Tram ride
Inside the arch.
w_lemay — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, NPS from St. Louis, MO, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, NPS from St. Louis, MO, USA — CC BY 2.0 · w_lemay — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Federal Highway Administration — Public domain
The Gateway Arch is a huge stainless-steel arch rising on the bank of the Mississippi River in St. Louis. Its silver skin gleams in the sun, surrounded by broad lawns and gardens. It is 192 m tall, the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible structure. The Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen designed it in 1947; construction began in February 1963, finished in October 1965, and it opened to the public in June 1967. It was built as a monument to westward expansion, is known as the Gateway to the West, and stands on the 1764 founding site of St. Louis. You ride small tram pods up inside the legs to the observation room at the top and look over the city and river through narrow windows. A museum on the area's history lies beneath the arch, and riverboat cruises leave from the levee. It is about 1 km in a straight line east of central St. Louis. Tram tickets often sell out, so book ahead.
Inside the arch.
Over the river.
Beneath the arch.
Gateway Arch National Park, Mississippi riverfront, St. Louis
Yes, tickets often sell out.
The pods are small; not ideal for claustrophobia.