GATEWAY ARCH
Reflecting the role of St. Louis in the nation’s Westward Expansion efforts in the 1800s, the Gateway Arch was designated as a national park in early 2018. This was a re-designation of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Located along the banks of the Mississippi River in the heart of St. Louis, the arch stands 630 feet high at its highest point and is also 630 feet wide. With its outer skin made of 1/4 inch stainless steel plates (weighing 886 tons) making up its 142 sections, the arch is a striking structure on the skyline and has drawn visitors from all around since its construction completion in 1965. The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, which sits just a block away from the arch itself, was the site of the historic first two Dred Scott court cases in 1847 and 1850 which centered on the issue of slavery and “property rights”.
