Hi, We all know the story of the coonskin. According to the information I have been able to find, it was displayed in the Frisco Headquarters building at St. Louis for many years, until the railroad merged. I have often wondered what happened to the coonskin after this, and it seems like I might have found the answer: https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/history/100years.cfm This tells the all-to familiar coonskin story, and even has a picture of the skin, but goes on to say: "The original coon skin from which the emblem was visualized, is now in a frame in the General Office Building in St. Louis, Mo." Having lived in St. Louis my whole life, I never knew the coonskin was supposedly still around. I've never even heard of the "General Office Building" here. Can anyone confirm the skin's existence and/or location? I'd like to go see this infamous item for myself, and see what condition it's in. Thanks, S. Connors Here is a photo of the skin from the above linked site:
I wonder if this is the place? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisco_Building I went there over the summer (right when security was on lunch break) and took the elevator to every floor. Mostly just full of lawyer offices and empty areas, but the lobby looks like not much was changed. They have lions on the outside wall of the building and there is a table with lions on the legs in the lobby (Meaning probably original?) I didn't see a coon skin though, but I wasnt looking for it in particular so it might be worth a shot stopping by and checking it out to see if it is there. Frisco152251
Thanks, My info. is likely outdated by this point, or it could have been inaccurate from the start. But the chance that the Frisco Coonskin could still be around is something too exciting to ignore. Whoever owns it at this point likely has little to no conception of it's historical value. If it is still on display in some office building, perhaps they might be convinced to donate it to some organization that will appreciate it. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, we're not sure where it is,who owns it, or if it even still exists. -S. Connors
