:Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in Missouri Category:Proposed museums in the United States