Sunday, December 16, 2012

Union Station in St. Louis, Missouri - Decorated for Christmas

On September 1, 1894, St. Louis Union Station opened as the largest and most beautiful train terminal in the United States.  Over twice as large as its nearest competitor, this enormous project was built at the cost of $6.5 million.

postmarked in 2011 with a 29 cent Lavender stamp

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St. Louis Union Station, a National Historic Landmark, was a passenger train terminal in St. Louis, Missouri. Once the world's largest and busiest train station, it was converted in the early 1980s into a luxury hotel, shopping center, and entertainment complex. Today, it is one of the city's major tourist attractions and serves only local rail (Metro) transit passengers.
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Here is a postcard of it when it was a Station....
Union Station St. Louis, Missouri, Showing Plaza and Fountains

In front of St. Louis' famous Union Station is the Aloe Plaza which features a beautiful $50,000 fountain in which a series of 19 bronze figures by Carl Milles, noted Swedish sculptor are used to depict the meeting of the waters, the Missouri and the Mississippi.  It is named for the late husband of Mrs. Louis P. Aloe, who started the movement for the fountain and made a large contribution toward it.  The Aloe Plaza was dedicated in 1940. 

Postmarked in  1949 with a one cent Washington stamp 





1 comment:

ONeal said...

Nice to see St. Louis come up! Union Station still looks pretty much the same after all these years. It's a convenient place to park when going to concerts at nearby Scottrade Center... I didn't know the meaning behind the fountains.