The Gateway Arch: A Reflection of America: Documentary Film Highlights the History of the St. Louis Arch

I took the tram ride up inside the St. Louis Gateway Arch three days after it opened in 1966. It was my first and last time. The construction began in 1961, so it took about five years to complete. The grassy riverfront park that it sits in was first envisioned way back in 1935. It was called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. In 1947, when we were all giddy and hopeful after the Second World War, there was a design competition to see who could come up with the best idea for a monument to commemorate the westward expansion that St. Louis and the Mississippi River were such a part of. Architect Eero Saarinen had the winning idea of a giant modernistic catenary curved stainless steel arch. The only problem was we had to wait a few years for the technology to build it caught up.

It seemed that every day you could watch the thing rise up into the sky like some giant erector set. Some of the locals wondered what the point of the whole thing was. To them the riverfront was a nasty collection of smelly docks and old warehouses and the only reason that you went down there was to work or take one of the bridges over the river into Illinois. Once you got over the river, the run-down streets of East St. Louis awaited you.

But for us kids it was exciting, especially if you lived in a neighborhood that was within walking distance of the riverfront like we did. Sure, there were risks involved. Venturing downtown one way from our little neighborhood meant trespassing the only street that went through the hi-rise housing projects on one side and the old low-rises on the other. It was much safer to head up to 12th Street and hit Market down by Union Station. Then you could see the beginnings of the arch off in the distance and it was then a straight shot to the riverfront. If you had some extra time, you could stop and play in one of the rail yards or climb up in one of the downtown parking garages and try to spit on some of the passersby’s below. (I never said that we were particularly good kids, now did I?)