Who is the Demo Man?

For decades, Don Bellon, head demo man for Bellon Wrecking and Salvage, had a desktop statue of a man swinging a sledgehammer, called The Wrecker.

Bellon’s fondness for this miniature figurine led him to enlist mechanic, Bud Knobeloch, to create a scaled up replica of the statue.

Using surplus scrap metal from the company, they crafted the renowned 20-foot-tall Demo Man statue. The Demo Man was placed on a wedge of land across from the Bellon Wrecking & Salvage office near the corner of Chouteau and Vandeventer. For 20 years, the Demo Man was a St. Louis landmark, visible to anyone exiting Highway 40 at Vandeventer. Currently, the Demo Man is in storage and looking for a new home.

Read more about the Demo Man