Gateway Arch – An Unusual National Park

The Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri, is not your regular National Park. You can’t go camping there. Neither can you see a natural wonder that has been there for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, or longer. Gateway Arch is man made. It is 55 years old (in 2020.) There are ninety acres of land included in this National Park, covered with a few buildings, a lot of grass, and over 4,000 trees. Plus 5 miles of trails.

Even though the Gateway Arch has only been a National Park since 2018, it has a large amount of history. Before becoming a national park it was known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Its location is near where Lewis and Clark began their expedition to expand our country to the West. It was also known as the Gateway to the West. The area was designated as a national memorial in 1935. In 2018, President Donald Trump designated Gateway Arch as a National Park.

Building the Arch

A national competition was held to create a monument to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson’s completion of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The winning design was made by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-born American, architect, in 1948. His father had also entered the competition. The announcement of the winner arrived at their home addressed to E. Saarinen. Eero’s father’s first name was Eliel and he thought he was the winner since he had also entered. But in the end, Eero, the son, won the competition. The structural engineer for the project was Hannskari Bandel. The process of building the Arch was delayed due to both World War I and the Korean War. Building of the Arch began in 1963 and ended in 1965. Tragically Eero Saarinen, died of a brain tumor in 1961, thus never seeing his creation completed.

The cost of the Arch was 15 Million dollars at that time. There was a $380 million refurbishment, that took five years to complete, finishing in 2018.

Additional details about the Arch

It is Missouri’s tallest accessible building. It also is the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s tallest arch. St. Louis is known throughout the world as the location of the Gateway Arch.

The Arch is made of stainless steel. The structure of the actual Arch is 630 feet high, with a base with two “legs” which are 630 feet apart. These two bases are 54 feet wide, but the width at the top of the arch is only 17 feet. The form is a weighted catenary arch, which is a special form of a catenary arch. The Arch was designed to allow it to sway up to 18 inches in a large wind. It doesn’t sway in normal conditions. In case of an earthquake, it should withstand one.

Only one president has ridden up to the top of the Arch. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in St. Louis for a speech and insisted on a ride up. At the time it was closed to the public. He was 77 and a former president at the time. The secret service does not allow Presidents to go up in the Arch for security reasons.

Other buildings included in the National Park

There is an Arch museum inside the base, along with a theater, store, and cafe. The museum is 140,000 square feet and holds six exhibits, including Native Americans and Explorers. There is also, a replica of the final piece that was put into the top of the Arch.

The Old Courthouse is also part of the National Park. This courthouse is famous as the courthouse where Dred Scott, an African American slave, attempted to sue for his freedom and that of his wife, Harriet, and their two daughters. His case was known as Dred Scott vs Sandford of 1857. Dred and his family lived in Illinois, where slavery was illegal. Slave owners were to set their slaves free after an extended period of time. It was ruled that Dred Scott was not allowed to sue because at that time African Americans were not considered citizens.

The tram ride up to the top

Because of its curved shape, a special tram had to be created to carry visitors up to the top and back down. It takes four minutes to go up on the tram. And coming down takes three minutes. A typical tour lasts about 45 minutes. At the top, there are windows on both sides. The windows are 7 x 27 inches. They seemed small to me, but they were built that size for a structural reason.

The view is different from each side. On one side there is a view of the Old Courthouse, the Cardinal’s Stadium, the Old Cathedral, and downtown St. Louis. The Mississippi River and the state of Illinois are on the other side of the Arch.

Our experience at the Gateway Arch

We were running late the day we went. We had purchased our tickets and they were waiting at will call. The parking lot that we had been directed to when we bought our tickets was closed. So we spent some time finding an alternate parking garage. Instead of arriving 30 minutes early, we were a few minutes late.

This left me stressed out, but they had space for us on a later tour. I will say that every employee we had contact with was extremely nice and helpful. From the entrance to the line for the tram, is quite a long distance. In between you go through a metal detector screening, very similar to those at airports. And we had our picture taken so that we could purchase it after our tram ride if we were interested.

The tram

Once in line, we had to wait for the group ahead of us to clear out from the first stop. The first stop was an area in which we were verbally given some information and saw a video about what was popular in the United States at the time the Arch was completed. From there, we went upstairs to the waiting area for the tram. Once again, there was a small wait while we waited for the tram to arrive. Once it arrived, we boarded our cars. Each car was a rounded space with seating for five.

Once the door closed, we had a window to see the area outside of the tram, but still inside the Arch. There are 1076 stairs to get up to the top of the Arch, which are for maintenance use only. Our view from the tram included seeing the stairs and areas in which maintenance had supplies stored.

Once on top, we could see the view from the windows in the observation room. Our time at the top was about 15 to 20 minutes. We took pictures and looked for the landmarks which were pointed out in signs throughout the room.

We went back down to the other side of the Arch. It depends on how busy they are, which side you will go back down. It could be the same side you came up.

Recommendations for your visit

Go on a clear day if possible. When it is clear outside it is possible to see up to 30 miles in each direction.

Buy your ticket ahead of time. If you show up without a ticket, you might get in, but they also might be sold out since this is a very popular tourist destination.

Allow plenty of time to get there. Parking can be a bit challenging. You should arrive at the Arch 30 minutes before your tram ride is scheduled.

Be sure that all children use the restroom before they go up the tram. There isn’t a bathroom at the top of the Arch.

Plan to stay a few hours so that you have time to go through the museum and Old Courthouse. The Old Courthouse was closed due to Covid-19 when we visited.

The address for the Arch is 11 North 4th Street, St. Louis, Missouri. For more information visit: https://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/gateway-arch.htm

I hope you enjoy your visit to the Gateway Arch National Park. Comment below if you have been there.