Editor’s Weekly: How the Arch Reflects St. Louis
Date Posted: November 2, 2015
Posted In: Ideas,
From St. Louis Public Radio: Like all great art, the Gateway Arch commands attention for more than its striking beauty. It also beckons us to see ourselves and our place in the world with new perspective.
Most St. Louisans have looked at the Arch thousands of times, yet each moment reveals a different face. Nature works its magic on the shiny steel with the changing seasons, the time of day, the glint of sun and the blur of clouds. The thoughts and feelings the Arch inspires change, too — from day to day and era to era, following human cycles of aspiration and insight.
My encounters with the Arch go way back.
1964: I’m peering at two partially finished Arch legs from the back seat of a gigantic white Plymouth with (then) stylish tail fins. My father, fascinated with the construction, has paused in the middle of a downtown intersection. He cranks his window down, slowly adjusts the dials on his camera and snaps a shot of the work in progress.
My brothers and I are mortified that we’re blocking traffic. “Daaaad!” we wail in protest. “You CAN’T DO THIS!” But we share his pride in the daring symbol of progress that is rising on the riverfront.
1967: A carload of friends cap our all-night high school graduation party by watching the sun rise behind the Arch. We’re heading away to college, most with no intention of coming back. But my date that night is now my husband of 44 years, and we’ve spent most of our lives here.