Gateway Arch National Park

On February 22, 2018, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was renamed Gateway Arch National Park. With the congressional redesignation, Gateway Arch became the 60th national park, despite not meeting the normal criteria for a national park. The park service has thoughtfully provided an online article entitled What's In a Name? Discover National Park System Designations that was last updated on September 27, 2017. Quoting from the article: 

• Generally, a national park contains a variety of resources and encompasses large land or water areas to help provide adequate protection of the resources.
• A national monument is intended to preserve at least one nationally significant resource. It is usually smaller than a national park and lacks its diversity of attractions.

Further along in the article: 

• The title national memorial is most often used for areas that are primarily commemorative. They need not be sites or structures historically associated with their subjects. For example, the home of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Ill., is a national historic site, but the Lincoln Memorial in the District of Columbia is a national memorial. Several areas whose titles do not include the words “national memorial” are nevertheless classified as memorials. These are Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington Monument, and World War II Memorial in the District of Columbia; Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in Missouri; Perry’s Victory in Ohio; and Arlington House in Virginia.

Thus according to the National Park Service, Gateway Arch National Park doesn't fit the general criteria for a national park, but when has Congress let guidelines get in the way of a backroom deal?

At only 193 acres, the park is the smallest by over 5,000 acres. Included in the small space is the Old Courthouse where the 1846 case Dred Scott v. Sandford was heard and decided by the US Supreme Court in 1857. The Supreme Court voided the Missouri Compromise and ruled that Scott, a slave, could not purchase his freedom. A grassy park now encompasses the two blocks between the courthouse and the arch. From the park, visitors can stroll down one of two curving ramps to the underground visitor center, museum, theater, and gift shop. This underground area also provides access to the trams that propel visitors to the top of the arch. Both the theater and tram require a fee. Current prices can be found on the concessionaire's website listed below.

Once inside, the information desk is on the upper level. In addition, an airport-style security checkpoint is also located on the upper level. Once through the checkpoint, visitors can either use the stairs or an escalator to descend to the map floor and then the main floor with the museum, theater, tram, and gift shop. The museum is vastly different from the previous version with more light and open space. There are numerous signs and hands-on exhibits depicting life in St Louis rather than emphasizing the westward expansion of the nation due to the Louisiana Purchase.

In stark contrast, the Old Courthouse had not changed much at all. As of this writing, the Old Courthouse is closed to visitors as part of the park's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

I previously shared our July 2014 visit to the Gateway Arch and Old Courthouse. We visited again in January 2020 to add the park to our bucket list of visiting every national park.

Old Courthouse

Gateway Arch

Mezzanine or map floor

Information desk

Museum

Theater entrance

More of the Gateway Arch

Entrance to Gateway Arch is $3 per person age 16 or older. When we visited, this fee was included in the movie and or tram ticket, but not actually collected when just visiting the museum.

The concessionaire's website is https://www.gatewayarch.com/.

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