He communicated his idea to mayor Bernard Dickmann, who on December 15, 1933, raised it in a meeting with city leaders. Louis riverfront area and envisioned that building a memorial there would both revive the riverfront and stimulate the economy. Louis from the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes, Indiana, saw the St. See also: History of the Gateway Arch National Park Inception and funding (1933вЂ“1935) ДЄround late 1933, civic leader Luther Ely Smith, returning to St. Louis on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It is located at the site of the founding of St. The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967. The Arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947 construction began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, at an overall cost of $13В million (equivalent to $83В million in 2018). Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States and officially dedicated to 'the American people', the Arch, commonly referred to as 'The Gateway to the West', is a National Historic Landmark in Gateway Arch National Park and has become an internationally recognized symbol of St. Some sources consider it the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot-tall (192В m) monument in St.

The gateway arch