Clayton Community Foundation

Les Danseuses is a highly abstract sculpture in stainless steel that resembles tall, sinewy blades of grass. Art and technology unite in this kinetic sculpture, whose steel cylinders were originally designed to "dance" to the sun's rays by responding to solar cells installed on nearby rooftops. While no longer operable, the piece remains an elegantly organic contrast to the hard-lined geometry of the adjacent buildings. Created by William Severson and Saunders Schultz in 1983.

Clayton Community Foundation (CCF) is pleased to announce the Clayton’s Neighborhoods Video Project, a close look at multiple neighborhoods designed by nationally known architects early in the 1900s. Shortly after the St. Louis World’s Fair, the undeveloped land west of Forest Park attracted the excitement of developers and interest of downtown residents. Clayton had been named the seat of St. Louis County government after the Great Divorce in 1876, and the wooded, rolling ac...reage was less than a day’s ride by horseback from the bustling downtown city. The CCF History Committee teamed with Cordell Whitlock, award-winning former KSDK television reporter, and Peter Foggy, former KSDK television videographer, to prepare the script and produce the videos of eight neighborhoods within the City of Clayton community over the past few months. Starring in Clayton’s Neighborhoods is Esley Hamilton, who served for nearly 40 years as the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Preservation Historian. He is credited with cataloguing over 4,000 county buildings and adding more than 40 properties and districts to the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, he worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation to save a community of homes that belonged to the county’s first African American development during the Highway 40 expansion project. Hamilton has been called irreplaceable and encyclopedic, and received one of four nationwide preservation awards from the Secretary of the Interior. We are so very fortunate to have Esley’s wealth of knowledge of local neighborhoods, said Katie Lerwick, chair of CCF History. His gift of information, along with our stellar team, has created a group of videos that will delight residents and inform people who are visiting or relocating here.

Clayton's Neighborhoods: Hillcrest Please enjoy the first video from Clayton Community Foundation's video project Clayton's Neighborhoods featuring the Hillcrest neighborhood. We will be releasing a new video every month from now until July 2021. The CCF History Committee teamed with Cordell Whitlock, award-winning former KSDK television reporter, and Peter Foggy, former KSDK television videographer, to prepare the script and produce the videos of eight neighborhoods within... the City of Clayton community over the past few months. Starring in Clayton’s Neighborhoods is Esley Hamilton, who served for nearly 40 years as the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Preservation Historian. He is credited with cataloguing over 4,000 county buildings and adding more than 40 properties and districts to the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, he worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation to save a community of homes that belonged to the county’s first African American development during the Highway 40 expansion project. Hamilton has been called irreplaceable and encyclopedic, and received one of four nationwide preservation awards from the Secretary of the Interior. We are so very fortunate to have Esley’s wealth of knowledge of local neighborhoods, said Katie Lerwick, chair of CCF History. His gift of information, along with our stellar team, has created a group of videos that will delight residents and inform people who are visiting or relocating here. An important video segment in February also features former Clayton High School history teacher and historian, Donna Rogers-Beard, who provides a meaningful overview of Clayton’s past African American community.

Just a reminder of our free virtual event THIS Wednesday, January 13th at 6:30 PM featuring Sam Altman and moderated by Charlie Brennan. Please RSVP to [email protected] to receive the Zoom link.

Have you ever wondered about the somewhat frightening statue on the corner of City Hall? The internationally renowned sculptor Carl Milles spent much of his life in Sweden where Folke Filbyter was a literary hero. Milles had been inspired by an episode in the Swedish author and Nobel Laureate Verner von Heidenstam’s novel Folkungaträdet when he created Folke Filbyter, who was the heathen ancestor of the Folkunga dynasty. According to an old Swedish myth, Folke Filbyter was se...arching for his grandson who had been kidnapped by the monks. In this sculpture, he is apparently crossing a brook while engrossed in his search. Wikipedia describes how the name Filbyter translates, check it out if you dare. Milles has designed many fountain sculptures throughout the United States, including the acclaimed "The Meeting of the Waters" fountain across from Union Station in downtown St. Louis. See more

CCF at Home with Sam Altman. Please join us for this event, moderated by Charlie Brennan of KMOX and KETC's Donnybrook, on Wednesday, January 13 at 6:30 p.m. CST. Sam Altman is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and CEO of OpenAI, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and deployment company with the mission to ensure that AI benefits all of humanity. Raised in Clayton, when Altman was just 19, he founded a social networking company Loopt, later sold for $43 million. He... is past president of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that helped launch companies such as Reddit, Dropbox, and Airbnb. Event is complimentary, but RSVP is required. If you haven't already registered, please RSVP to [email protected] The Zoom link will be emailed to all registered guests the week of the event.

City of Clayton, Missouri Parks and Recreation is participating in the "Feed the Masses" Challenge with 17 other municipalities in the St. Louis area to help fight food insecurity in our region. Clayton will have a donation area just inside the doors at Center of Clayton(50 Gay Avenue) through November 30th. The city that collects the most canned goods will be crowned the 2020 "Feed the Masses" Champion! Help showcase the giving spirit of Clayton and support those in need this holiday season!

Did you know the Clayton Community Foundation is raising money to bring Historic Markers to Clayton? One of the planned historic markers will be located in the Hillcrest neighborhood, recently featured in our Clayton's Neighborhoods video project. If you are interested in donating to the Historic Markers program, please contact Alex Elmstead at [email protected] We can't wait to bring these historic markers to Clayton.

Maybe another park to maintain social distancing and still experience public art is Wydown Park, located just east of Hanley Road on Wydown Boulevard. The open grassy area in the center is a space for children to run and play. The park also contains the five-foot-tall limestone sculpture "Youth" by Todd Frahm. Hoarded by squirrels, kicked and crushed by human feet, the acorn is an unlikely candidate for a work of public art, but during the autumn months you can find many acorns lining Wydown Boulevard.

Don’t let the materials used for political yard signs go to waste after the election! On Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m. 12 p.m., the City of Clayton, Missouri will a host curbside collection of corrugated plastic yard signs in front of The Center of Clayton located at 50 Gay Avenue. This region-wide initiative aims to recycle these signs, which are not recyclable through single stream. Help support the Clayton Community Foundation's Sustainability pillar by dropping off your signs next Saturday! #ccf #ccfsustainability