Gateway of the West

Arch in St. Louis
	Arch
Arch in St. Louis
	English Gateway arch
A country	USA
City	St louis
Architectural style
Project author	Eero Saarinen
Architect
Founding date
Building	February 12, 1963 - October 28, 1965
Site

The Arch in St. Louis ( born Gateway Arch ), also known as the Gateway to the West, is a memorial that is part of the Jeffersonian National Expansion Memorial , as well as the hallmark of St. Louis , Missouri, USA .

Content

History

Construction of the arch in June 1965

The arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947 . Its height is 192 meters at the highest point, the width of its base is also 192 meters. Thus, the arch is the highest monument in the United States. Its construction began on February 12, 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1965 . The monument was opened to visitors on July 24, 1967 .

Elevator

Observation deck at the top of the arch

Eero Saarinen died four years before the construction of the arch was completed. Shortly before his death, he decided to change the design of the tower, introducing an elevator into it, so that visitors would not have to overcome more than a thousand steps. But the design of the arch did not allow the use of conventional elevator models. Several elevator companies tried to find a suitable option, but did not succeed. Then Saarinen hired an engineer Richard Bowser. He was given only two weeks to develop his version, but, oddly enough, he did. His system combined the usual cable elevator and a Ferris wheel booth on a gimbal. In 1968, this unique system was installed in the arch.

Observation deck

View of St. Louis from the observation deck, summer of 2018

Arch in profile; coincidentally built by MacDonald Construction, while resembling part of the McDonald's symbol

Near the summit of the arch is an observation deck, which overlooks Mississippi , southern Illinois , Cahokia , St. Louis itself and its urban agglomeration . On a clear day, visibility reaches forty-eight kilometers.

Interesting Facts

Its formula in feet is written on the arch ^[1] :

y=-127{,}7^{\prime }\cdot \operatorname {ch} ({x/127{,}7^{\prime }})+757{,}7^{\prime }

{\ displaystyle y = -127 {,} 7 ^ {\ prime} \ cdot \ operatorname {ch} ({x / 127 {,} 7 ^ {\ prime}}) + 757 {,} 7 ^ {\ prime} }

In meters it

y=-38{,}92\cdot \operatorname {ch} ({x/38{,}92})+230{,}95

{\ displaystyle y = -38 {,} 92 \ cdot \ operatorname {ch} ({x / 38 {,} 92}) + 230 {,} 95}

Notes

↑ Barrow, John D., 1952-. Cosmic imagery: key images in the history of science . - ISBN 9781448113675 , 1448113679.

[1] Barrow, John D., 1952-. Cosmic imagery: key images in the history of science . - ISBN 9781448113675 , 1448113679.