The officials running the competition informed Eliel Saarinen that his design for the monument had been selected. You can probably see where this is going… You see, there was a man named Eliel Saarinen who entered the design competition, and guess who else also entered the competition. Humorously enough, there was a bit of a mix-up when the victor of the competition was revealed… In fact, by the mid-1940s, a design hadn’t even been chosen yet! A public design competition was put in place to determine what the final result would look like. While the inception of the Gateway Arch and funding began in the early 1930s, the Arch wouldn’t be completed or open to the public until the mid-1960s. Awkward… A design competition was held to determine what the monument would look like. Not helping was the fact that it was later discovered that the vote cast to allocate city funds toward the project was rigged. Bernard to refer to it as “an enforced slum-clearance program.” Many warehouses and buildings housing nearly 300 businesses were decimated to create the space, leading engineer W.C. Louis were demolished to clear up space for the national park’s construction. The initial construction of the Arch was very controversial. Louis was destroyed to make room for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial …Īlright, well, I guess this fact isn’t so fun. Maybe they should build a replica, fuse them together, and make a Gateway Circle! Eh, that’s not really as catchy… and it would be a lot of work too. Louis Arch is 630 feet tall, making it the tallest monument in the United States and the tallest arch in the entire world! Not only is it 630 feet tall, but it is also 630 feet wide too, making it a perfect half-circle. The Gateway Arch is pretty dang tall! And pretty dang wide too. The Gateway Arch has a very rich history, so today, we are going to list off some fun facts and trivia about its history and construction. It is located on the Mississippi River and is often referred to as “The Gateway to the West. This stainless steel arch was built as a monument to the Louisiana Purchase, as well as Thomas Jefferson ’s vision of the westward expansion of the United States. Louis, Missouri, of course! It’s hard to mention this fabulous city without thinking of this incredible monument. Louis Gateway Arch is pretty much synonymous with the city of… well, St.

The arch st louis