West Newsmagazine 7-18-18

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July 18, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
Local history museum to open July 29 in Chesterfield Mall
I NEWS I 11
By JIM ERICKSON
There’s nothing like celebrating a dreamcome-true
event on a date commemorating
the silver anniversary of another historical
happening.
That’s the plan of the Heritage Foundation
of Chesterfield, the Wiegand Foundation
and the Chesterfield Historic and Landmark
Preservation Committee [CHLPC] when
those groups hold an open house at their
new museum site in Chesterfield Mall. The
date of the event is Sunday, July 29, the 25th
anniversary of the Great Flood of 1993.
Making the museum a reality has taken
a while and has required the persistence
of a number of people who believe Chesterfield’s
history is a story that should be
preserved. Among them is Don Wiegand, a
Chesterfield sculptor with an international
reputation, who is serving as the museum’s
volunteer curator.
Wiegand’s efforts fall under the goals of
his nonprofit, The Wiegand Foundation.
Among other things, the foundation creates,
collects and makes available works
of art memorializing notable accomplishments
by individuals and organizations in
various endeavors ranging from science
and technology to health and human services.
Developing museum facilities and
other exhibits fits right in with that purpose.
As the date of the open house approaches,
Wiegand can be found on most days at the
From left, Michael Kane, DeeAnn Wilson-Wright, Jane Durrell and Don Wiegand discuss exhibits
to be featured at the Chesterfield Museum open house scheduled for July 29 at Chesterfield Mall.
museum arranging items for viewing and
preparing the 5,000-square-foot site for its
public debut.
Even though the museum is not officially
open, whenever Wiegand is there the
roll-up gate at the entrance is raised high
enough to enable any curious passersby to
wander in. There, they will find the sculptor
more than willing to interrupt his work
and talk about the operation – what it will
contain and why he thinks it’s important.
DeeAnn Wilson-Wright, a West County
real estate broker, long-time aficionado of
local history and president of the Heritage
Foundation of Chesterfield, used her professional
contacts to explore and arrange
space for the museum at the mall a number
of months ago. The Chesterfield City
Council had reservations about signing a
lease for the museum and the CHLPC, as
a volunteer citizens group, didn’t have
the legal standing to do so. That’s when
the Heritage Foundation stepped in and
accepted responsibility for the agreement.
The Heritage Foundation was formed in
2004 with the primary goal of forming and
maintaining a local historical museum but
had been unsuccessful in earlier efforts to
secure a suitable site. The mall location
provided an answer.
The city formerly kept funds the CHLPC
raised through its annual calendar sales
and contributions in a separate account;
however, by mutual agreement, the money
now has been turned over to the Heritage
Foundation where it still has its own segregated
account.
Wiegand has added to the museum’s
exhibits from his own collection of historical
items and other memorabilia. “The
museum will illustrate that history and art
are often intertwined,” Wiegand observed.
The sculptor’s own background provides
an example. He was raised on the second
floor of the Smokehouse Market, operated
in its early years by his parents on
the eastern edge of what is now known as
Chesterfield Valley. Today, many view the
Smokehouse and adjoining Annie Gunn’s
Restaurant as city landmarks.
Wiegand went on to earn a fine arts
degree in sculpture from Washington University
and has created numerous works of
iconic figures in local, national and world
history. The figure of legendary entertainer
and humanitarian Bob Hope, used for the
Spirit of Hope award medals given annually
for outstanding service to the nation, is
one of his best-known efforts. Other works
have included sculptures of Pope John Paul
II, aviator Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit
of St. Louis aircraft, St. Louis businessman
August Busch Jr., Winston Churchill, Mark
Twain and Ernest Hemingway.
Wiegand views his role in the Chesterfield
museum as a commitment to the community
where he was raised and received
the opportunity and encouragement to
develop his talents.
As for the commemoration of the 1993
See HISTORY MUSEUM, page 30
Ellisville’s Planning & Zoning moves proposed church property rezoning forward
By JESSICA MESZAROS
Residents filled the seats and lined the
walls of the Ellisville City Council chambers
for the city’s July 11 Planning and
Zoning Commission [P&Z] meeting.
They were there for a public hearing
regarding the petitions of Shawneetown
Capital, LLC for rezoning approval for the
former First Baptist Church of Ellisville
site, located at 55 Clarkson Road, and the
detention property, located at 1283 Vero
Lane. Shawneetown Capital is seeking
rezoning from R-1 Single Family Residential
to C-5 Planned Commercial District.
On a 5-2 vote, the commission approved
a positive recommendation to the city council
on the proposed rezoning and development,
albeit with a series of amendments.
Chairman Curtis Boggs [District 3] was
absent from the meeting.
According to City Planner Ada Hood,
the next step is for the plans to go to a city
council public hearing, set for July 18.
The applicant is proposing to subdivide
the former church site into three different
lots, with an existing fourth lot on Vero Lane.
The first lot will be located at the corner of
Vero Lane and Clarkson Road and would
accommodate a new drive-through restaurant.
The second lot will accommodate a
Tidal Wave car wash facility with a convenience
store with proposed liquor sales, a
gas station and an attached [second] drivethrough
restaurant. The third lot, located
near the back, will accommodate a new
self-storage facility. The fourth lot on Vero
Lane will remain a stormwater detention
facility to service the main property. Out of
the four parcels, three will be designated as
commercial use and taxed at a commercial
rate, according to Beau Reinberg, a principal
with Shawneetown Capital, LLC.
According to the technical memo from
The Lochmueller Group dated May 25,
the proposed development specifically
includes 78,469 square feet of self-storage,
a 6,300-square-foot Tidal Wave [including
a car wash, convenience mart and
Smoothie King] and a 2,120-square-foot
Panda Express restaurant.
When both the Comprehensive and Great
Streets Master plans were developed, neither
anticipated that the church would vacate the
property or that the property would have to
be consequently rezoned, Hood said.
For church member Mike Rhoads, the
rezoning is a positive outcome for the
site, following a decision by First Baptist
Church of Ellisville over 20 years prior
that left the site abandoned.
The vacant First Baptist Church of Ellisville
property, located off Clarkson Road
“When an offer for the property came up,
it was not a quick decision,” Rhoads said.
“There has been a drive to sell the property
to someone who would be a good neighbor
in Ellisville.”
According to Reinberg, the plan is for
the more intense uses, like the proposed
gas station and luxury car wash, to be in
the front and the low-intensity uses, like
the self-storage facility, to be in the rear
and serve as a buffer to adjacent residential
properties. An additional sidewalk also has
been discussed toward the back-property
line, and a new crosswalk was discussed
for the adjacent Vero Lane.
The stand-alone restaurant will have seating
along Clarkson Road, and the gas station
will feature about 16 pumps and be
open 24/7. The proposed convenience store
would be a mixed-use development with a
car wash tunnel, fast-food restaurant and
drive-through. The store also would remain
open 24/7. The other facilities would have
various morning and evening hours, with
See ELLISVILLE, page 30