Gateway Arch

The tallest national monument in America is steel arches towering at a height of 630 feet (192 m) above the River Mississipi, St. Louis, Missouri. Its shape is very large but the design is very smooth. The arch forms the center of the Jefferson Memorial Park, which was founded in 1935 to commemorate the expansion of the American frontier to the West side in the 19th century. Although always wanted to build a monument in the Park, the project is at the stop during World War II. It was not until 1948, held a competition to design the monument with a first prize worth 50,000 dollars. Many leading architects participated in this competition, but the winner, Eero Saarinen, is an architect who is not so famous Finland, proposed a plan that he characterized as a stunning "works of all time". Curved structure is inspired by the classical tradition which is usually in the form of large monuments. However, the monument is the simple unadorned structure or detail that stands as a gateway to the huge open space on the West side.

 

 

 

Up and Down

    Because of its curved, this monument using conventional elevators were impractical. Therefore, the transport system was specifically created to reach the observation gallery. From the basement, capsule-shaped train ride on its feet, spinning 155 degrees when walking in the tracks curved upper side of the metal to the tip of the lower part of the arch. Each train consists of eight capsules and five seats for passengers, took four hours to reach the place there is a gallery, a space to contain 150 people. To come down from the arch it takes three minutes.

 

Best Design

 
     Unfortunately, Saarinen, who died in 1951 at the age of 41 years, the have never seen the projects realized. Gateway Arch construction finally began in February 1965. Although its performance is smooth, its structure has incredible power which is designed to withstand tornadoes.