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Aloe Plaza
Aloe Plaza
Wedding
Information
Plant A Tree
In Aloe Plaza
Location:
18th; 20th; Market;
Chestnut
Ordinance Date:
1931
Size: 2.40 Acres
Now: 3.35 Acres
Ordinance 38206 -
38778
Acquisition Cost:
$2,385,205.73
Statue:
"The Meeting of the
Waters"
Sculptor:
Carl Milles
Donors:
Edith Aloe
Howard Baer
City of St. Louis
Completed: Nov.
1939
Unveiled: May 11,
1940
Materials:
Pool: Rainbow granite
Statues: Bronze
Dimensions:
Pool: 200 x 35 feet
Aloe Plaza Collage
Aloe Plaza Development
The central corridor of St. Louis, from Tucker Boulevard (formerly
Twelfth Street) on the east to Grand Boulevard on the west, was
densely populated at the turn of the twentieth century. The area was
a mixture of mansions and tenements, shops of all kinds, businesses,
factories, dance halls, taverns, clubs, restaurants, churches, schools
and other institutions.
Civic Improvement League, organized in 1901, called for razing the
area to create a central parkway. The 1920s saw the clearing out of a
portion of the area with the creation of the Soldiers Memorial and
Plaza, Kiel Auditorium, the widening of Market Street and the
construction of the Aloe Plaza opposite Union Station.
Development of the Aloe Plaza was made possible by an $87
million bond issue in 1923. The funds were used for widening Olive
Street and the clearance and development of land for several plazas
in the area bounded by Market, Chestnut, 12th and 20th Streets.
Aloe Plaza was named in honor of Louis P. Aloe, who died in 1929.
He served as President of the Board of Alderman from 1916 to 1923
and led the movement for passage of the bond issue.
wedding
The Meeting Of The Waters
Edith Aloe, Louis P. Aloe's widow, became acquainted with the
work of the Swedish sculptor, Carl Milles, at an exhibition of
modern art held by the St. Louis League of Women Voters in 1930.
The idea of commissioning Milles to build a fountain in Aloe Plaza
grew out of her enthusiasm for his work.
But the country was in the middle of the Depression so her idea was
put on hold until January 1936 when Mrs. Aloe gave a dinner in her
home for the sculptor,Carl Milles, and members of the St. Louis Art
Commission. She officially presented her check for $12,500.
Plaza: 280 x 75 feet
Cost:
Fountains: $150,000
Statues: $60,000
Lighting: $12,000
Landscaping: $3,000
Tulips: $200
Total: $225,000
Aloe Plaza
West Extension
Location:
20th, 21st,
Market, Chestnut
Size: 0.95 acres
Donation: 1969
Ordinance: 55277
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fountain
The City signed a contract with Milles in 1936. Milles designed and
cast the bronze statues for the fountain in his studio at the Cranbrook
Academy of Art, Cranbrook, Michigan. The fountain was completed
in November 1939, but remained veiled until its dedication on May
11, 1940 before a crowd of 3,000 persons.
fountain figures
The fountain, originally named "The Wedding of the Rivers," depicts
the union of the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers, represented by
the two central figures. Accompanying the two main figures and
forming a wedding procession are 17 water spirits, symbolic of the
smaller streams that empty into the two major rivers.
An uproar arose over the nudity of the male figure, reprenting the
Mississippi River and the female figure, the Missouri River. In
deference to the criticism, the name of the fountain was changed to
,"The Meeting of the Waters."
A plaque on the west side of the fountain says: "This fountain, the
work of Carl Milles, symbolizes the union of the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers which occurs a few miles north of the City of St.
Louis. These two mighty rivers in their power and beauty are
represented by the two central figures. The accompanying water
creatures are symbols of the many streams which contribute their
riches to the major currents. The sculptures are embodiments of the
freedom and primeval forge of the waterways of the Mississippi
Valley in acordance with the man's age old impulse to represent the
powers of nature in human or animal form. 'The Meeting of the
Waters' is conceived as a festival in which all these water forces are
taking part."
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This Page Last Modified: 04/07/10