Friday, April 22, 2011

A is for Arch


It's Alphabe-Thursday and we are starting all over again with the letter "A". I realize that I am a day late and a dollar short (the IRS took my last dollars), but I just couldn't let this landmark go unnoticed! Behold, the Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri!


The Arch from the ground up on a sunny day!

The Arch is 630 feet tall and is the tallest man-made monument in the United States. Construction began in February of 1963 and finished in October of 1965. The Arch is a public memorial to the men and women who made possible the western territorial expansion of the United States, hence the name "Gateway to the West."



The ground from the observation deck at the top of the arch!



The Mississippi River and arch steps from the observation deck at the top. During the summer, there are concerts at the bottom of the steps with the audience sitting on the steps.



Here's a closer look at the steps leading up to the Arch grounds. Sometimes the river will rise high enough to cover most of the steps.



In 2006, special lighting was applied to show St. Louis' support for Breast Cancer research.

There is a museum, theatre and various historical exhibits under the Arch (and underground) as well as the elevators that lead tourists to the top. If you visit St. Louis, you MUST stop at the Arch, and take the tram to the top!

Please hop, with all of the other spring bunnies, over to Alphabe-Thursday hosted by Jenny Matlock, Off On My Tangent. Just click on the logo below and join the rest of the class with their "A" assignments!

8 comments:

Judie said...

We went to St.Louis for a weekend one time to visit friends. The arch is wonderful! Somewhere I have photos of the weekend with riverboats on the river at sunset, and the arch glowing with pastel colors. This was a great post. Better late than never!!!

21 Wits said...

All the time that I lived in St. Louis I never made it up there...only enjoyed it from afar..that's awesome too...then on vacation after 9/11 we attempted to see it...but the lines were so long and then we all had something or other in our bags that weren't allowed so we missed it again! Great post!

Jeanie said...

This is a great history of the Arch. I think I have told you before that I went up in it once and was glad I did, but probably won't do it again. Heights are not my thing. I would be glad to re-visit it from below :)

Claudya Martinez said...

Absolutely amazing art.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

love the photo shots.

used to visit the attraction and actually went up to the top in a scaring elevator.

Chris H said...

How on earth do you get to the top of that thing... and I can't even see an observation deck on it!
It's amazingly lovely.

Jenny said...

I can't believe you went UP in it. I tried it once, but the way it swayed made me feel so queasy I had to come right back down.

I think it's neat that they highlighted the fight for breast cancer on the arch!

This was a great link to Alphabe-Thursday!

A+

Mrs4444 said...

Even though this made me a little bit dizzy, I enjoyed the post! Interesting.