Inside the abandoned Cementland theme park that met a tragic end

TAKE A look inside the abandoned site of Cementland – a theme park that was to be built on a former cement factory.

The four-acre location was once home to a thriving factory on the outskirts of St. Louis, Missouri but became a dumping ground for construction companies once the factory closed down.

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To turn the wasteland into an attraction that would help the local community to prosper, sculptor Bob Cassilly had a vision to transform the former cement factory into a children’s theme park.

Cementland was set to be a destination that would blend art, history, architecture, and themes of evolution.

It is thought that the theme park would’ve had a castle theme, with sculptor Bob Cassilly nearing completion of renovating a former factory building into a replica of a medieval castle.

There was also a courtyard that featured sculptures made out of antique machinery, rock, and cement.

The site of Cementland was said to have unbeatable views of the city skyline.

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Construction on the attraction was halted when owner and sculptor Bob Cassilly lost his life at the theme park.

In September 2011, it was reported that Bob Cassilly was killed at the Cementland site when the bulldozer he was driving flipped over and tossed over a hill.

However, further investigation in 2016 suggested that Bob was beaten to death after physician Dr Arthur Combs reexamined the initial autopsy reports.

It is thought that the murder scene was then staged to look like Bob’s tragic death was an accident.

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There were hopes that Bob’s vision of Cementland could still come to life following his death, with his family planning on restarting construction.

But after a warehouse fire at the site in 2014 caused further damage to the derelict site, any hope of restarting the project seem to have vanished.

The abandoned site of Cementland remains closed to the public.

Speaking in 2000, Bob said: “They talk about historic districts and stuff like that but one of the main things is, our architecture is basically copying stuff from Europe.

“But our industry, it’s kind of like jazz, it’s an American, original thing.

“Why not look at it for what it is? It’s impressive. It might be threatening, but you can’t help but be impressed by it.”