In 1935, 40 city blocks were cleared on the St. Louis riverfront to make room for a memorial to commemorate Westward expansion.
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Arch facts
Tallest U.S. monument (630 ft.)
6,400 visitors daily
Can sway 18 inches in 150 mph winds
Tram ride takes 4 minutes up and 3 minutes down
Distance across its base is same as its height
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After a nation-wide competition, Finnish architect Eero Saarinen's design was chosen for the monument. Saarinen's unique design for the Arch was based on a catenary curve, the form that a chain takes when suspended freely between two points.
Construction began in June of 1962 when the concrete foundation for the Arch was poured.
On October 28 1965, three years and almost $13 million later, the final section was lifted into place and the stainless-steel-faced Arch was complete.
Eero Saarinen : shaping the future
edited by Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen and Donald Albrecht ; with essays by Donald Albrecht ... [et al.].
New Haven : Yale University Press ; New York : In association with The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York ; Helsinki : The Museum of Finnish Architecture ; Washington, D.C. : The National Building Museum ; New Haven : Yale University School of Architecture, c2006.
- Published in conjunction with an exhibition held in the Helsinki kunsthalle and other venues in Europe and the U.S. 2006-2010.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
Eero Saarinen : 1910-1961 : a structural expressionist
Pierluigi Serraino.
Koln ; Los Angeles : Taschen, c2005.
Includes bibliographical references.
Eero Saarinen : an architecture of multiplicity
Antonio Roman.
New York : Princeton Architectural Press, c2003.
"Eero Saarinen now stands as one of the great masters of twentieth-century American architecture. It was not always so. A lightning rod for controversy, Saarinen languished in critical purgatory for decades after his untimely death in 1961. As the son of the revered Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, he fought an uphill battle to establish his own credible voice in the architectural profession. Jealous colleagues and a dogmatic press dismissed him as a showman. Eero Saarinen: An Architecture of Multiplicity finally corrects this slight of history. The first critical evaluation of the architect's work in more than twenty years, this landmark publication revives one of the most daring and successful careers in the history of modern design." "With this groundbreaking and lavishly illustrated monograph, historian Antonio Roman sheds new light on Saarinen's most important works and argues convincingly for his relevance as a pivotal figure in the history of American architecture."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The TWA Terminal
photographs by Ezra Stoller ; introduction by Mark Lamster.
New York : Princeton Architectural Press, c1999.
The Building Blocks series presents icons of modern architecture as interpreted by Ezra Stoller, whose photography has defined the way postwar architecture has been viewed by architects, historians, and the public at large. Taken just after the completion of each project, these photographs provide a unique historical record of the buildings in use, documenting people, fashions, and furnishings of the period.
The Gateway Arch opened to the public in 1967 when the passenger transit system was in working order.
Today, more than 40 years after its completion, visitors to the Gateway Arch can ride the Tram to the top for spectacular views of the city of St. Louis.
The Museum of Westward Expansion, located below the arch, features exhibits on the American Indians and 19th century pioneers who shaped the American West. Also, two movie theaters in the museum show films on the construction of the arch and on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The Gateway Arch, rising above the St. Louis skyline and Mississipi River bank beckons visitors and city residents year-round.
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff
