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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Ride the Changing Rhythms
2
Meet Our Newest Attorney
2
Are You Aware of These Common Day Care Accidents?
3
Unsinkable Sam: The Feline Hero of WWII
3
Honey-Pecan Chicken Breasts
4
A Brief History of the Gateway Arch
AN ICON OF AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENT ST. LOUIS’S MONUMENTAL GATEWAY ARCH
National Skyscraper Day on Sept. 3 celebrates the world’s growing number of super-sized buildings. Skyscrapers have long been a symbol of modernity and American prosperity, which is undoubtedly true of St. Louis’s tallest and most famous structure. The Gateway Arch soars 630 feet above the Mississippi into our skyline, welcoming all travelers to the western part of the U.S. The origins of the Gateway Arch lie in a controversial urban renewal plan from 1933. Local business owners wanted to clear blight from the area and proposed a monument to celebrate Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase. Historians believe the bond measure to secure funding was rigged, with The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (a regional newspaper) finding 46,000 fake ballots. Once the area was bulldozed, it sat dormant for a decade. St. Louis revived the project in 1947 with a contest. The architect who submitted the best memorial design for the site would receive a $40,000 prize — more than $500,000 in today’s money. Eero Saarinen won with his steel arch design but died in 1961 before the project broke ground.
Completing the Gateway Arch required a monumental $15 million investment. (By comparison, Mt. Rushmore 20 years earlier had cost less than $1 million.) Workers simultaneously built both pillars up from the ground, which was an incredibly precise process. Experts say that if the footings were off by as little as 1/64th of an inch, the two curves would have been unable to meet in the middle. Construction was completed on Oct. 28, 1965, and currently sees over one million visitors yearly. The surrounding Gateway Arch National Park includes St. Louis’ famous Old Courthouse and the National Museum of the Archway, which traces St. Louis’s history, the country’s early westward expansion, and the building of the arch.
Since revitalization was completed in 2018, the park is more family-friendly, educational, and attractive than ever. If you haven’t yet taken in the new underground museum, it may be time to revisit the waterfront and partake in some St. Louis history and pride.
Practicing in Missouri and Illinois
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