This beautiful statue of Hebe was donated to the city of Baton Rouge in 1914 by the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Originally the statue was a drinking fountain, offering cool water to nourish thirsty citizens (instead of what they might otherwise be drinking on hot Louisiana days).
Although her waterworks have not been operational in decades the statue still a beautiful and historic addition to downtown Baton Rouge.
She stands on an ornate base in the 300 block of North Boulevard, across from the ornate former US post office. In a bit of an ironic twist, the old US post office is now a gentleman's club where presumably they serve drinks much stronger than water.
More on the interesting and amusing history of this statue can be found here, in the book "Landmarks and Monuments of Baton Rouge", by Hilda S. Krousel: (
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[page 31]
MONUMENTS OF FAMOUS INDIVIDUALS
Hebe
The Parkway downtown on North Boulevard across the street from the city club of Baton Rouge is grazed by the bronze beauty of Hebe, known in Greek mythology as cupbearer to the gods. Her elegant form stands almost undetected today, partially hidden by the giant oak trees that seem to shield her. In fact, most motorists be past her, noticing her only if they have stopped for one of the traffic lights.
But there was a time when the lovely lady was located farther down the street and dominated the intersection of North Boulevard and Third Street, the present-day Riverside Mall. Then she was ensconced in a large basin and surrounded with fountains. No one ignored her at this time, particularly since her arrival and dedication in 1914 had caused such an uproar in the community.
The Women's Christian Temperance Union(WCTU) and Baton Rouge was directly responsible for Hebe's presence. It appears that its members become concerned about the increasing popularity of liquor in their expanding university town; consequently, they felt the need to erect some type of monument to glorify the virtues of temperance and abstinence from alcoholic beverages. After all, these were women interested in and recognized for supporting their values of home and family through abstinence and religious devotion.
We can only imagine their consternation when they discovered that the elegant, beautiful statue that they had selected for this purpose [page 32] was none other than the wine serving Goddess on Mount Olympus. Exactly why the WCTU chose this particular figure remains a mystery to this day. What we do know is that Hebe cost her sponsors a great deal of embarrassment and even elicited some adamant denials regarding her true identity.
Hebe, the daughter of Zeus and Hera in Greek mythology, was also the goddess of eternal youth and joyousness in his famous poem “L’Allegro,” English poet John Milton described “the Nods and and backs, and wreathed smiles/Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek.” She was also the ideal of a potential housewife. According to the Greek poet Homer, this divine princess also performed household tasks, harnessing her mother's horses and even bathing her young brother, Ares. The Greeks also celebrated her as the “Goddess of young maternity.” Her reward for processing all these qualities was the privilege of marrying Hercules.
Perhaps the temperance league had these attributes in mind and selected Hebe to personify the “bloom of youth” that could be perpetuated if her jug were filled with water instead of wanting. Maybe the WCTU wanted honor these exemplary domestic attributes definitely not associated with imbibing. Whatever the case may have been, once Hebe arrived in Baton Rouge, she was here to stay. She was a copy of the original Hebe statue by the noted Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. He had executed her face, form and grace to such perfection that the original statue poses bare breasted at the Louvre Museum today. After the ladies of the WCTU supervise the execution of proper attire for their Hebe, the municipality of Baton Rouge agreed to assist the temperance group in locating the young goddess in suitable surroundings close to the old State Capitol.
After Hebe was situated, the city built an ice tank on the site of her basin, and even offered to ride water for the many drinking fountains that encircled her. This was in keeping with the custom prevalent at the turn-of-the-century for cities to provide public drinking fountains for their citizens. There, in the heart of downtown Baton Rouge, Hebe ruled for many years. Her sponsors hope that you serve as a constant reminder that “cool, clear water was much better than warm, red wine.” With the years, the water that flowed freely from her fountains seem to resolve her reputed “conflict of interest,” and she became a favorite gathering place during the hot summer months.
Hebe’s popularity in Baton Rouge continued four 1956 the Metro Council approved plans to appropriate $10,000 to beautify and develop the neutral ground on the 300 block of North Boulevard. When the Baton Rouge chapter of the Louisiana Landscape Association submitted the plan, it included moving Hebe to her present location.
Despite the restoration by the Louisiana state University art department in 2003, the “naughty lady on the shady Boulevard,” as Hebe came to be affectionately known, unfortunately succumbed to the ravages of time. Just as the wine goddess herself had tripped and fallen to be put replaced by Ganymede as cupbearer to the Olympian rulers, so did Baton Rouges Hebe fall from grace, a victim of neglect and vandalism. Her fountains were the first to go. Because of the ruptured spouts the city discontinued the flow of untainted water. Consequently both the basins in the fountains were removed. The “naughty lady” soon became a “forgotten lady.”
Miraculously, the smiling rounded form still stands, albeit in solitude and down the street from the intersection where she once rained. Maybe she is a testament to the fact that mankind likes to cling to its past perhaps she waits to have her fate become akin to that of the Greek gods. After all when Hebe lost her job on Mount Olympus, she was granted permission by [page 33] the gods to marry a deified Hercules as a consolation prize, as was previously mentioned. Does our Hebe await her modern-day Hercules or would restoration is a public fountain suffice?. . ."