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Gateway Arch Facts

Gateway Arch Facts
The Gateway Arch, located in St. Louis, Missouri, is the tallest arch in the world and the tallest monument in the Western hemisphere. It was built as part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to honor Thomas Jefferson's vision and the role that St. Louis played in the United States' expansion westward. Plans for memorial were first brought up by a civic leader Luther Ely Smith in 1933 after seeing a memorial in Indiana that inspired him to envision a memorial on the Mississippi riverfront. In 1945 the design competition was finally launched, but construction did not begin until February 12th, 1963. On October 28th, 1965 the last steel section of the Gateway Arch was put into place.
Interesting Gateway Arch Facts:
Former President Thomas Jefferson was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, which helped to expand the United States. He was also responsible for sending Lewis and Clark on the famous expedition to the west. It was his vision to expand the United States that is honored with the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial includes the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse, and the Museum of Westward Expansion.
The Gateway Arch was designed by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-American architect, and Hannskarl Bandel, a structural engineer, in 1947.
The foundation for the Gateway Arch was laid in 1961 but the arch's construction did not begin until February 12th, 1963.
The foundations for each of the legs of the Gateway Arch are approximately 60 feet deep.
The Gateway Arch is 630 feet tall. This is equivalent to 63 stories.
The Gateway Arch has a 630 foot span when measured from the outer edges of each leg. At their base the legs are 54 feet wide.
It took 142 stainless steel sections to create the Gateway Arch.
The weight of the memorial is 43,220 pounds. This includes the stainless steel, the concrete layer between the outer and inner stainless steel, and all other components required to construct the arch.
The 16 windows at the observation room are 7"x 27" in size. They are small because larger windows could not withstand the pressure at the top of the structure. The observation room is 7'2"x65'.
When the Gateway Arch was completed in 1965 it had cost $13 million to build. By today's value that $13 million would be equal to $180 million.
There are trams that take visitors to the observation deck. If only one tram is running 240 passengers can be taken to the top every hour. This number doubles if both trams are running.
Although there are stairs to the top, visitors can't use them. There are 1,076 stairs but they are reserved for emergencies and maintenance.
There are elevators in the Gateway Arch, but these are for maintenance and emergencies only. The elevators can travel at 400 feet per minute.
In 2014 stain samples were taken and an estimation was made as to the cost to clean the Gateway Arch. It is estimated that it will cost $340,000.
The Gateway Arch has been featured in television shows and movies, as well as in books and other literature.


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