Happy 50th Birthday, Gateway Arch!

Fifty Years ago today at 11:00AM, the last piece of the Gateway Arch was set in place. In celebration, The City of Saint Louis conducted a ceremony at the Old Courthouse steps this morning to commemorate this great accomplishment. Designed by Architect Eero      Saarinen in 1947, the Gateway Arch took 2 years to construct and cost about $13 Million (2013 equivalent of $180 Million!).  Today, the Arch attracts nearly 4 Million visitors a year.

The view from the West windows of our 18th Floor Suite in the Gateway Tower Building located at 1 Memorial Drive in Downtown Saint Louis. A crowd starts to gather for the 11:00AM ceremony to celebrate the Arch turning 50 years old.

At 11:00AM the Saint Louis Fire Department rang a bell 5 times to symbolize the 5 decades the Arch has been a completely freestanding structure.

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of the Greater Saint Louis area receive the American Flag to be raised up the new flag pole at the entrance to the new Park Over The Highway.

The American Flag is raised as the National Anthem is played.

Francis G. Slay, current Mayor of the City of St. Louis quotes Leonardo Da Vinci during his speech: “An Arch consists of two weaknesses which, leaning one against the other, make a strength.”

Fox Architects moved to its new location nearly 2 years ago, only 275 yards from the South leg of the Gateway Arch in the Gateway Tower.

Having the Arch as the backdrop of our office and studio space is a constant reminder of what great architecture can achieve. Saarinen’s ideas and innovations are what push the Fox team to challenge each other to create, collaborate, and connect with our work. It is these ideas that remind us that the work we are doing could inspire the world, much like Saarinen did in 1947.