Meet Us in St. Louis (MO) – [June 30, 2016]

Yup that's us, 630 feet up inside the Gateway Arch!

Such a beautiful Arch

Since we are heading West and North and West again on this trip, it seemed fitting to start our exploration in St. Louis, the gateway to the American West during the 1800s.  St. Louis was founded as a French fur trading post in 1764 near the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.  This unique location made it a center of commerce for river trade.  Louis and Clark passed through here at the start of their important exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, and stopped here again upon their return.  St. Louis was the starting point of the Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail and other avenues of the great migration and settlement of the frontier.  The important role of the city is memorialized in the iconic Gateway Arch that soars above the Mississippi River and the waterfront of St. Louis.

Statue commemorating the return of Lewis and Clark to St. Louis.

The Gateway Arch is 630 feet tall at its highest point.  It has a stainless steel skin on the outside and steel girders on the inside.  It was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1947, and was built between 1963-1965.  The effort involved visionaries, politicians, and countless others to raise money and actualize the design.  This year is being celebrated as its 50^th anniversary.    The Arch is gorgeous and impressive, sleek and muscular.  It really is worth a visit.  AND it is a National Memorial – happy 100^th Birthday NPS.

Inside a tram pod that you take to the top.

Stair-stepped tram entries.  Note the narrow and short doors.

You can visit the top of the Arch in a 1960s futuristic tram system.  The tram consists of 8 pods, which each holds 5 people.  You are assigned a pod number, and enter the pods from a stair stepped entry area.  The doors are narrow and short, so watch your head!  The pods are rounded, so tall people hunch over slightly when seated.  They are well lit, with a constant source of air blowing into them.  The doors are glass, and you can view the inside of the Arch – girders and stairs – as you travel to the top of the Arch.

Viewing room at the top of the arch.

This is what those windows look like from the ground.

The top of the Arch is a curved room with horizontal windows along the sides.  You can lay on elevated carpet covered ramps by the windows to look out on the view below.  And what a spectacular view it is.  Even on the off again, on again rainy day that we were there, the view was amazing.  Down below is the wide, muddy Mississippi River.  Illinois spreads out to the East and the city of St. Louis spreads out to the West.  You can stay up there as long as you wish, before you pod back down.

Shadow of the Gateway Arch across the mighty Mississippi.

Definitely worth the trip!

View of St. Louis from the Arch.