Gateway Arch

Inception and funding (1933–1935) Around late 1933, civic leader Luther Ely Smith, returning to St. Louis from the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes, Indiana, saw the St. Louis riverfront area and envisioned that building a memorial there would both revive the riverfront and stimulate the economy. The association expected that $30 million would be needed to undertake the construction of such a monument (about $ in dollars). It called upon the federal government to foot three-quarters of the bill ($22.5 million). Committee members began to raise public awareness by organizing fundraisers and writing pamphlets. They also engaged Congress by planning budgets and preparing bills, in addition to researching ownership of the land they had chosen, "approximately one-half mile in length  ... from Third Street east to the present elevated railroad." In January 1934, Senator Bennett Champ Clark and Representative John Cochran introduced to Congress an appropriation bill seeking $30 million for the memorial, but the bill failed to garner support due to the large amount of money solicited. In March of the same year, joint resolutions proposed the establishment of a federal commission to develop the memorial. Although the proposal aimed for only authorization, the bill incurred opposition because people suspected that JNEMA would later seek appropriation. On March 28 the Senate bill was reported out, and on April 5 it was turned over to the House Library Committee, which later reported favorably on the bills. On June 8, both the Senate and House bills were passed. On June 15, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill into law, instituting the United States Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission. The commission comprised 15 members, chosen by Roosevelt, the House, the Senate, and JNEMA. It first convened on December 19 in St. Louis, where members examined the project and its planned location. A local bond issue election granting $7.5 million (about $ in dollars) for the memorial's development was held on September 10 and passed. to approve the memorial, allocating the 82-acre area as the first National Historic Site. ($6.75 million in total). Demolition commenced on October 9, 1939, when Dickmann extracted three bricks from a vacant warehouse. Smith was infuriated, fearing the impact of attacks from a prestigious magazine, and wanted "to jump on it strong with hammer and tongs". William Allen White, a renowned newspaper editor, advised Smith not to fret. President of the St. Louis Board of Public Service Baxter Brown suggested that "a new tunnel ... conceal the relocated tracks and re-grading of the site to elevate it over the tunnel. These modifications would eliminate the elevated and surface tracks and open up the views to the river." The Old Rock House was later dismantled in 1959 with the intention of reassembling it at a new location, but pieces of the building went missing. Part of the house has been reconstructed in the basement of the Old Courthouse. Design competition (1945–1948) In November 1944, Smith discussed with Newton Drury, the National Park Service Director, the design of the memorial, asserting that the memorial should be "transcending in spiritual and aesthetic values", best represented by "one central feature: a single shaft, a building, an arch, or something else that would symbolize American culture and civilization." Local architect Louis LaBeaume prepared a set of specifications for the design, and architect George Howe was chosen to coordinate the competition. On May 30, 1947, the contest officially opened. The seven-member jury that would judge the designs comprised Charles Nagel Jr., Richard Neutra, Roland Wank, William Wurster, LaBeaume, Fiske Kimball, and S. Herbert Hare. The competition comprised two stages—the first to narrow down the designers to five and the second to single out one architect and his design. The team included Eero Saarinen as designer, J. Henderson Barr as associate designer, and Dan Kiley as landscape architect, as well as Lily Swann Saarinen as sculptor and Alexander Girard as painter. In the first stage of the competition, Carl Milles advised Saarinen to change the bases of each leg to triangles instead of squares. Saarinen said that he "worked at first with mathematical shapes, but finally adjusted it according to the eye." At submission, Saarinen's plans laid out the arch at tall and wide from center to center of the triangle bases. to five finalists, and announced the corresponding numbers to the media on September 27. Eero Saarinen's design (#144) was among the finalists, and comments written on it included "relevant, beautiful, perhaps inspired would be the right word" (Roland Wank) and "an abstract form peculiarly happy in its symbolism" (Charles Nagel). Hare questioned the feasibility of the design but appreciated the thoughtfulness behind it. The secretary who sent out the telegrams informing finalists of their advancement mistakenly sent one to Eliel rather than Eero. The family celebrated with champagne, and two hours later, a competition representative called to correct the mistake. Eliel "'broke out a second bottle of champagne' to toast his son." and wrote that the arch symbolized "the gateway to the West, the national expansion, and whatnot." The following day, The design drew varied responses. In a February 29, 1948, The New York Times article, Louchheim praised the arch's design as "a modern monument, fitting, beautiful and impressive." Some local residents likened it to a "stupendous hairpin and a stainless steel hitching post." The most aggressive criticism emerged from Gilmore D. Clarke, whose February 26, 1948, Efforts to appropriate congressional funds began in January 1950 but were delayed until 1953 by the Korean War's depletion of federal funds. On November 29, involved interests signed another memorandum of understanding approving Saarinen's rework; implementing it would cost about $5.053 million. On March 10, 1959, mayor Raymond Tucker proposed that they drop "the tunnel idea in favor of open cuts roofed with concrete slabs," which would cost $2.684 million, $1.5 million less than the cost of the approved plan. On May 12, 1958, Tucker, TRRA president Armstrong Chinn, and Missouri Pacific Railroad president Russell Dearmont entered a written agreement: "The TRRA would place $500,000 in escrow for the project, and the city [would] sell $980,000 of the 1935 bonds to match the Federal contribution." Director Wirth and Secretary Seaton approved the plan on June 2. Moving the railroad tracks was the first stage of the project. On May 6, 1959, after an official conference, the Public Service Commission called for ventilation to accompany the tunnel's construction, which entailed "placing 3,000 feet of dual tracks into a tunnel 105 feet west of the elevated railroad, along with filling, grading, and trestle work." Eight bids for the work were reviewed on June 8 in the Old Courthouse, and the MacDonald Construction Co. of St. Louis won with a bid of $2,426,115, less than NPS's estimate of the cost. At 10:30 a.m. on June 23, 1959, the groundbreaking ceremony occurred; Tucker spaded the first portion of earth. Wirth and Dickmann delivered speeches. The NPS acquired the $500,000 in escrow and transferred it to MacDonald to begin building the new tracks. In August, demolition of the Old Rock House was complete, with workers beginning to excavate the tunnel. In November, they began shaping the tunnel's walls with concrete. Twenty-nine percent of the construction was completed by March and 95% by November. On November 17, trains began to use the new tracks. June 1962 was the projected date of fruition. On May 16, 1959, the Senate appropriations subcommittee received from St. Louis legislators a request for $2.4911 million, of which it granted only $133,000. Wirth recommended that they reseek the funds in January 1960. On March 10, 1959, Regional Director Howard Baker received $888,000 as the city's first subsidy for the project. On December 1, 1961, $23,003,150 in total had been authorized, with $19,657,483 already appropriated—$3,345,667 remained not yet appropriated. ==Construction==

The bidding date, originally December 20, 1961, was postponed to January 22, 1962, to clarify the details of the arch construction. About 50 companies that had requested the construction requirements received bidding invitations. Extending from $11,923,163 to $12,765,078, all four bids exceeded the engineer estimate of $8,067,000. Wirth had a committee led by George Hartzog determine the validity of the bids in light of the government's conditions. Following a meeting with the bidders, the committee affirmed the bids' reasonableness, and Wirth awarded the lowest bidder, MacDonald Construction Co. of St. Louis, and in 1961, the foundation of the structure was laid. The arch was assembled of 142 prefabricated stainless steel sections. Once in place, each section had its double-walled skin filled with concrete, prestressed with 252 tension bars. In order to keep the partially completed legs steady, a scissors truss was placed between them at , later removed as the derricks were taken down. Insurance underwriters had estimated that thirteen construction workers may die on the project, and, fortunately, no one had died in the construction of the project. Contractor MacDonald Construction Co. arranged a tower for spectators and provided recorded accounts of the undertaking. In 1963, a million people went to observe the progress, and by 1964, local radio stations began to broadcast when large slabs of steel were to be raised into place. He visited the construction site frequently from 1963 to 1967, recording every stage of progress. With assistant Renyold Ferguson, he crawled along the catwalks with the construction workers up to above the ground. He was the only news photographer on permanent assignment at the construction, with complete access. He primarily worked with slide film but also used the only Panox camera in St. Louis to create panoramic photographs covering 140 degrees. Witman's pictures of the construction are now housed in the State Historical Society of Missouri. The project manager of MacDonald Construction Co., Stan Wolf, said that a 62-story building was easier to build than the arch: "In a building, everything is straight up, one thing on top of another. In this arch, everything is curved." However, construction of the arch was still often delayed by safety checks, funding uncertainties, and legal disputes. Civil rights activists regarded the construction of the arch as a token of racial discrimination. On July 14, 1964, during the workers' lunchtime, civil rights protesters Percy Green and Richard Daly, both members of Congress of Racial Equality, climbed up the north leg of the arch to "expose the fact that federal funds were being used to build a national monument that was racially discriminating against black contractors and skilled black workers." As the pair disregarded demands to get off, protesters on the ground demanded that at least 10% of the skilled jobs belong to African Americans. Four hours later, Green and Daly dismounted from the arch to charges of "trespassing, peace disturbance, and resisting arrest." This incident inter alia spurred the United States Department of Justice to file the first pattern or practice case against AFL–CIO under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on February 4, 1966, but the department later called off the charges. The 1966 lawsuit was an attempt by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCC) to desegregate building-trade unions nationwide. Many technical building unions had little or no African-American representation into the mid-1960s. During Lyndon Johnson's presidency, the federal government recognized the need for more integration in all levels of society and started enforcing equal employment opportunity through federally funded job contracts. and the NPS dropped its lawsuit. After the discovery of 16 defects, the tram was also delayed from running. The Bi-State Development Agency assessed that it suffered losses of $2,000 for each day the trains were stagnant. CIU applied to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an injunction that required the AFL–CIO laborers to return to work. On February 7, Judge John Keating Regan ruled that AFL–CIO workers had participated in a secondary boycott. By February 11, AFL–CIO resumed work on the arch, and an AFL–CIO contractor declared that ten African Americans were apprenticed for arch labor. The standstill in work lasted a month. On October 28, the arch was topped out as then Vice President Hubert Humphrey observed from a helicopter. a , triangular section. It was slated to be inserted at 10:00 a.m. local time but was done 30 minutes early The Gateway Arch was expected to open to the public by 1964, but in 1967 the public relations agency stopped forecasting the opening date. The arch's visitor center opened on June 10, 1967, and the tram began operating on July 24. He declared that the arch was "a soaring curve in the sky that links the rich heritage of yesterday with the richer future of tomorrow" The developers hoped to use the arch as a commercial catalyst, attracting visitors who would use their services. One estimate found that since the 1960s, the arch has incited almost $503 million worth of construction. In June 1976, the memorial was finalized by federal allocations—"the statue of Thomas Jefferson was unveiled, the Museum of Westward Expansion was previewed, a theater under the Arch was dedicated in honor of Mayor Raymond Tucker and the catenary-like curving staircases from the Arch down to the levee were built." ==Characteristics==

Physical characteristics Both the width and height of the arch are . and the tallest stainless steel monument in the world. The cross-sections of the arch's legs are equilateral triangles, narrowing from per side at the bases to per side at the top. Each wall consists of a stainless steel skin covering a sandwich of two carbon-steel walls with reinforced concrete in the middle from ground level to , with carbon steel to the peak. The arch is hollow to accommodate a unique tram system that takes visitors to an observation deck at the top. Each leg is embedded in of concrete thick and deep. of the foundation is in bedrock. and is designed to sway up to in either direction, while withstanding winds up to . This amount of stainless steel is the most used in any one project in history. y = A \left( \cosh \frac {Cx}{L}-1 \right) \quad\Leftrightarrow\quad x = \frac {L}{C} \operatorname{arcosh} \left( 1 + \frac {y}{A} \right), with the constants A = \frac {f_c} {Q_b/Q_t - 1} = 68.7672 C = \operatorname{arcosh} \frac {Q_b}{Q_t} = 3.0022 where fc = is the maximum height of centroid, Qb = is the maximum cross sectional area of arch at base, Qt = is the minimum cross sectional area of arch at top, and L = is the half width of centroid at the base. The triangular cross sectional area varies linearly with the vertical height of its centroid. This hyperbolic cosine function describes the shape of a catenary. A chain that supports only its own weight forms a catenary; the chain is purely in tension. Likewise, an inverted catenary arch that supports only its own weight is purely in compression, with no shear. The catenary arch is the stablest of all arches since the thrust passes through the legs and is absorbed in the foundations, instead of forcing the legs apart. This makes it an inverted weighted catenary. Saarinen chose a weighted catenary over a normal catenary curve because it looked less pointed and less steep. In 1959, he caused some confusion about the actual shape of the arch when he wrote, "This arch is not a true parabola, as is often stated. Instead it is a catenary curve—the curve of a hanging chain—a curve in which the forces of thrust are continuously kept within the center of the legs of the arch." William V. Thayer, a professor of mathematics at St. Louis Community College, later wrote to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch calling attention to the fact that the structure was a weighted catenary. Lighting The first proposal to illuminate the arch at night was announced on May 18, 1966, but the plan never came to fruition. In January 1999, MSNBC arranged a temporary lighting system for the arch so the monument could be used as the background for a visit by Pope John Paul II. Since November 2001, the arch has been bathed in white light between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. via a system of floodlights. Designed by Randy Burkett, it comprises 44 lighting fixtures situated in four pits just below ground level. Both Estee Lauder and May Department Store Co. had championed the cause. While the National Park Service took issue with the plan due to the precedent it would set for prospective uses of the arch, it yielded due to a realization that it and Congress were "on the same team" and because the illumination was legally obligatory; on October 25, the plan was carried out. The previous time the arch was illuminated for promotional purposes was on September 12, 1995, under the management of local companies Fleishman-Hillard and Technical Productions when a rainbow spectrum was shone on the arch to publicize the debut of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus's Wizard of Oz on Ice at the Kiel Center. ==Public access==

In April 1965, three million tourists were expected to visit the arch annually after completion; of which around one million traveled to the top. As the Arch is run by the National Park Service, it is subject to closure when the US federal government shuts down due to lapses in appropriations. Visitor center The underground visitor center for the arch was designed as part of the National Park Service's Mission 66 program. The center is located directly below the arch, between its legs. Although construction on the visitor center began at the same time as construction for the arch itself, it did not conclude until 1976 because of insufficient funding; The center houses offices, mechanical rooms, and waiting areas for the arch trams, as well as its main attractions: the Museum of Westward Expansion and two theaters displaying films about the arch. The renovation includes a 46,000-square-foot underground addition featuring interactive story galleries, video walls, a fountain and a cafe. can hold up to about 160 people, equivalent to the number of people from four trams. Modes of ascent There are three modes of transportation up the arch: two sets of 1,076-step emergency stairs (one per leg), a 12-passenger elevator to the height, with glass doors. As each tram has a capacity of 40 passengers and there are two trams, 80 passengers can be transported at one time, with trams departing from the ground every 10 minutes. The tram in the north leg entered operation in June 1967, Incidents can be seen through the window. On July 8, 1970, a six-year-old boy, his mother, and two of her friends were trapped in a tram in the arch's south leg after the monument closed. According to the boy's mother, the group went up the arch around 9:30 p.m. CDT, but when the tram reached the de-boarding area, its doors did not open. The tram then reportedly traveled up to a storage area above the ground, and the power was switched off. One person was able to pry open the tram door and the four managed to reach a security guard for help after being trapped for about 45 minutes. Around 200 tourists were stuck inside the arch for about three hours. The incident occurred while visitors in the arch were watching a fireworks display, and no one was seriously injured in the event, though two people received medical treatment. Almost immediately after the tram returned to service in 2008, however, it was closed again for new repairs after an electrical switch broke. The incident, which occurred on March 14, was billed as a "bad coincidence." On the morning of February 9, 2011, a National Park Service worker was injured while performing repairs on the south tram. The 55-year-old was working on the tram's electrical system when he was trapped between it and the arch wall for around 30 seconds, until being saved by other workers. Emergency officials treated the injured NPS employee at the arch's top before taking him to Saint Louis University Hospital in a serious condition. On March 24, 2011, around one hundred visitors were stranded in the observation area for 45 minutes after the doors of the south tram refused to close; no one was hurt. The tourists were safely brought down the arch in the north tram, which had been closed that week so officials could upgrade it with a new computer system. The National Park Service later attributed the malfunction to a computer glitch associated with the new system, which had already been implemented with the south tram. Around 2:15 p.m. local time on June 16, 2011, the arch's north tram stalled due to a power outage. No one was seriously injured in the incident, but one visitor lost consciousness after suffering a panic attack, and a park ranger was taken away with minor injuries. At least ten pilots have disobeyed this order, During the flight, on which the St. Louis park director was a passenger, the balloon hit the arch and plummeted 70 feet before recovering. In 1976, a US Army exhibition skydiving team was permitted to fly through the arch as part of Fourth of July festivities, On November 22, 1980, at about 8:45 a.m. CST, 33-year-old Kenneth Swyers of Overland, Missouri, parachuted onto the top of the arch. He had planned to release his main parachute and then jump off the arch using his reserve parachute to perform a base jump, but he instead fell to his death. Swyers was reportedly blown to the top of the arch by the wind and was unable to save himself when his reserve parachute failed to deploy. On December 27, 1980, St. Louis television station KTVI reported receiving calls from supposed witnesses of another stunt landing, reportedly as an act of homage to Swyers. Authorities later declared the jump a hoax; arch officials said they did not witness any such jump, and photos provided by the alleged parachutist were unclear. climbed to the top of the Gateway Arch using suction cups and proceeded to parachute back to the ground. He was later charged with two misdemeanors: climbing a national monument and parachuting in a national park. Two St. Louis residents, Ronald Carroll and Robert Weinzetl, were found with a wireless communication headset, a video camera, and a still camera with a telephoto lens. They were also charged with two misdemeanors: disorderly conduct and commercial photography in a national park. Vincent accepted a guilty plea deal in which he testified against Carroll and Weinzetl; while Carroll was found guilty of both misdemeanor charges, the charges against Weinzetl were dropped by federal prosecutors. Security Two years after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a little over $1 million was granted to institute a counterterrorism program. Park officials were trained to note the activity of tourists, and inconspicuous electronic detection devices were installed. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, security efforts became more prominent and security checkpoints moved to the entrance of the visitor center. At the checkpoints, visitors are screened by magnetometers and x-ray equipment, devices which have been in place since 1997. The Arch also became one of several US monuments placed under restricted airspace during 2002 Fourth of July celebrations. In 2003, , , movable Jersey barriers were installed to impede terrorist attacks on the arch. Later that year, it was announced that these walls were to be replaced by concrete posts encased in metal to be more harmonious with the steel color of the arch. The movable bollards can be manipulated from the park's dispatch center, which has also been upgraded. ==Symbolism and culture==

Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, the arch typifies "the pioneer spirit of the men and women who won the West, and those of a latter day to strive on other frontiers." The arch has become the iconic image of St. Louis, The arch has also appeared as a symbol of the State of Missouri. On November 22, 2002, at the Missouri State Capitol, Lori Hauser Holden, wife of then Governor Bob Holden, uncovered the winning design for a Missouri coin design competition as part of the Fifty States Commemorative Coin Program. Designed by watercolorist Paul Jackson, Holden said that the arch was "a symbol for the entire state ... Four million visitors each year see the Arch. [The coin] will help make it even more loved worldwide." A special license plate designed by Arnold Worldwide featured the arch, labeled with "." Profits earned from selling the plates would fund the museum and other educational components of the arch. Louchheim wrote that although the arch "has a simplicity which should guarantee timeliness", it is entirely modern as well because of the innovative design and its scientific considerations. I know you're thinking that there are considerable differences between T.S. Eliot and me. Yes, it is true that he was from St. Louis, which started calling itself the Gateway to the West after Eero Saarinen's Gateway Arch was erected, and I'm from Kansas City, where people think of St. Louis not as the Gateway to the West but as the Exit from the East. With renovations in the 2010s of the visitor center, the message of the arch has been more inclusive in its historic perspective, highlighting the impact of colonialism and particularly Manifest Destiny of American frontierism on the environment, land and people of First Americans, as well as Native Mexicans. Furthermore exhibiting the urban history of the site and the struggle of its people, as well as of its construction workers for more rights, during the civil rights movement era. A common local joke refers to the "Arch effect" or "activating the Arch," where the speaker facetiously claims that the Arch can be activated or otherwise serve as a method to deflect severe weather from the St. Louis metropolitan area. Awards and recognitions In 1966, the arch was given a Special Award for Excellence from the American Institute of Steel Construction for being "an outstanding achievement in technology and aesthetics." On February 9, 1967, the arch received the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award of 1967 from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The arch was once among Travel + Leisures unofficial rankings for the most-visited attraction in the world, after Lenin's Tomb, Disney World, Disneyland, and the Eiffel Tower. On February 22, 1990, the arch received the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Twenty-Five Year Award In 2007, the arch was ranked fourteenth on the AIA's "America's Favorite Architecture" list. Cultural references • Dutch composer Peter Schat wrote a 1997 work, Arch Music for St. Louis, Op. 44. for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. It premiered on January 8, 1999, at the Powell Symphony Hall. Since Schat did not ascend the arch due to his fear of heights, he used his creativity to depict in music someone riding a tram to the top of the arch. describes Muldoon's ordeal standing under the Gateway Arch after his wife telephoned and informed him that the baby they were expecting had been miscarried. • Percy Jackson encounters Echidna and the Chimera in the Gateway Arch in The Lightning Thief and its television adaptation, after he, Grover Underwood, and Annabeth Chase visit the Arch during their trip to California to recover the Master Bolt. Percy faces the Chimera, jumps over out of the Arch, and falls into the Mississippi River. • A damaged Gateway Arch is prominently featured in Defiance, a science fiction television series. The apex is used as a radio station studio, with the arch itself acting as the station's antenna. ==Maintenance==

The first act of vandalism was committed in June 1968: the vandals etched their names on various parts of the arch. In all, $10,000 was spent that year to repair damage from vandalism. and a temporary setup of water containers to ease the problem. According to NPS documents, the corrosion and rust pose no safety concerns. Stain samples were taken from the west face of the Arch on October 21, 2014, to determine the best way to clean it. The cleaning will cost about $340,000. In 1984, structural engineer Tibor Szegezdy told Smithsonian Magazine that the Arch could stand "considerably less than a thousand years" before collapsing in a wind storm. == Brickline Greenway ==

The Brickline Greenway Project is a major public-private partnership that aims to connect Forest Park and the Washington University in St. Louis Danforth Campus to the Gateway Arch grounds. Among the partners leading this project are Great Rivers Greenway, the Arch to Park Collaborative, St. Louis City, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Brickline Greenway was known as the Chouteau Greenway prior to March 10, 2020. == See also ==