Gateway Arch - Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

In late July 2014, we headed to St Louis, Missouri for a short vacation.  Our first stop was at the Gateway Arch on the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  The memorial includes the original town site on the banks of the Mississippi River.  The arch is 630 feet high and 630 feet wide, making it the tallest man-made monument in the United States.  Ground was broken in 1959, the foundations were begun in 1961, construction on the arch itself began in February 1963 and the keystone was set in late October 1965.  Additional work on the museum, visitor center and tram delayed the public opening until summer 1967.  Although an actuarial firm predicted that thirteen lives would be lost during construction, there were no fatalities on the project. 

We bought tickets to both of the movies shown at the memorial as well as tram tickets for a ride to the viewing area inside the top of the arch.  We watched Monument to the Dream in the Tucker Theater.  This 28-minute film is an excellent documentary of the construction of the Gateway Arch.  Be aware that the footage was shot in the early 1960s and is not the same quality as more recent productions.  We also watched the 42-minute Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West in the Odyssey Theater.  This 2002 release from National Geographic provides a live-action overview of the multiple year journey of the Corps of Discovery.  For those who prefer watching on a small screen or cannot make a trip to St Louis, low resolution versions of both films are currently viewable on the Internet.

Besides the two theaters, the visitor center also houses the impressive Museum of Westward Expansion with exhibits and artifacts of the past two centuries as well as a bookstore, replica General Store, information desk and restrooms.

Although the park recommends buying movie and tram tickets online to avoid summer sellouts, neither theater was very crowded and tram tickets were available for admittance to the queue within 30 minutes almost all day.  The tram is operated by the Bi-State Development Agency or Metro.  This is the same organization that operates the light rail and bus system in the area.  If our tram experience is typical, the ticketing system needs to be updated.  From the stated time on the ticket until we reached the tram was one hour.  Each leg has its own tram system and waiting lines.  The tram consists of eight pods capable of holding five people and operates on a 10 minute cycle.  This provides an opportunity for 240 people per hour per leg to visit the observation level.  Thus approximately 240 people were already in line before we were admitted to the queue.  Because I haven't heard of many complaints about the wait and after talking with a ranger after our visit, I suspect that a mechanical problem may have caused the tram to have been shut down or slowed down earlier in the day creating the backup.  In any event, plan for a long wait and note that there are no water fountain or rest room facilities in line or at the top. At the top, sixteen small windows on each side provide magnificent views of downtown St Louis to the west and the Mississippi River and Illinois plains to the east.

Gateway Arch from the top of parking garage

The arch was constructed in numerous sections with an outer stainless steel layer

The stainless steel skin panels of the arch are clearly visible

Gateway Arch from the Memorial Drive sidewalk

Directly under the arch near the entrance to the visitor center

Tram doors and stairs to the viewing area

The equilateral triangular shape of the arch allows visitors to see under the arch itself

Downtown St Louis

The Old Courthouse is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

Busch Stadium

The Poplar Street Bridge carries traffic from both I-55 and I-64

The East St Louis, Illinois riverfront

The Eads Bridge with the Martin Luther King Bridge in the background

Due to high river flows, the riverboat was not in operation during our visit.  Riverboat tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for children ages 3 to 15.  Tram tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.  Movies are $7 per adult and $2.50 for children.  Note that there are two theaters showing two different movies.  Each adult tram or movie ticket includes a $3 entrance fee which is waived for holders of the $80 America the Beautiful Annual Pass, $10 America the Beautiful Senior Pass, or the free America the Beautiful Access Pass, Volunteer Pass and Military Pass.  Parking at the Metro operated garage at the north end of the memorial is $6 per day regardless of the length of time.  The Arch-Laclede's Landing MetroLink light rail station is just north of the garage in the base of the Eads Bridge.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/jeff/index.htm.