Review: Architect writes an evocative timeline of the Gateway Arch

The Museum and Visitors Center at the Arch on Monday, May 21, 2018. Photo by Cristina M. Fletes, [email protected]

For a gleaming structure standing 630 feet tall as a symbol of St. Louis, the Gateway Arch is easy to take for granted.

When was the last time you visited or were captured by its simple yet majestic presence?

As a lifelong St. Louisan, I have lots of memories — French exchange students 30 years ago, exclaiming in delight when they spotted the Arch as we drove around the bend on Highway 40 at Skinker; my grandson leaning to catch the view out the narrow windows at the top; a story I wrote to mark one of the monument's special anniversaries, noting how many businesses had the word "Gateway" in their name, as listed in the phone book.

Whether you want to relive the history of the Arch or learn about it for the very first time, architect John C. Guenther has compiled an informative, evocative timeline, with vivid photos and drawings, that tells a storied history from the founding of St. Louis up to the 2018 opening of the Arch's revamped visitor center and museum.

"The Gateway Arch: An Illustrated Timeline"

By John C. Guenther

Published by Reedy Press, 40 pages, $17 (paperback)

And he sums up that story eloquently, in terms that are easy to agree with:

"The Gateway Arch expresses both a timeless monumentality and a contemporary dynamism. It combines references to classical arches with a sleek, aerodynamically curving form. The Arch symbolizes modernity with its simplicity, minimalism, geometry, and technology. The Arch is elegant and innovative in its use of materials with its composite structure of stainless-steel skin, reinforced concrete and carbon steel plate utilized in its ‘orthotropic’ engineering, all resulting in humanity's triumph over gravity due to its height and lightness."

Guenther's timeline moves swiftly through early St. Louis history — the Louisiana Purchase, the rise of steamboats on area rivers, construction of the Old Courthouse and Old Cathedral, the 1849 fire that destroyed much of the city and required a new building boom, construction of the Eads Bridge.

During the Great Depression, in 1933, Luther Ely Smith — whose little-known place in the city's history is duly noted by Guenther — formed a committee to plan for a memorial to the Louisiana Purchase on the city's riverfront. Two years later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved money to develop the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which became the Arch grounds.

Not all the milestones are positive. Between 1939 and 1942, demolition of 37 blocks of buildings on the riverfront helped clear the area, but it also resulted in what Guenther calls a "major loss" of the city's heritage.

A guide to must-see sites and experiences, along with dozens of other suggestions to pique your curiosity.

Plans for the site continued with the competition of the central architectural landmark. Eero Saarinen, who sketched his design concept on the program for entry into the competition, was the pick of the 172 entries, defeating even his architect father, who had a separate design. It won formal acceptance in 1948, construction began in 1962 and the topping off came three years later, with the north and south legs joined by the final piece.

Landscaping and other features, such as the grand staircase, finally followed, and the site became more accessible from downtown with the "Park over the Highway project" in 2013.

Guenther calls the homegrown saga "one of vision, determination, persistence, collaboration, creativity, innovation, and co-making." He writes that in the book, he wanted to "connect the dots" of the area's history. He succeeds, monumentally.

When • 7 p.m. May 31

Where • Daniel Boone library, 300 Clarkson Road

How much • Free

More info • slcl.org

Dale Singer retired in 2017 after a 45-year career in journalism in St. Louis. He lives in west St. Louis County.

The Gateway Arch is undoubtedly the most famous icon of St. Louis, but it didn't achieve its status without immense work and world-class engineering. Here's a brief look into the construction of this modern marvel. Video by Michael J. Collins

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