St. Louis’ yearlong 250th anniversary celebration will close Wednesday night with First Night in Grand Center.
As part of the festivities, a few STL250 cakes began arriving at the Public Media Commons on Monday morning. The Public Media Commons is located between St. Louis Public Radio and the Nine Network on Olive Street.
Throughout the year, 250 fiberglass cakes were placed at significant locations throughout the region. According to Erin Budde, volunteer executive director of STL250, 35 cakes will make their way to the Public Media Commons for New Year’s Eve. That night, the city’s final STL250 cake will be unveiled.
Budde said she will update the STL250 website each evening to reflect which cakes have been placed in Grand Center.
(The photo slideshow at the top includes 12 cakes and is current as of 11 a.m. Monday morning.)
The 35 cakes are part of an online auction to benefit stl250’s 1764 Society. That group plans to build a plaza around the statue of Pierre Laclede near St. Louis City Hall.
Bidding started Dec. 17 on 67 cakes. As of Monday morning, the total number of cakes has increased to 84, with more than $20,000 raised. The top five bids are the Scottrade Center ($680), Wainwright Building ($605), Eads Bridge ($500), Grand Basin / Fair St. Louis ($405) and Grant’s Farm ($400).
The Public Media Commons is open to the public and there will be no admission charge to see the cakes during Wednesday’s First Night celebration.
