Beyond that point, steel stiffeners are used. Up to the 300-foot mark, the space between the walls is filled with reinforced concrete. The legs have double walls of steel 3 feet apart at ground level and 7-3/4 inches apart above the 400-foot level. It takes the shape of an inverted catenary curve a shape such as would be formed by a heavy chain hanging freely between two supports.Įach leg is a symmetrical triangle with sides 54 feet long at ground level, narrowing to 17 feet at the top. The stainless-steel-faced Arch spans 630 feet between the outer faces of its triangular legs at the ground level, and its top soars 630 feet into the sky. The Gateway Arch borrows the arch concept from Captain Eads and makes use of the new concept of stress analysis and structural design from Poplar Street Bridge.Įero Saarinen conceived the Arch in stainless steel and asked structural engineer Fred Severud to study its feasibility from the structural engineering point of view, demonstrating the need for joining the skills of more than one discipline in order to create a project of this magnitude. Bridge of this size to employ orthotropic design. At the southern end of Poplar Street Bridge which is a steel plate girder bridge the first U.S. Historic bridges surround the north and south of The Arch, to the north you have Eads Bridge was the first tubular steel arch structure of its kind. It also serves as one of three firsts in the history of engineering in this country, all in the City of St. The glorious concept, imposing in its setting and unique in its design, the Gateway Arch was part of the $30 million Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Courtesy of the National Park Service.ĭetail, entry #144 by Eero Saarinen. Presentation collage entry #144 by Eero Saarinen. View of Eero Saarinen model of St Louis Gateway Arch and riverfront. The winning design was won by architect Eero Saarinen, it would be the start of his career. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association, a group of public citizens, held a nationwide competition in 1947 to obtain a suitable design. There are nine images in this animation that show the Arch at different points during its construction. The image on this page is an animated image of the construction of the Gateway Arch between FebruOctober 28, 1965. Courtesy of the National Park Service.Īrch under construction. View of the Gateway Arch under construction almost completed. The Gateway Arch was designed by a renowned architect, Eero Saarinen. The center contains the Museum of Westward Expansion, which tells the century-long story of the opening of the West in the 1800s through films shown in several movie theaters. The Memorial includes an underground visitor's center directly underneath the Arch. Louis Riverfront was selected as the site of the Jefferson National Memorial, which commemorates the Westward Expansion of the United States in the 19th century, as envisioned by Thomas Jefferson.Įero Saarinen kneeling beneath a model of the Gateway Arch. It is 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument and over twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Today, some 4 million people visit the park each year to wander its nearly 100 acres, soak up some history and take in the breathtaking views from Saarinen’s gleaming arch.The Gateway Arch is the nation's tallest monument (630 feet tall). In addition to the Gateway Arch, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse of St. An internal tram system takes visitors to the top, where on a clear day they can see up to 30 miles across the winding Mississippi and to the Great Plains to the west. With foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, its frame of stressed stainless steel is built to withstand both earthquakes and high winds. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963.Ĭompleted in October 1965, the Gateway Arch cost less than $15 million to build. In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers-including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark-the town of St. Louis’ central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. On October 28, 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high catenary curve of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St.
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