The Gateway Arch rises 630 feet above the west bank of the Mississippi River at the site of St. Louis’s 1764 founding, serving as both the city’s defining landmark and a memorial to the United States’ westward expansion. Conceived during the Great Depression as a riverfront renewal and jobs project, it won federal backing in 1935 despite local opposition and required the clearance and reshaping of the old waterfront. A national design competition selected Eero Saarinen’s arch in 1947. Built from 1963 to 1965 and opened in 1967, it became the world’s tallest arch and an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis.

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East St. Louis, Illinois · USA