Document Type
Freshman Seminar Essay
Publication Date
1990
Excerpt
True monuments are timeless. Their impressive forms capture such deep expressions of their time that they pass through time, always leaving lasting impressions on those who view them. This was what Bero Saarinen, the Pinnish-American architect, had in mind when his design won the national competition in 1947. He conceived an arch, a form which would be visible for many miles. An arch was also a very appropriate form to represent the city of St. Louis, which has come to be known as the Gateway to the West. St. Louis, located along the Mississippi River, was established as a trading center. Vhen President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, it was from St. Louis that the explorers set out on their journey. St. Louis was no longer just a frontier trading settlement. It became the commercial crossroad of the West. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch commemorates a time when the settlers crossed the Mississippi River on their way westward, helping to expand American boundaries.
Recommended Citation
Roth, Susan, "The Gateway to the West (1990)" (1990). The Valpo Core Reader. 389.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/389