Building the Arch

By the 1930s, railroads absorbed a large share of the freight once shipped by river and businesses relocated from the riverfront. Two years after World War II, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association sponsored an architectural competition to revive the riverfront. Learn how the Gateway Arch became a reality. When Eero Saarinen’s design was chosen, no one had ever built anything like it. Discover the innovative builders who created the monument.