Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot-tall monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. 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 structure. Some sources consider it the tallest human-made monument in the Western Hemisphere. 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. Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination.The Arch was designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947, and construction began on February 12, 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1965, at an overall cost of $13 million. The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967.