Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Urban exploration in St. Louis, Missouri
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Kit
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Re: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by Kit »

then you can try it again when you are in jail. FUN STUFF
Kit wrote:I am old
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Freak
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by Freak »

Just buy Caveland or some other place with Sandstone under it, Sandstone is waayyyyy easier to dig into than limestone and you can just make your own caves.

Seriously, if someone has extra money, just buy vacant land with sandstone and carve out a house instead of building it. Earth Shelter = cheaper heating/cooling too!
the_p0ssum
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Re: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by the_p0ssum »

I couldn't find where this had been posted before, but here's a very interesting account of the cave from 1946, before the I-55 construction messed everything up.
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by archinstl »

Quite a find! Thanks!
The account was written in an interesting literary manner.

I thought I'd written this before in this forum, but could not find it, so...
I toured it once as a kid, back in the early '50s. Frankly, I thought it was pretty kitschy. For ? reason, I recall it being promoted as an "Indian cave." The cave and the museum above just reminded me of those old highway "zoo" attractions which promised thrills but only showed a possum, a raccoon, an armadillo, and a mangy coyote - and the "man-eating" alligator was 12 inches long...
The parts open to the paying public were only the "natural" parts and not the parts belonging to the brewery per se (no stage and no swimming pool, etc.).
I think the entrance was on Cherokee Street, but am not sure. I know it disappeared when the highway was built.
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SubLunar
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by SubLunar »

archinstl wrote:I think the entrance was on Cherokee Street, but am not sure. I know it disappeared when the highway was built.
The entrance was off Cave street where the ramp is now, behind Demenil.
archinstl wrote: For ? reason, I recall it being promoted as an "Indian cave.
Part of it is referred to as Indian Passage.
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by christopher »

Green and Red are traces from a couple different manipulated/scaled rough maps. But they match pretty good.
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crazydrummerdude
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Re: RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by crazydrummerdude »

christopher wrote:Green and Red are traces from a couple different manipulated/scaled rough maps. But they match pretty good.
:lol:
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by SubLunar »

What did you base this on?
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by christopher »

keg stand map and 1946 full story map
KatyaRose92
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by KatyaRose92 »

What is the big building at Cherokee and Broadway? Does anyone have any idea? I'm apparently not good with blind searches...
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by SubLunar »

The bottling department.
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by KatyaRose92 »

Ah, OK... I've been down that way before but I was driving and more concerned with getting to Lemp than what was around me. I also didn't realize how much that wedge of property sticks out on a map. Kind of amazing to think about what that area used to look like once upon a time.
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Nicotti
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RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by Nicotti »

Don't know where else to post this or if it's been posted before:
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More online investigation than onsite exploration these days.

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Re: RE: Lemp/Cherokee position under streets

Post by Whitepanther »

Nicotti wrote:Don't know where else to post this or if it's been posted before:
Cool pic. Would have loved to get a tour of this back in the Lee Hess era. Or even now. But I’ve never been inside. Probably never will either.

There’s a miniature museum inside of the Lemp Mansion. It’s in the rear left of the building inside of the Lemp’s cash vault. They have lots of Falstaff items and a small section dedicated to Cherokee Cave. It’s not something I’d say is worth a special trip. But if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood it’s worth seeing.
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