The Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch is shaped as a weighted catenary curve, the elegant form a hanging chain takes when flipped upside down, giving it both strength and beauty. Clad in gleaming stainless steel, it stands 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide at the base, and building it in the 1960s was a remarkable feat, with the two legs rising separately and meeting precisely at the top.

Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who won a competition for the memorial's design, the arch has become a widely recognized structure in the country and a defining symbol of St. Louis. Its simple, soaring form still looks strikingly modern decades later.

Visitors can enjoy the arch in many ways. The surrounding grounds, a landscaped park of lawns, ponds, and paths along the Mississippi, are free to walk and offer classic views of the monument, especially beautiful in the changing light of morning and evening. From across the river or around downtown, the arch anchors the skyline.

For a closer experience, a unique tram carries visitors up inside the arch to an observation deck at the top, and an underground museum tells the story the arch commemorates. Because this is an urban national park in the heart of downtown St. Louis, it is worth planning for city parking, crowds, and the ticketed tram and attractions when you visit.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot stainless steel arch on the Mississippi River waterfront in St. Louis, Missouri, and the centerpiece of Gateway Arch National Park. It is the tallest man-made monument in the United States and a symbol of the nation's westward expansion, commemorating St. Louis's historic role as the gateway to the West. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen and completed in 1965, its gleaming, tapering curve, shaped as a weighted catenary, rises above the river and downtown skyline as an unmistakable landmark. Visitors can walk the free landscaped grounds and riverfront for classic views, ride a unique tram to an observation deck at the top, and explore an underground museum. The arch is both an engineering marvel and an icon of American design.

The Gateway Arch stands 630 feet tall, and it is also 630 feet wide at its base, giving it a symmetrical form. This makes it the tallest man-made monument in the United States, taller than the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty. Its great height, combined with its gleaming stainless steel surface and elegant curved shape, allows it to dominate the St. Louis skyline and be visible from far away. Despite its height, the arch's tapering, catenary-curve design gives it both strength and a graceful appearance. Visitors can ride a special tram up inside the hollow legs of the arch to an observation deck at the very top, 630 feet above the ground, where windows offer sweeping views of the city, the Mississippi River, and the surrounding region.

The Gateway Arch was designed by Eero Saarinen, a renowned Finnish-American architect, who won a national design competition for the memorial in the late 1940s. Saarinen's design called for a soaring, elegant arch clad in stainless steel, shaped as a weighted catenary curve, the form a hanging chain naturally takes when inverted. The design was chosen to symbolize St. Louis as the gateway to the West in a bold, modern way. Construction took place in the 1960s, with the arch completed in 1965, though Saarinen himself died in 1961, before it was finished. The arch is considered one of his masterworks and a landmark of modern American architecture, and its clean, timeless form continues to be admired as both an engineering achievement and a work of art.

Visiting the Gateway Arch grounds is free: the landscaped park, lawns, ponds, paths, and the riverfront around the arch are open to walk and enjoy at no charge, and you can admire and photograph the monument up close without a ticket. The underground Museum at the Gateway Arch is also free to enter. However, some experiences require a ticket, most notably the tram ride to the top of the arch, which carries visitors up to the observation deck for a fee, and certain other attractions or films may have charges as well. Because the tram is popular, it is a good idea to check current pricing and reserve tickets in advance, especially in the busy season. So you can experience much of Gateway Arch National Park for free, while the ride to the top is a paid add-on.