St Louis Missouri and the Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot (63 stories) monument in St. Louis Missouri. The Gateway Arch weighs 43,226 tons and the foundations are about 60 feet deep.Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch (catenary means it is the shape a free-hanging chain takes when held at both ends), it is the world's tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, and officially dedicated to "the American people," it is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and has become an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination. The Arch was designed by architect Eero Saarinen in 1947; construction began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, for $13 million. Thanks to hundreds of workers, the Arch was completed within budget and w