From the August 5th Chicago Tribune "Improving Arch could prove to be tall order" by Blair Kamin.
Architect Eero Saarinen built the 630-foot-tall arch (the tallest national monument in the US) as a tribute to American westward expansion. It is impressive, but the grounds around it definitely are not.
Security barriers erected after 9-11 take from the experience the nearly 2.5 million who visit each year.
The City Arch River 2015 Foundation wants to change the Arch's surrounding and even the view of East St. Louis across the Mississippi River and are hosting a design competition. Five teams are finalists and will be presenting their designs this coming Tuesday and a winner will be announced September 24th. The foundation wants to have the revamp completed by the Arch's 50th anniversary, October 28, 2015.
This arch is impressive and we've been seeing it more of late because of our Route 66 travels. One alignment goes right by it. And, you can easily see it at the old Chain of Rocks Bridge north of town.
We visited it once, but found out you'd better pre-order your tickets if you want to go to the top of it. Nice visit anyway. Impressive museum at the base.
Looking Forward to Seeing the Designs. Cooter
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