6/5/07 A Day in St. Louis (Part Two)

.....and now for the rest of the story.

We made our way downtown and found a parking garage close to the riverfront where the Arch is located.

On our way in we saw the Arch from the road and my first impression was, "OK, so what's the big deal?" I was looking at the structure itself and not taking into account the surrounding buildings it loomed over.

As we got closer.....it got bigger. The magnitude of this monument was starting to set in.

We walked through a beautiful park to get to the riverfront. This park is so well kept and so clean it was pure joy to walk through.


The water must have been a little cool as this mama goose and her babies didn't seem to want to go into the water.

This is the walkway we were on to get to the base of the Arch.

We can start to see the Arch through the trees.

And finally, it stood before us.


The four of us stood at the base of it in......awe. These pictures can't possibly relay the feeling one gets when standing in front of this stainless steel arch and realizing what it stands for.

It has been more than a handful, or two, ;-) of years since Bob, Bobby, Shelly or I have thought about the Louisiana Purchase or how that even came about. Let's face it, it was names and places and dates that we, as ten year olds, had to memorize to pass our social studies classes. Did it matter to us then? No, probably not, and not, for sure.... for me. I've come to realize that I appreciate all that I learned those many years ago much more now as an adult. I have a much better understanding of the problems and obstacles those early pioneers faced.

After looking in awe at the structure, and it truly is something to see, we wandered to the underground complex. Below street level is the museum which depicts Lewis and Clark's Expedition to the west, a gift shop, a movie theater geared to telling the story of the Arch, a very busy information desk and the lines form here for the trip to the top of the Arch in small tram cars. No, we didn't go to the top. Two of the four of us are clustrophobic and this just was not an option.

Some facts about the Arch:

The St. Louis Gateway Arch is a monument to westward expansion in the USA. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot tall stainless steel arch rises above the city skyline. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial consists of the Gateway Arch, the Museum of Westward Expansion, and St. Louis' Old Courthouse.

How the design was chosen: There was a nationwide competition in 1947-1948 to design a monument in St. Louis honoring western pioneers. The architect Eero Saarinen (1910 - 1961) won the contest with his sleek arch.

Construction of the arch began on February 12, 1963, and was finished on October 28, 1965. It was opened to the public on July 24, 1967. (after one of the trams was completed). It cost about 13 million dollars to build. The two bases are equilateral triangles (triangles with three 54 foot-long sides). At the top of the arch, the triangle is only 17 feet long on each side. Visitors enter the arch from an underground visitors center and can travel to the observation deck at the top in a tram that runs inside the Arch.

The Arch has 60-foot deep foundations. The Arch is very stable and was built to withstand high winds and earthquakes. The structure sways about one inch in a 20 mph wind; it is designed to sway up to 18 inches in 150 mile per hour winds. While we were there a good breeze was in place and the clouds were moving across the sky at a pretty good clip. Standing at the bottom of the Arch and looking up and seeing the clouds move nearly made Bobby and me sick to our stomachs. It looked like the Arch was really swaying!

The width of the base is 630 feet and it is also 630 feet tall. In comparison the Washinton Monument in Washington D.C. is only 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches tall.

Looking at the Arch from underneath it.

So now you've seen the Arch through my camera lens.

Tummies started rumbling and we knew it was time for lunch. We made our way to Calico's. They had a Philly Cheesesteak on the menu but I don't think they have it quite right. It said, thinly sliced beef, fried onions and green peppers with CREAM cheese. Now I've eaten a lot of cheesesteaks and have never had cream cheese on one. I've even had a cheesesteak in downtown Philly and they use melted cheese whiz. I was tempted,,,but I passed on that one. If anyone has had a cheesesteak with cream cheese I'd like to hear about it.

So after lunches of salads, hamburgers and chicken sandwiches we made our way back to the riverfront. It was now time to take a ride down the Mississippi on a paddle wheel riverboat.

We passed this other mode of transportation and we gave it some thought but Bob and I decided we would save that for another day. Bob and I have taken tours of the city in Charleston and Savannah and have really enjoyed this way to see a city up close.

With tickets in hand we made our way to the docks.

The riverboat we're going on is called the Tom Sawyer.


What we saw while on the Muddy Mississippi. And yes, it is MUDDY!

We saw lots of tugboats pushing as many as 9 barges at one time.

Downtown St. Louis

The boat in this picture is an old river boat from the 1940's that has been refurbished and is now a casino.


Bob on an upper deck.

The Arch, as seen from the Mississippi.

Our friends, Bobby and Shelly.

Another one of Bob and the Arch.

.....now the end of the story.

So there it is, our first day in St. Louis. There's a lot more to see in this city so I'm sure Bob and I will make our way back there before our time in Missouri is up.

We came, we saw and we sure did enjoy it!