A lovely antique circa 1910s silver plated wine cooler or champagne bucket from the Sun Set Inn in St. Louis Missouri. In very good condition for its age with no big dents or repairs, lots of small marks and surface scratches, staining and wear inside from standing water. Measures approximately 8.5” tall, 8” wide across the top.
The historic Sunset Inn in St. Louis was a prominent early 20th-century dining and social club established in 1910 by Adolphus Busch in South County (at Denney and Gravois roads). It later evolved into the Sunset Country Club. In 1910, Adolphus Busch decided St. Louis needed a social and dining club in South County. He wanted a hilly, undeveloped, wooded site that would permit privacy and an opportunity to share in nature's beauty, and one that would serve Anheuser-Busch products exclusively. In November of 1910, he settled on [an] initial 26 acres and constructed the Sunset Inn which served an impressive 1,800 Members.
The inn was built at a cost of $250,000, and according to an article in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, had a capacity for several hundred guests. In addition, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Busch family built "elaborate stables and a coliseum costing $150,000. The stables will accommodate 75 horses. The arena will be oval in shape, 180 feet by 85 feet. The coliseum will have a large seating capacity for guests.
The Busch family continued to acquire more property until they had accumulated 170 acres, and in 1917 a golf course was added that at the time was hailed as one of the most beautiful and best designs in the country.
Like most private clubs, Sunset Hill suffered through the years of the Great Depression and temporarily closed its doors in 1937. A few months later, a group of former Sunset Hill members approached Anheuser-Busch to reorganize the club, which they did in 1938, renaming the club Sunset Country Club. In 1944, Anheuser-Busch was approached by the membership with a proposal to buy the club outright. After consulting with Alice Busch, the widow of August A. Busch Sr., who held deed, the sale was completed in 1945.
