Join me for the mystery tour…

We are about to go on a field trip to one of the United States’ most famous monuments… can you

guess where we are going?

I’m Amy, your tour guideI have visited this place twice in my life.I have been to the top both times… once at night, and once in the daytime…At the right, you will see a picture of me leaning against this monument.

Have you guessed yet?Maybe this picture will help. We have boarded a bus, and we are getting closer and closer. In fact, I can see it right in front of us…

It’s the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri

In this virtual field trip, we will learn about the Gateway Arch from it’s construction to it’s underground Visitor Center.After we have learned about its history, we will take a ride to the top.

From the beginning…In this section of the virtual field trip, you will learn about the history and the construction of the Gateway Arch.You will be asked questions along the way about the things that you are seeing, so you will want to take notes as you go along. Just fill in the answers on the screen.

What was once parking lots and rubble…

In the picture on the left, you will see the site where the Gateway Arch stands today. It was built to commemorate the courageous Americans who pioneered, settled, and built the land stretching westward from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. The architect of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (another name for the Gateway Arch), Eero Saarinen, died one year before construction began.

The first section…On February 12, 1963, the first piece of the Arch was mounted into the ground.Each section of the Arch is an equilateral triangle, with the sides measuring 54 feet on the first section.Each section has an inner wall and an outer wall with the space between the walls filled with pre-stressed rods to reinforce the concrete filling.

Question Slide #1What is another name for the Gateway Arch?

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Who was the architect?

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In what year did construction begin?

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Each section of the Arch is in what geometrical shape?

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Four months after construction began, both sides of the Arch are shown being built simultaneously.

Mechanical tracks were placed on the sides of

the Arch to aide workers in getting up the sides of

the Arch.

On June 17, 1965, over two years after construction began, the Arch was nearing its completion. At the 548-foot mark, a 58-ton stabilizing strut was raised into place. This support braced the two legs as they curved inward and upward toward their meeting point – 630 feet in the air.

The picture on the left captures two national monuments, side by side… in the background, the Gateway Arch, and in the foreground, a railroad and vehicular bridge built in 1874. Because of its engineering significance for its time, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark. If you look closely, you will see a net stretched above the stabilizing strut. It was placed there for safety, but no one fell and there were no serious injuries throughout the project.

At the same time that the Arch was being constructed,

so was Busch Stadium, as shown on the right.

The final section…On October 28, 1965, the two legs of the Arch were pried open six feet. Because of their weight (more than 8,000 tons each), the legs had deflected inward and were only 2 ½ feet apart before the last 8-foot section was installed. When the spreader jack was released, the final section was held into place by workmen’s bolts and 325 tons of natural thrust. The precision of the Arch’s construction is demonstrated here: a deviation of only 1/64th of an inch in the bases would have thrown them apart.

Question Slide 2How tall is the Gateway Arch?

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What stadium is located within view of the Arch?

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Was anyone injured during the construction of the Arch?

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In what year was construction of the Arch completed?

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Now that you know its history…

Let’s ride to the top!The Gateway Arch stands 630 feet in the

air. In order to access the tram, you must go into the underground Visitor Center located beneath the Arch.

The Visitor Center features a gift shop, a Museum of Westward Expansion, an Odyssey Theater, and access to the Arch tram that will take us to the top.

How does it compare?Statue of Liberty: 305 feetWashington Monument: 555 feetGateway Arch: 630 feetEiffel Tower: 984 feet

The Arch is the tallest historical memorial structure in the United States.

Before we go up…Let’s look at it from the outside. The picture at the right shows the view looking straight up at the Arch from directly underneath it. Pretty high, huh? Those little black dots you see on the top of the Arch are the windows. There are 16 windows on each side.

Let’s Go!Ready to go? I am! As we travel below the Arch, we will wait for the elevators to come down, as you see the people in the picture below doing.

You might wonder how we would travel to the top of Arch without the tram capsule tipping.

Each of the tram capsules is built with a mercury-leveling device, so when your capsule begins to lean sideways, it is tilted back to an upright position. Pictures of the tram capsules are shown above.

The ride to the top takes approximately 3 minutes

Once you make it to the top, a National Park Service representative is there to answer any questions you might have. The rectangular boxes that you see to her right are two of the windows in the top. Let’s look and see what we find!

What did you see?Did you notice any interesting buildings? How small the people and cars were? The snow on the ground and the writing in it? Could you feel the Arch swaying back and forth? It actually moves back and forth in the wind, and you can feel it when you are standing in the top.Click the button below to board the tram back down the ground. I hope you enjoyed your trip to the top.

http://www.stlouisarch.com

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/arch-ov.htm

http://www.slfp.com/View-of-Arch.html

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Gateway_Arch.html