The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, on the west bank of the
Mississippi River, is the city’s most notable landmark. Constructed of
stainless steel, soaring 630-feet into the air, and built in the form of an
inverted, weighted, catenary arch, it is the world’s tallest arch, and the
tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere. Designed by Eero Saarinen,
and built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, it is
the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and has become an
internationally famous symbol of St. Louis
The Gateway Arch is one of the most visited tourist attractions in
the world with over four million visitors annually, of which around one
million travel to the top. The arch is hollow to accommodate a unique tram
system that transports visitors to an observation deck at the top. Visitors are
tucked into little pods that seat about five adults, that take 4 minutes to
ride to the top, and 3 minutes to come back down, and is definitely not for the
claustrophobic. The arched observation deck itself isn’t much roomier, only 65
feet long and 7 feet wide. Sixteen windows per side, measuring 7 x 27 inches
offer views up to 30 miles to the east across the Mississippi River and southern
Illinois, and to the west over the city of St. Louis.
The underground Visitor Center is well done with an excellent movie
that takes you through the 2.5 year construction process (February 1963 to
October 1965) and really gives you an idea of the complexity involved in
creating and constructing something on this scale, and belies the elegant
simplicity the monument exudes.
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