Interesting Facts and Notable Events about Gateway Arch St Louis

The Gateway Arch St Louis is also known as the Gateway to the West and is situated in the Jefferson National Memorial. This monument was built to enhance the image of St Louis, Missouri.

Interesting facts about Gateway Arch St Louis: At 630 feet, the Gateway Arch is the tallest monument in USA and has become a landmark for St Louis, Missouri.

According to mathematic calculations and to support this tall structure, the Gateway Arch is wider at its base and is narrower at the top. The architectural plan was the brain-child of Eero Saarinen, an American architect of Finnish origin.

The Gateway Arch is made of stainless steel covering applied over a double layer of carbon steel walls and strengthened with reinforced concrete.

Info on the Gateway Arch

http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/info/arch.fact.aspx

The Gateway Arch is hollow from within thus allowing for the egg shaped elevator - Tram, to take visitors to the observation desk at the top. The uniqueness of the elevator are its egg shape and the fact that the elevator is actually a train with eight compartments that can carry forty visitors at a time.

Notable events about Gateway Arch St Louis: The Gateway has its share of tragedies and other memorable incidents. An adventurous Kenneth Swyers jumped off from the Gateway, in 1980, with the help of a parachute and landed successfully. But, unfortunately, one a subsequent attempt he died.

In 1987, the Gateway was proclaimed as a national landmark. Another attempt to jump off the Arch was made by John Vincent in 1992 and was sentenced to three months jail for his act.

Review of Gateway Arch

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2829372-gateway_arch_the_st_louis-i

In 2007, several people were trapped inside the Tram elevators when an electrical snag developed. However, they were safely brought down to ground using the staircase and the elevators were taken for servicing.

Gateway Arch St Louis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch