The project was awarded to Eero Saarinen, who would later design the Washington Dulles Airport in Washington D.C and TWA Flight Center in New York, and who beat out his father, esteemed architect Eliel Saarinen, for the honor. Furthermore, railroad tracks crossing the intended site would have to be moved, a process requiring a further $5 million.īefore completion of this park, a competition for the design of the central monument, one“transcending in spiritual and aesthetic values”, was announced in 1944. Acquiring this land involved the demolishing of over eighty blocks of slums on the west bank of the Mississippi, an extremely unpopular decision as the displaced communities were not compensated for their losses. It was given to the National Park Service for management, and Roosevelt approved the memorial, allocating 82 acres and $6.75 million to the project. Also, as a part of the nationwide effort to create jobs and alleviate the effects of the Great Depression, the project was expected to create 5000 jobs over the course of 3 to 4 years. Civic leader Luther Ely Smith introduced the idea of a restoration effort of the west bank of the Mississippi, proposing a park be built there to act as a focal point of the community. The process leading to the construction of the Arch began in 1933. The center of the arch is able to sway up to 18 inches in either direction, and the structure is built to withstand winds of 150 miles per hour. This shape allows for forces on the foundation of the arch to pushing directly downwards rather than inwards, leading to increased stability and steeper legs. The arch’s shape is a weighted catenary arch, mimicking the inverted shape of a cable or chain hanging downwards while supported from both ends. Topping out at 630 feet, the arch is the tallest self-supported building in Missouri as well as the tallest monument in the Western Hemisphere. It has been, ever since it’s inception, the most visited place in Missouri, and is a nationally recognizable landmark. The arch attracts around four million visitors annually and has been visited by approximately 135 million people since it’s opening over fifty years. Louis, Missouri, and a uniquely American piece of architecture. While originally a symbol of the westward expansion set forth by Jefferson and Lewis and Clark, the Gateway Arch now acts as both an icon of St.
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