View source for Gateway Arch National Park

{{Short description|U.S. national park in St. Louis, Missouri}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Gateway Arch National Park
| iucn_category =
| photo = Gateway Arch, St. Louis.jpg
| photo_caption = The [[Gateway Arch]] serves as the attraction's centerpiece.
| location = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], United States
| nearest_city =
| coordinates = {{Coord|38.62460|-90.18497|region:US-MO|format=dms|display=inline, title}}
| area_acre = 192.83
| established = {{Start date and age|February 22, 2018}}
| visitation_num = 1,163,016
| visitation_year = 2024
| visitation_ref =
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
| website = {{official url}}
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Gateway Arch National Park
  | embed=yes
  | nrhp_type = hd | nocat = yes
  | image =
  | caption =
  | location= Mississippi River between Washington and Poplar Sts., [[St. Louis, Missouri]]
  | locmapin = United States St. Louis#Missouri#USA
  | built = 1831–34 [[Basilica of St. Louis, King of France|Old Cathedral]]<br>1839–64 [[Old Courthouse (St. Louis)|Old Courthouse]]<br>1962–65 [[Gateway Arch]]
  | added = October 15, 1966
  | area = {{convert|192.83|acre}}
  | refnum = 66000941<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
}}

'''Gateway Arch National Park''' is a [[List of national parks of the United States|national park of the United States]] located in [[St. Louis]], Missouri, near the starting point of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]].

In its initial form as a [[List of national memorials of the United States|national memorial]], it was established in 1935 to commemorate:
* the [[Louisiana Purchase]] and subsequent westward movement of American explorers and pioneers;
* the first civil government west of the [[Mississippi River]]; and
* the debate over [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] raised by the [[Dred Scott v. Sandford|''Dred Scott'' case]].

The national park consists of the [[Gateway Arch]], a steel [[catenary arch]] that has become the definitive icon of St. Louis; a park along the Mississippi River on the site of the earliest buildings of the city; the [[Old Courthouse (St. Louis)|Old Courthouse]], a former state and federal courthouse where the ''Dred Scott'' case originated; and the {{convert|140000|sqft|m2|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[#Museum at the Gateway Arch|museum at the Gateway Arch]]. It is the smallest national park in the United States at {{convert|192.83|acre|ha}}, less than 2% the size of the next-smallest, [[Hot Springs National Park]].

The immediate surroundings of the [[Gateway Arch]] were initially designated the '''Jefferson National Expansion Memorial''' by secretarial order on December 21, 1935. The Gateway Arch was completed on October 28, 1965. The park is maintained by the [[National Park Service]] (NPS).

The area surrounding the arch was redesignated as the Gateway Arch National Park in 2018. This change has been controversial due to the nature of the site ([[national park]]s typically include conserved natural landscapes and significant opportunities for nature recreation, whereas sites that have primarily historical and architectural significance are usually given other NPS designations).<ref>{{cite web |title=Should Gateway Arch Be a National Park? |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/national-parks/gateway-arch-national-park-46/ |website=Outside Magazine |access-date=January 28, 2023}}</ref> Several publications noted that the addition of Gateway Arch as a national park eroded the significance associated with the "national park" designation, and some suggested that the change was made in order to promote tourism rather than to conserve a nature area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's In A Name: Gateway Arch National Park |url=https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2018/03/whats-name-gateway-arch-national-park |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=nationalparkstraveler.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Components==
===The Gateway Arch===
{{main|Gateway Arch}}
The [[Gateway Arch]], known as the "Gateway to the West," is the tallest monument in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.gatewayarch.com/plan-your-visit/faqs/ |website=Gateway Arch |publisher=Gateway Arch Park Foundation |access-date=2025-09-19}}</ref> It was designed by the [[Finnish American|Finnish-American]] architect [[Eero Saarinen]] and the [[German-American]] structural engineer [[Hannskarl Bandel]] in 1947 and built between 1963 and October 1965.  It stands {{convert|630|ft|m|0|sp=us}} tall and {{convert|630|ft|m|0|sp=us}} wide at its base.  The legs are {{convert|54|ft|m|1|sp=us}} wide at the base, narrowing to {{convert|17|ft|m|1|sp=us}} at the arch.  There is a unique tram system to carry passengers to the observation room at the top of the arch.

===Old Courthouse===
{{main|Old Courthouse (St. Louis)}}
The [[Old Courthouse (St. Louis)|Old Courthouse]] is built on land originally deeded by St. Louis founder [[Auguste Chouteau]]. It marks the location over which the arch reaches. Its dome was built during the [[American Civil War]] and is similar to the dome on the [[United States Capitol]] which was also built during the Civil War.  It was the site of the local trials in the [[Dred Scott]] case.

The courthouse is the only portion of the memorial west of [[Interstate 44 in Missouri|Interstate 44]]. To the west of the Old Courthouse is the [[St. Louis Gateway Mall|Gateway Mall]] between Market and Chestnut Streets which is only interrupted by the [[Civil Courts Building]] which features a pyramid model of the [[Mausoleum of Mausolus]] (which was one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]) on its roof. When the Civil Courts building was built in the 1920s, the Chouteau family sued to regain the property belonging to the Old Courthouse because it had been deeded in perpetuity to be a courthouse.

===Museum at the Gateway Arch===
Underneath the arch is a visitor center, entered from a circular entryway facing the Old Courthouse. Within the center, a project to rebuild the Museum at the Gateway Arch was completed in July 2018. The new museum features exhibits on a variety of topics including westward expansion and the construction of the Arch, all told through a St. Louis lens. Tucker Theater, finished in 1968 and renovated 30 years later, has about 285 seats and shows a documentary (''[[Monument to the Dream]]'') on the arch's construction. A second theater was added in 1993 but removed in 2018 as part of the CityArchRiver renovation project. Also located in the visitor center are a gift shop and cafe.

==History==
===1930s===
[[Image:STL Old courthouse.jpg|thumb|The [[Old Courthouse (St. Louis, Missouri)|Old Courthouse]] from the observation area at the top of the arch]]
The memorial was developed largely through the efforts of St. Louis civic booster [[Luther Ely Smith]] who first pitched the idea in 1933, was the long-term chairman of the committee that selected the area and persuaded [[Franklin Roosevelt]] in 1935 to make it a National Park Service unit after St. Louis passed a bond issue to begin building it and who partially financed the 1947 architectural contest that selected the arch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/luther_ely_smith.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216003443/http://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/luther_ely_smith.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |title=Luther Ely Smith: Founder of a Memorial |work=The Museum Gazette |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 11, 2008}}</ref>

In the early 1930s the United States began looking for a suitable memorial for [[Thomas Jefferson]] (the [[Washington Monument]] and the newly built [[Lincoln Memorial]] were the only large Presidential memorials at the time).

Shortly after [[Thanksgiving]] in 1933 Smith who had been on the commission to build the [[George Rogers Clark National Historical Park]] in Indiana, was returning via train when he noticed the poor condition of the original [[plat]]ted location of St. Louis along the Mississippi. He thought that the memorial to Jefferson should be on the actual location that was symbolic of one of Jefferson's greatest triumphs—the [[Louisiana Purchase]].

The originally platted area of St. Louis was the site of:
* The [[Battle of St. Louis]], the only battle west of the Mississippi River in the [[American Revolutionary War]].
* The first capital of Upper Louisiana for the United States, the [[Louisiana Purchase]] north of the [[33rd parallel north|33rd parallel]] that was the original [[Louisiana Territory]] in 1803.
* The [[Three Flags Day]] ceremony in 1804 in which Spain formally turned over Louisiana to France, less than 24 hours before France then officially turned it over to the United States. This technically completed the Louisiana Purchase, and also cleared the way for [[Meriwether Lewis]] and [[William Clark]] to legally begin their [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|exploration]] of the continental west, which Spain had prohibited.

Almost all of the historic buildings associated with this period had been replaced by newer buildings.  His idea was to raze all of the buildings in the original St. Louis platted area and replace it with a park with "a central feature, a shaft, a building, an arch, or something which would symbolize American culture and civilization."

Smith pitched the idea to [[Bernard Dickmann]] who quickly assembled a meeting of St. Louis civic leaders on December 15, 1933, at the Jefferson Hotel and they endorsed the plan and Smith became chairman of what would become the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association (a position he would hold until 1949 with a one-year exception).

The Commission then defined the area, got cost estimates of $30 million to buy the land, clear the buildings and erect a park and monument.  With promises from the federal government (via the United States Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission) to join if the City of St. Louis could raise money.

The area to be included in the park was bounded by the [[Eads Bridge]]/Washington Avenue on the north and Poplar Street on the south, the Mississippi River on the east and Third Street (now [[Interstate 44 in Missouri|Interstate 44]]) on the west. The [[Old Courthouse (St. Louis, Missouri)|Old Courthouse]], just west of Third Street, was added in 1940.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Neil |first1=Tim |title=With Cornice Repairs Complete, Scaffold Around St. Louis' Old Courthouse Coming Down |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/with-cornice-repairs-complete-scaffold-around-st-louis-old-courthouse/article_2930a6da-79a0-5f39-9f80-102cacb5d64e.html |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=December 13, 2012}}</ref>

The only building in this area not included was the [[Basilica of St. Louis, King of France|Old Cathedral]], which is on the site of St. Louis first church and was opposite the home of St. Louis founder [[Auguste Chouteau]]. The founders of the city were buried in its graveyard (but were moved in 1849 to [[Bellefontaine Cemetery]] during a [[cholera]] outbreak).

[[File:St. Louis riverfront after demolition for Gateway Arch (1942).jpg|thumb|alt=Large empty area adjacent to St Louis downtown, cleared for redevelopment|40 blocks and 486 buildings were demolished]]
Taking away 40 blocks in the center of St. Louis was bitterly fought by some sources—particularly the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Editorial |work=Jefferson City Daily Capital News |date=June 24, 1939}}{{full citation needed|date= February 2015}}</ref> On September 10, 1935, the voters of St. Louis supposedly approved a $7.5 million bond issue to buy the property. Local architect [[Louis LaBeaume]] provided a preliminary design proposal for the site that included multiple museums, fountains and obelisks.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H39FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MscMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2575%2C5685821 |title=St. Louis River Front Memorial Approved by Voters |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=September 11, 1935 |newspaper=The Southeast Missourian |access-date=November 10, 2016}}</ref> Soon after, it was revealed that the election was rigged, and the true number of voters in favor of the demolition of the riverfront is unknown.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/special-reports/arch/fraudulent-election-provides-funds-to-create-arch-grounds/article_27183636-e603-5c1a-9e52-a8913e0e2bba.html |title=Fraudulent Election Provides Funds to Create Arch Grounds |newspaper=St. Louis Post Dispatch |access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref>

The buildings were bought for $7 million by the federal government via [[Eminent domain]] and was subject to considerable litigation but were ultimately bought at 131.99 percent of assessed valuation.<ref>{{cite news |title=St. Louis Site Obtained for Jefferson Memorial |agency=United Press |work=The Hammond Times |date=June 22, 1939 |volume=34 |number=5 |page=15 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/hammond-times-jun-22-1939-p-15/ |url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> Roosevelt inspected the memorial area on October 14, 1936, during the dedication of the St. Louis Soldiers Memorial. Included in the party was then Senator [[Harry S. Truman]].<ref>{{cite news |title=225,00 See Roosevelt in St. Louis |agency=Associated Press |work=Moberly Monitor-Index |date=October 14, 1936}}{{full citation needed|date=February 2015}}</ref>

===1940s===
The land was to be cleared by 1942.  Among the buildings razed was the "Old Rock House" 1818 home of fur trader [[Manuel Lisa]] (now occupied by the stairs on the north side of the arch) and the 1819 home of original St. Louis pioneer [[Jean Pierre Chouteau]] at First (Main) and Washington streets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genealogyinstlouis.accessgenealogy.com/landmarks.htm |title=St. Louis Landmarks |publisher=genealogyinstlouis.accessgenealogy.com |access-date=January 11, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407233919/http://genealogyinstlouis.accessgenealogy.com/landmarks.htm |archive-date=April 7, 2008}}</ref>

The architectural competition for a monument was delayed by [[World War II]].  Interest in the monument was fed after the war as it was to be the first big monument in the post-World War II era.

The estimated cost of the competition was $225,000 and Smith personally donated $40,000.  Civic leaders held the nationwide competition in 1947 to select a design for the main portion of the Memorial space.

Architect [[Eero Saarinen]] won this competition with plans for a {{convert|590|ft|m|0|adj=on}} [[catenary]] arch to be placed on the banks of the [[Mississippi River]]. However, these plans were modified over the next 15 years, placing the arch on higher ground and adding {{convert|40|ft|m|0}} in height and width.

The central architectural feature at the base of the arch is the [[Old Courthouse (St. Louis, Missouri)|Old Courthouse]], which was once the tallest building in Missouri and has a dome similar to the [[United States Capitol]] and was placed on the building during the [[American Civil War]] at the same time as that on the U.S. Capitol.

Saarinen developed the shape with the help of architectural engineer [[Hannskarl Bandel]]. It is not a pure inverted [[catenary]]. Saarinen preferred a shape that was slightly elongated and thinner towards the top, a shape that produces a subtle soaring effect, and transfers more of the structure's weight downward rather than outward at the base.

When Saarinen won the competition, the official notification was sent to "E. Saarinen", thinking it to be the architect's father [[Eliel Saarinen]], who had also submitted an entry. The family celebrated with a bottle of champagne, and two hours later an embarrassed official called to say the winner was, in fact, the younger Saarinen. The elder Saarinen then broke out a second bottle of champagne to celebrate his son's success.

Among the five finalists was local St. Louis architect [[Harris Armstrong]].

===1950s===
Land for the memorial was formally dedicated on June 10, 1950, by [[Harry S. Truman]].  However, the [[Korean War]] began and the project was put on hold.

On June 23, 1959, work begins on covering railroad tracks that cut across the memorial grounds.

===1960s===
On February 11, 1961, excavation began, and that September 1, Saarinen died. On February 12, 1963, the first stainless steel triangle that formed the first section of the arch was set in place on the south leg.

On October 28, 1965, it was completed, costing approximately $15 million to build. The adjacent park was designed by landscape architect [[Dan Kiley]]. Along with all other historical areas of the National Park Service, the memorial was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on October 15, 1966. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Hubert Humphrey]] and [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] [[Stewart Udall]] dedicated the arch on May 25, 1968.

===1980s===
In 1984, Congress authorized the enlargement of the Memorial to include up to {{convert|100|acre|ha}} on the east bank of the Mississippi River in [[East St. Louis, Illinois]]. Funds were authorized to begin land acquisition, but Congress placed a moratorium upon NPS land acquisitions in fiscal year 1998. The moratorium continued into the 21st century, with expansion becoming less likely because of the construction of a [[Riverboat casino|riverboat gambling facility]] and related amenities.

===1990s===
During the [[Great Flood of 1993]], Mississippi flood waters reached halfway up the Grand Staircase on the east.

In 1999, the arch tram queue areas were renovated at a cost of about $2.2 million. As well, the [[Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site]] in [[St. Louis County, Missouri]], was put under the jurisdiction of the Superintendent of the Memorial.

===2000s===
[[Image:Missouri quarter, reverse side, 2003.jpg|thumb|The Missouri state quarter depicting the Gateway Arch and the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]]]]
The arch was featured on the Missouri state quarter in 2003.

In 2007 St. Louis Mayor [[Francis Slay]] and former Missouri Senator [[John Danforth]] asked the National Park Service to create a more "active" use of the grounds of the memorial and model it on [[Millennium Park]] in [[Chicago]] including the possibility of restaurants, fountains, ice skating, swimming, and other activities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.semissourian.com/story/1250042.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628124857/http://www.semissourian.com/story/1250042.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 28, 2018 |title=St. Louis Hopes to Obtain Part of Arch Grounds |last=Salter |first=Jim |work=[[Southeast Missourian]] |date=August 29, 2007 |access-date=April 20, 2017}}</ref> The National Park Service was not in favor of the plan noting that the only other overt development pressure on national park property has been at the [[Jackson Hole Airport]] in [[Grand Teton National Park]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/10DA9EE598C17FAD86257345007A63F0?OpenDocument |title=City Leaders Pitch Local Control of Arch Grounds |work=St. Louis Post Dispatch |date=August 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131214652/http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/10DA9EE598C17FAD86257345007A63F0?OpenDocument |archive-date=January 31, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===2010s===
====Renovations====
For most of its existence, the Memorial was largely separated from the rest of [[Downtown St. Louis]] by a sunken section of [[I-70]] (now I-44 with the rerouting of I-70 over a new bridge), but in 2014, a lid was installed over the highway, creating the foundation for a park connecting downtown with the Memorial grounds. In November 2015, Saarinen's original master plan was brought to fruition. Building of the Gateway Arch Connector linking the Old Courthouse with the grounds of the arch was completed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bomar |first=Mary A. |author-link=Mary A. Bomar |title=Summary of Park Centennial Strategies |publisher=National Park Service |date=August 2007 |url=http://www.nps.gov/2016/assets/files/Summary-of-Park-Centennial-Strategies.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911093229/http://www.nps.gov/2016/assets/files/Summary-of-Park-Centennial-Strategies.pdf |archive-date=September 11, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 15, 2008}}</ref>  This design, and other design components were imagined by Michael Van Valkenburg Associates. In September 2010 [[Michael Van Valkenburgh|Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates]] won a design contest to "re-envision the visitor experience" of the grounds.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cityarchrivercompetition.org/ |title=The City + the Arch + the River &#124; St. Louis Arch International Design Competition |access-date=May 25, 2021 |archive-date=September 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903141112/http://www.cityarchrivercompetition.org/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB086219 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130001132/http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB086219 |archive-date=November 30, 2012 |title=Practice – AIA}}</ref> The project, originally planned for completion in 2015 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the arch,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/morning_call/2015/09/gateway-arch-grounds-renovations-fall-further.html |last=Barr |first=Diana |title=Gateway Arch Grounds Renovations Fall Further Behind Schedule |work=St. Louis Business Journal |date=September 15, 2015 |access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref> was completed in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kmov.com/story/35716227/gateway-arch-museum-delayed-until-summer-2018 |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Gateway Arch museum delayed until summer 2018 |date=June 21, 2017 |website=KMOV.com |access-date=June 24, 2017 |archive-date=June 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621175626/http://www.kmov.com/story/35716227/gateway-arch-museum-delayed-until-summer-2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It includes:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_ccccaf5a-c5ba-11df-ae53-00127992bc8b.html |title=New York Firm MVVA Wins Arch Design Competition &#124; Metro |publisher=stltoday.com |date=September 21, 2010 |access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref>
* replacing the north garage with an outdoor amphitheater, an explorers garden for children and an addition of 7.5 acres of green space.
* new cobblestone plaza between the arch and the river
* elevated walkways on the [[Illinois]] side, reaching 35 feet and winding through a new bird sanctuary, (Congress has authorized the purchase of the Illinois acreage)
* an expanded museum below the Gateway Arch with a new western entrance nearly a block closer to downtown than the original entrances.

In 2016, many [[ash tree]]s on the grounds were removed to preempt damage from [[emerald ash borers]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/timber-most-of-st-louis-ash-trees-coming-down-to/article_78a39113-7f16-5a1b-994f-2015ad3cfc48.html |title=Timber! Most of St. Louis' 15,000 Ash Trees Coming Down to Stop Bug Invasion |last=Taketa |first=Kristen |access-date=August 26, 2016}}</ref> Prior to the work of CityArchRiver, there were 1,800 trees on the grounds. There are now 4,200.

The $380 million project was funded both privately and publicly. The public funding, provided largely by Proposition P, totaled $159 million. The remaining $221 million were secured via fundraising efforts of Gateway Arch Park foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/planners-hit-fundraising-goal-arch-grounds-renovation#stream/0 |title=Planners Hit Fundraising Goal for Arch Grounds Renovation |last=Moffitt |first=Kelly |access-date=June 21, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

====Redesignation====
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| name = Gateway Arch National Park Designation Act
| fullname = An Act to redesignate the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in the State of Missouri as the "Gateway Arch National Park".
| enacted by = 115th
| effective date = February 22, 2018
| cite public law = {{USPL|115|128}}
| cite statutes at large = {{USStat|132|328}}
| title amended = [[Title 16 of the United States Code|16 U.S.C.: Conservation]]
| sections created = {{usc|16|450jj-10}}
| introducedin = [[United States Senate|Senate]]
| introduceddate = June 26, 2017
| introducedby = [[Roy Blunt]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]–[[Missouri|MO]])
| introducedbill = {{USBill|115|S.|1438}}
| committees = [[United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources|Senate Energy and Natural Resources]]
| passedbody1 = [[United States Senate|Senate]]
| passeddate1 = December 21, 2017
| passedvote1 = [[voice vote]]
| passedbody2 = [[United States House of Representatives|House]]
| passeddate2 = February 7, 2018
| passedvote2 = voice vote
| signedpresident = [[Donald Trump]]
| signeddate = February 22, 2018
}}

On June 26, 2017, Senator [[Roy Blunt]] (R-Missouri) introduced the Gateway Arch National Park Designation Act ({{uspl|115|128}}) to redesignate Jefferson National Expansion Memorial as Gateway Arch National Park. The legislation was cosponsored by Senator [[Claire McCaskill]] (D-Missouri).<ref>{{cite web |title=Gateway Arch National Park Designation Act (2018 – S. 1438) |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s1438 |website=GovTrack.us |access-date=January 12, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

In July 2017, Acting Deputy Director of the National Park Service Robert Vogel testified before the [[Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks]]. Vogel stated that the [[Department of the Interior]] supported changing the name to Gateway Arch National Monument, rather than National Park, to maintain consistency with existing naming conventions. He likened the site to the [[Statue of Liberty National Monument]], noting that existing national parks encompassed thousands of acres at minimum and that the memorial "is too small and limited in the range of resources the site protects and interprets to be called a national park".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vogel |first1=Robert |title=Statement of Robert Vogel, Acting Deputy Director, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Concerning S. 1438, To Redesignate Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in the State of Missouri as Gateway Arch National Park. |url=https://www.doi.gov/ocl/s-1438 |website=doi.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs |access-date=January 12, 2023 |language=en |date=July 19, 2017}}</ref>

The United States Congress approved the bill in early 2018. U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] signed the act into law on February 22, 2018, officially renaming the site Gateway Arch National Park.<ref name="WhiteHouse">{{cite web |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-signs-s-1438-law/ |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |title=President Donald J. Trump Signs S. 1438 into Law}}</ref>

The new designation has been seen as an attempt to increase tourism in St. Louis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCracken |first1=Kate |title=Gateway Arch Gains National Park Status, Revitalizes Landmark |url=https://websterjournal.com/2022/12/18/gateway-arch-gains-national-park-status-revitalizes-landmark/ |access-date=January 12, 2023 |work=Webster Journal |date=December 18, 2022}}</ref> The name has been criticized as inappropriate by some visitors.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pennington |first1=Emily |title=Should Gateway Arch Be a National Park? |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/national-parks/gateway-arch-national-park-46/ |access-date=January 12, 2023 |work=Outside Online |date=December 17, 2021}}</ref>

== Brickline Greenway ==
The Brickline Greenway, formerly the Chouteau Greenway Project,<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2020 |title=The Chouteau Greenway Project Has a New Name |url=https://www.stlmag.com/news/chouteau-greenway-new-name-brickline-greenway/ |access-date=July 6, 2025 |website=[[St. Louis Magazine]]}}</ref> is a public-private partnership that aims to connect [[Forest Park (St. Louis, Missouri)|Forest Park]] and the [[Washington University in St. Louis]] [[Danforth Campus]] to Gateway Arch National Park. Among the partners leading this project are the Arch to Park Collaborative, [[St. Louis City]], and [[Washington University in St. Louis]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/washu-partner-greenway-project-connect-forest-park-arch/ |title=WashU a Partner in Greenway Project to Connect Forest Park to the Arch |date=October 11, 2017 |website=Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis |language=en |access-date=August 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://greatriversgreenway.org/brickline/ |title=Brickline Greenway |website=Great Rivers Greenway |language=en-US |access-date=July 6, 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of national parks of the United States]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms
** {{cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/66000941.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127110036/http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/66000941.pdf |archive-date=January 27, 2016 |url-status=live |title=National Register of Historic Places Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Jefferson National Expansion Memorial |author=Richard I. Ortega |access-date=January 19, 2016 |date=March 3, 1976 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}} [https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/Photos/66000941.pdf Accompanying three photos from c. 1942 and 1975].
** {{cite web |url=http://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/66000941.pdf |title=Jefferson National Expansion Memorial |publisher=Missouri Department of Natural Resources |access-date=May 30, 2008 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225025934/http://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/66000941.pdf |url-status=dead}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://www.nps.gov/jeff/index.htm Official website] – [[National Park Service]]
** [https://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/dredscott.htm Dred Scott case] · [[suffragette]] [[Virginia Minor]] [https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/the-virginia-minor-case.htm case]
* [http://tjrhino1.umsl.edu/whmc/view.php?description_get=gateway+arch Artistic photos and renderings] – [[State Historical Society of Missouri]]
* [http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/a-timeline-remaking-the-arch-grounds/collection_af4fb38d-a05e-55eb-8c33-de1452cb8a3d.html Timeline of current arch grounds project], August 2013 to November 2016 – [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]
* {{HAER |survey=MO-40 |id=mo1124 |title=Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch, Mississippi River between Washington & Poplar Streets, St. Louis, Independent City, MO |photos=34 |color=8 |cap=3}}

===Teacher resources===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070703053605/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/9stlouis/9stlouis.htm The Old Courthouse lesson plan]
* [http://www.jug.net/wt/arch.htm ''The Mathematics and Architecture of the St. Louis Arch''], William V. Thayer
* [http://www.jug.net/wt/archcgs.htm ''Owner's Manual for the Gateway Arch''], William V. Thayer

{{National parks of the United States}}
{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{Eero Saarinen}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis}}
{{Protected areas of Missouri}}
{{Parks of Greater St. Louis}}
{{St. Louis mci}}

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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1935 establishments in Missouri]]
[[Category:Arches and vaults]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1965]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in St. Louis]]
[[Category:Downtown St. Louis]]
[[Category:Eero Saarinen buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Missouri]]
[[Category:History museums in Missouri]]
[[Category:History of St. Louis]]
[[Category:Modernist architecture in Missouri]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Missouri]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:Museums in St. Louis]]
[[Category:National Park Service areas in Missouri]]
[[Category:National parks in Missouri]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in national parks]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis]]
[[Category:Parks in St. Louis]]
[[Category:Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri]]
[[Category:Presidential memorials in the United States]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1935]]
[[Category:Protected areas on the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in St. Louis]]