GATEWAY

A R C H
1965, St. Louis
Completed in 1965, the Gateway Arch is the
tallest memorial in the United States and the tallest
stainless steel monument in the world. The Gateway
Arch’s architect, Eero Saarinen took an abstract
concept and created one of the most iconic
monuments in the world.

HISTORY
The National Park Service called for a
design competition for a memorial that
would 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”. Of the 172 submissions, the
judges noted Saarinen’s concept was
“relevant, beautiful, perhaps inspired
would be the right word” and “an
abstract form peculiarly happy in its
symbolism”. They broke ground for the
Arch in 1959 and construction of the
Gateway Arch began February 12, 1963.
Upon its completion on October 28,
1965, the Gateway Arch cost $13 million.

DESIGN
Saarinen based the arch on the reverse form of a
catenary (the curve a chain forms when hung between
two supports), which is the strongest form of an arch
because of the way that it channels all of the weight
of its structure into the ground as opposed to leaving
lateral forces that need to be buttressed. As such, the
width and height are nearly identical at 630 feet (give
or take a fraction). Each of the Arch’s legs are
equilateral triangles of 54 feet at the base, narrowing
to 17 feet where they join at the top.
Rather than viewing his work
as lacking vision, modern
architects and critics see his
pluralistic approach as a
project-by-project flexibility
that served the unique client
and project while staying true
to an overarching aesthetic of On October 28, 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway
clean, futuristic lines. He is Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high catenary curve of stainless
now considered one of the steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the
masters of American 20th- waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri.
century architecture.

Today, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Gateway Arch, the
Museum of Westward Expansion, and the Old Courthouse and receives nearly
four million visitors every year.
Each leg of the arch was built separately and was to be joined at the top by a
keystone. The two arches would have to meet at the top within 1/64 of an inch of
each other for construction, and the arch’s stability is a testament to the
precision and attention to detail of its builders. The structure is mostly hollow,
allowing for a tram system to be placed inside.
It has become a key part of St. Louis culture, and one of the iconic images of the
midwest, as well as American architecture.
GOMEZ, SHEENA MAE S.
ARC - 1206