Who Built The St. Louis Arch, And Why?

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was designated as a National Memorial by Executive Order 7523, on December 21, 1935, and is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS).



The park was established to commemorate several historical events:



1) The Louisiana Purchase, and the subsequent westward movement of American explorers and pioneers;

2) The first civil government west of the Mississippi River;

3) The debate over slavery raised by the Dred Scott case.



The memorial site consists of a 91-acre (36.8 ha) park along the Mississippi River on the site of the original city of St. Louis; the Old Courthouse, a former state and federal courthouse which saw the origins of the Dred Scott case; the 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2) Museum of Westward Expansion; and most notably, the Gateway Arch, an inverted steel catenary arch that has become the definitive icon of the city.



The Gateway Arch, also known as the Gateway to the West, is an integral part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and the iconic image of St. Louis, Missouri. It was made to honor the westward expansion. It was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947. It is 630 feet (192 m) wide at its base and stands 630 feet (192 m) tall, making it the tallest monument in the United States. Construction started on February 12, 1963, and ended on October 28, 1965. The monument opened to the public on July 10, 1967Who Built The St. Louis Arch, And Why?
The Gateway Arch, centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, commemorating the Louisiana Purchase was first designed in about 1948. The original idea for a Memorial started in the 1930's and after the war there was a contest for the design of a memorial, there were many, but the Arch won out. The architect was originally from Finland and named Eero Saarinen.



Ground was broken in the early 1960's and the arch was completed on October, 28 1965. Thousands were on the ground watching the last piece put in the top and thousands more watched on live TV in St. Louis. I don't know if it was carried live anywhere else or not. Thousands of steel workers (the arch is stainless steel) worked on the arch, building it, putting in the transportation system to take people to the top, etc. Not a single life was lost in the construction although it was feared there would be some.



The idea was St. Louis was the "Gateway to the West', thousands, maybe millions of pioneers went through St. Louis on the way west, to California, Oregon, and other places. Wagon trains started in St. Joseph, Missouri, north of Kansas City, but most came through the city to get supplies and horses, or other animals, wagons, etc. for the trip west. The area where the Arch is was where the wharfs were for cotton carrying boats from the south, steam ships that would go up and down the river and other things. The Missouri River is north of the city and in 1804 Lewis and Clark headed west from there on their expedition.



There is a good movie that is shown at the Gateway Arch Visitor center that talks about the building of the Arch. I forget what it is called,but if you are ever in St. Louis and go to the Arch, see the movie, it will tell a lot.Who Built The St. Louis Arch, And Why?
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