Lisa Bullard - The Gateway Arch

For Kris, with love Copyright 2010 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.

Website address: www.lernerbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bullard, Lisa. The Gateway Arch / by Lisa Bullard. p. cm. (Lightning Bolt BooksFamous places) Includes index. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. paper) 1.

Gateway Arch (Saint Louis, Mo.)Juvenile literature. 2. ArchesMissouriSaint Louis Design and constructionJuvenile literature. I. Title. TA660.A7B85 2010 977.866dc22 2008030640 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 BP 15 14 13 12 11 10

WhatisthetallestmonumentintheUnitedStates? The Gateway Arch is feet (192 meters) tall.

It stands in Saint Louis, Missouri.

The arch is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is a large park. It is named for President Thomas Jefferson. A history museum is on the park grounds. When Jefferson was president, he bought lots of land. When Jefferson was president, he bought lots of land.

The United States was able to grow much bigger.

Settlers were able to travel west. Many of them passed through Saint Louis. The Gateway Arch honors that history. Settlers who wanted to move west often traveled together in wagon trains. The U.S. government agreed to help pay for it. government agreed to help pay for it.

But plans moved slowly. People debated about how to pay for the monument.

Planning was put on hold because of World War II (1939-1945). U.S. soldiers march through Paris, France, during World War II. A group of citizens held a contest in 1947.

They asked architects to compete to create the best design. Eero Saarinen won the contest. Eero Saarinen created the winning design for the Saint Louis monument.

SaarinensdesignwastheGatewayArch. But the Korean War (1950-1953) put planning on hold again. Building the Arch Each leg of the Gateway Arch has three equal sides. Building the Arch Each leg of the Gateway Arch has three equal sides.

The legs get smaller as they reach higher. At the bottom, each of the three sides is feet (16 m) wide. Each side is feet (5 m) wide at the top. Visitors to the arch stand near its base. Two sides of the leg can be seen in this photo.

The legs were built out of sections shaped like triangles. The legs were built out of sections shaped like triangles.

Workers used cranes to lift the lower sections. WOrkers used cranes to set the first triangular pieces of the arch in place.

Eachsectionwasstackedontheonebelow.Thenworkersconnectedthem. New sections were added as the legs grew higher. Creeper derricks lifted the higher sections. Workers built both legs of the arch at the same time. Workers built both legs of the arch at the same time.

It was like building two curving towers. But they had to meet at the top. This photo of the arch under construction was taken across the Mississippi River from Saint Louis.

Finally, the day came for workers to add the final section. On October 28, 1965, workers slid the last section into place. Workers move the last section of the arch into place.

There are triangular sections that make up the arch.

But there was still work to do on the inside. And the visitor center had to be finished. Thearchfinallyopenedin1967. Vice President Hubert Humphrey dedicated the arch in May 1968.