The process which led to the construction of the Arch began in 1933 when the St. Louis Mayor 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 million bond issue and, along with $9 million in WPA funds, began acquisition and clearance of a 40-block area. After this nothing significant happened until 1948 when architectural competition was won by Eero Saarinen.  Saarinen design was for a 630 foot tall stainless steel clad catenary curve shaped arch.  Construction of the Arch began in 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, for a total cost of less than $15 million. The Arch has foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, and is built to withstand earthquakes and high winds; it sways up to 1 inch in a 20 mph wind, and is built to sway up to 18 inches.
 

General Facts

Outer Width - Outside North Leg to Outer South Leg	630' (192m)
Maximum Height	630' (192m)
Shape of Arch Section	Equilateral Triangle
Dimension of Arch at Base	54 ft. (16.46m)
Dimension of Arch at Top	17 ft. (5.18m)
Size of Windows	Approx. 7" x 27" (180 mm x 690 mm)
Construction of Windows	3/4 in. (19mm) Plate Glass; Hinged and Locked
Size of Observation Room	7' 2" x 65' x 6' 9" high (2.18m x 19.8m x 2.06m)
Capacity of Observation Platform	100 - 140 persons
Deflection of Arch	18" in 150 MPH wind (0.46 m in 240 km/h wind)
Method of Determining Deflection of Arch	Calculations and Wind Tunnel Tests (240 km/h)
Number of Sections in Arch	142
Thickness of Plates for Outer Skin	1/4" (6.3mm)
Type of Material Used in Arch Exterior	Stainless Steel; #3 Finish Type 304
Structural Capacity of Observation Area	100 lb/sq. ft (488 kg/m)

 

Type: Gateway Subtype: Memorial Location: Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

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Date Logged Log User Rating   02/25/2023 moelsla visited it 09/22/2022 Don.Morfe visited it 08/04/2022 sundevil1994 visited it 02/04/2022 TheCachingJilljeck visited it 01/03/2020 Castor007 visited it 03/17/2019 Doug.G visited it 10/05/2018 The Snowdog visited it 07/12/2018 The_Simpsons visited it 05/30/2018 KidWrangler visited it 05/25/2018 Team Glandouillage visited it 05/23/2018 stinger503 visited it 03/01/2018 BWJM visited it 01/07/2018 YoSam. visited it 10/19/2017 Hipsu1 visited it 08/21/2017 ted28285 visited it 08/21/2017 r.e.s.t.seekers visited it 06/18/2016 stevepre2 visited it 04/18/2016 tnwave visited it 10/15/2015 MC_Dahm visited it 08/29/2015 MMaru visited it 01/25/2015 veritas vita visited it 10/18/2014 vyrianna visited it 10/14/2014 MD&EB visited it 08/23/2014 Yewbacca visited it 06/23/2014 petendot visited it

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