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Name:  Jefferson National Expansion Site
Address:  Riverfront
Year:  1966
Designation: National Historic Landmark
History:
In 1933, Mayor Bernard Dickman assembled a group of businessmen who formed the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association. A Joint Resolution from Congress followed in 1934. In 1935,the City passed a $7.5 milllion bond issue and, along with $9 million in WPA funds, began acquisition and clearance of a 40-block area. Nothing else happened until 1945, when Luther Ely Smith and James L. Ford raised $225,000 for an architectural competition which was won by Eero Saarinen in 1948. (He received $50,000.) The Arch was completed in 1965 and the Museum of Westward Expansion in 1976.

"The Gateway Arch is a massive stainless steel structure that towers 630 feet above the surrounding landscape of St. Louis, MO. Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1963 and completed in 1965, the Arch is the largest monument in the United States. The structure has become the unofficial logo for the city and is the area´s chief tourist attraction." [From the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as prepared by Laura Soulliere Harrison, 1985.]




People
Saarinen, Eero


Events
1935 Bond Issue

Structures
Arch,Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Gateway

Reference
St. Louis Landmarks & Historic Districts

 

 

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This site was funded in part by Federal funds administered by the Missouri State Historical Preservation Office, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, The National Park Service, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.


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