Okla-homey
10/28/2008, 05:58 AM
October 28, 1965: Gateway Arch completed
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/75/archstlouisarchaddressha8.jpg
43 years ago on this day in 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5296/archcolorii7.gif
The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. Louis' central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers--including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark--the town of St. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/2046/arch400pxgatewayarchtraab8.jpg
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1598/archgatewayarchcapsulepec4.jpg
Pods that take folks to the top. Not for the squeamish about tight spots.
In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1838/arch95610047335afdaqm5.jpg
Saarinen photographed in 1948 in one of the funky "womb chairs" he designed.
Completed in October 1965, the Gateway Arch cost less than $15 million to build. With foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, its frame of stressed stainless steel is built to withstand both earthquakes and high winds. An internal tram system takes visitors to the top, where on a clear day they can see up to 30 miles across the winding Mississippi and to the Great Plains to the west.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/8241/arch800pxjnemobservatiore8.jpg
The top of the arch
In addition to the Gateway Arch, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse of St. Louis, where two of the famous Dred Scott slavery cases were heard in the 1860s.
Today, some 4 million people visit the park each year to wander its nearly 100acres, soak up some history and take in the breathtaking views from Saarinen's gleaming arch.
The Arch has also inspired some foolish stunts. Eleven light aircraft have been successfully piloted beneath the arch, the first on 22 June 1966, when the arch had been completed for less than a year.
In 1980 Kenneth Swyers tried to parachute onto the span of the Gateway Arch, planning to jump back off to land on the ground below. Instead, he slid all the way down one leg to his death. The pilot, Richard Skurat, had his pilot certificate suspended for 90 days.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/75/archstlouisarchaddressha8.jpg
43 years ago on this day in 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5296/archcolorii7.gif
The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. Louis' central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers--including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark--the town of St. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/2046/arch400pxgatewayarchtraab8.jpg
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1598/archgatewayarchcapsulepec4.jpg
Pods that take folks to the top. Not for the squeamish about tight spots.
In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1838/arch95610047335afdaqm5.jpg
Saarinen photographed in 1948 in one of the funky "womb chairs" he designed.
Completed in October 1965, the Gateway Arch cost less than $15 million to build. With foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, its frame of stressed stainless steel is built to withstand both earthquakes and high winds. An internal tram system takes visitors to the top, where on a clear day they can see up to 30 miles across the winding Mississippi and to the Great Plains to the west.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/8241/arch800pxjnemobservatiore8.jpg
The top of the arch
In addition to the Gateway Arch, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse of St. Louis, where two of the famous Dred Scott slavery cases were heard in the 1860s.
Today, some 4 million people visit the park each year to wander its nearly 100acres, soak up some history and take in the breathtaking views from Saarinen's gleaming arch.
The Arch has also inspired some foolish stunts. Eleven light aircraft have been successfully piloted beneath the arch, the first on 22 June 1966, when the arch had been completed for less than a year.
In 1980 Kenneth Swyers tried to parachute onto the span of the Gateway Arch, planning to jump back off to land on the ground below. Instead, he slid all the way down one leg to his death. The pilot, Richard Skurat, had his pilot certificate suspended for 90 days.