Gateway Arch National Park

Gateway Arch is our 60th and newest national park, elevated to national park status in February of 2018. 

Previously known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, this 91 acre park along the Mississippi River in St. Louis has a museum and the definitive icon of the city, a steel catenary arch known as the Gateway Arch, so named because St. Louis was known as the "Gateway to the West." Here's my ticket to go to the top of the arch from my 1985 visit.

Below is the arch and its newest addition (in 2018), the visitor center and the Museum at the Gateway Arch. The new museum features exhibits on a variety of topics including westward expansion and the construction of the arch. Tucker Theater, finished in 1968 and renovated 30 years later, has about 285 seats and shows a documentary (Monument to the Dream) on the Arch's construction. A second theater was added in 1993 but removed in 2018 as part of the CityArchRiver renovation project. Also located in the visitor center are a gift shop and cafe.

It is the tallest structure in Missouri standing 650 feet high and 630 feet wide at its base. Its legs are 54 feet wide at the ground and narrow to 17 feet at the arch.

It was designed back in 1947 and finally built between 1963 and 1965. A unique tram system carries visitors to the observation room at its top.

The observation deck at the top...

Underneath the Arch is a visitor center, entered from a circular entryway facing the Old Courthouse. Within the center, a project to rebuild the Museum at the Gateway Arch was completed in July 2018. The new museum features exhibits on a variety of topics including westward expansion and the construction of the arch, all told through a St. Louis lens. Tucker Theater, finished in 1968 and renovated 30 years later, has about 285 seats and shows a documentary (Monument to the Dream) on the Arch's construction. A second theater was added in 1993 but removed in 2018 as part of the CityArchRiver renovation project. Also located in the visitor center are a gift shop and cafe.

Here's my list on all the national parks and links to my page for each park.