The Meeting of the Waters May 11, 1940 - 74 years-ago today, Milles Fountain, The Meeting of the Waters is unveiled in Aloe Plaza, across the street from Union Station. The fountain, originally named “The Wedding of the Rivers,” depicts the merger of the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers, represented by the two central figures. Joining the two main figures and making up the wedding procession are 17 water figures, symbolic of the tributaries that empty into the two major rivers. Initially, an uproar arose over the nudity of the male figure, representing the Mississippi River and the female figure, the Missouri River, & this brought about the name change. Louis P. Aloe was the president of A. S. Aloe & Company, which made and sold optical, surgical, and photographic equipment, & was President of the Board of Aldermen from 1916 to 1923. Its believed that his leadership helped pass the 1923 bond issue, which funded many major building projects downtown, as well as the acquisition of the ground which would later be named in his honor. Suffering a stroke in 1926, he would die in 1929. Edith Aloe, his widow, became familiar 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 as the nations Depression grew deeper, her idea was put on hold until January 1936 when Mrs. Aloe hosted a dinner in her home for the sculptor and members of the St. Louis Art Commission. At this time, she presented him her personal check for $12,500. Shortly thereafter, the city signed a contract for him to design and cast the bronze statues for the fountain in his studio, located at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook, Michigan. Although they were completed in November 1939, they remained covered until its dedication on May 11, 1940 before a crowd of 3,000 people. Addition works in our area by Carl Milles can be found at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Milles Sculpture Garden was opened in 1988 with seven of his works. The figural pieces from the sculptors early, middle, and late years were acquired by the Gateway Foundation for exhibition in the Garden. All are recent sand-mold casts in bronze from original models preserved at Millesgården, the sculptors estate near Stockholm. The Sculpture Garden lies in the area between the Spink Pavilion and the Climatron.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 19:57:16 +0000
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