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Event:  Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Category:  Planning and Development
Brief Description:  In 1935, St. Louisans voters approved a bond issue to cover the City´s share of a the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The project was a joint venture with the U.S. National Park Service to create a memorial to the westward expansion of the country in the 19th century. Demolition of a 30-square-block area on the riverfront was completed in 1940, but progress on the project was delayed by railroad track relocation problems, as well as by World War II and the Korean War. A memorial design by Eero Saarinen was chosen in an architectural competition in 1948. Federal funds were finally approved and work began in the early 1960s. The Gateway Arch was "topped off" in 1965, opened to public use in 1967, and officially dedicated in 1968. The Arch cost a total of $32 million. The underground Museum of Westward Expansion was completed in 1976 at an approximate cost of $3.5 million and the Gateway Arch Grand Staircase was completed at an approximate cost of $555,000.
Year:  1965
Decade:  1960 - 1969

 

 

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