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.
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.
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.
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."
 Official Web Site of the City of St. Louis
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