It is the first thing you see and the last thing you forget: 630 feet of stainless steel rising over the Mississippi River, the tallest human-made monument in the United States. The Gateway Arch, designed by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1965, symbolizes St. Louis’s role as America’s historic gateway to the West — and riding the tram to its top observation deck remains one of the great thrills in American travel.
Below the legs, the Museum at the Gateway Arch (completely renovated in 2018) tells the story of westward expansion across six galleries, while the surrounding 91 acres of Gateway Arch National Park — renamed a national park in 2018 — roll down landscaped lawns to the riverfront. Across the park, the Old Courthouse, where Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom, anchors the site in the nation’s deepest history.
Come at golden hour, when the steel turns to light.
Gateway Arch National Park is on the downtown riverfront. Tram tickets and museum hours at nps.gov/jeff and gatewayarch.com.
