Aloe Plaza is a small park and plaza in St Louis, directly in front of

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

; it is the western terminus of the

St. Louis Gateway Mall The Gateway Mall in St. Louis, Missouri is an open green space running linearly, one block wide, from the Gateway Arch at Memorial Drive to St. Louis Union Station, Union Station at 20th Street. Located in the city's downtown, it runs between Ma ...

. Two city blocks in size, it is bounded by

Market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

, Chestnut, 18th, and 20th streets, although an extension west of 20th Street is being built (as of 2022). Construction of the plaza was enabled by a 1923 bond issue of 87 million dollars (about $ in dollars). The bond issue was championed by St Louis politician Louis P. Aloe, for whom the plaza is named.

The Meeting of the Waters

Aloe Plaza is dominated by the large fountain ''The Meeting of the Waters'', a St Louis landmark designed by

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedish sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the Gustaf Vasa sta ...

, symbolizing the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Two large figures represent the two rivers, and seventeen mythical creatures representing smaller tributaries adorn the fountain. ''The Meeting of the Waters'' is Milles's best known American work. Edith Aloe, Louis P. Aloe’s widow, was instrumental in ''Meeting of the Waters'' being funded and commissioned. The statue was commissioned in 1936, completed in 1939, and unveiled on May 11, 1940. The fountain met some criticism at first for its modernistic and irreverent features, and particularly for the nudity of the main figures (a male figure representing the Mississippi River and a female figure representing Missouri River). Milles had named the fountain ''The Wedding of the Waters'' and conceived the seventeen small naked and playful figures as a wedding party. Local officials felt that a nudist wedding ceremony was offensive, and insisted that the name be changed to ''The Meeting of the Waters''.

References

{{STL Parks Parks in St. Louis Geography of St. Louis 1931 establishments in Missouri Tourist attractions in St. Louis