The Gateway Arch
Almost everyone knows the St. Louis Arch. It’s the “gateway to the west” as they say in books and until last week, I had never been up in it. Thats right, born and raised in the Lou and never been up there. Small spaces and I don’t get along and those legs looked awfully narrow. Plus, they used to have the “pods” to show you what to expect and I took one look at them and said HELL NO! Fast forward to last week when I had family in from Georgia and they insisted we go to the Arch. I said great let’s go its beautiful and I love playing tour guide. Little did I know they wanted to UP IN the Arch. Sweet peaches I was sweating bullets hoping they wouldn’t want me to go with them. They did, I went, it was fine. Really it wasn’t bad at all, and I will most likely go up again. So, what exactly is the Arch……
A little history lesson (because I love history) The grounds the Arch sits on was originally called The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Roosevelt designated the land along the riverfront in 1939 to become what we know today as the Gateway Arch! Fun fact the Old Courthouse was deeded by the city of St. Louis to be a part of the park, without that we may not have that historic building today. In 1948 a nationwide contest was held to determine the shape and in 1963 Eero Saarinens design was chosen to be constructed. The Arch was completed in 1965 and stands 630 feet in the air. Honestly thinking about when and how this massive monument was created blows my mind. If you stand at the feet and look up, you better hold onto something. You will most definitely feel a little woozy and may even think the Arch is swaying. It’s a fascinating thing to look at and photograph. I love how they have updated the museum underneath and have fixed up the grounds around it. It’s really a beautiful spot and definitely a must see if you are visiting.
Some important things to know before going. If you have mace or knives on you or your key ring, they will make you throw it away. I was NOT happy about that. You will go through metal detectors, and you will have to empty your pockets. You can purchase your ticket package at the entrance, be sure to use your Senior Citizen or Military discount at the time of purchase. Once you enter the museum there are many things to do. You can walk around and read about the history of St. Louis and the Arch and there are interactive exabits and a souvenir shop. There is even a little restaurant to grab some food at. I remember taking field trips to the Arch as a kid, but they have updated it since then and its beautiful! Now to visit the museum is free but the rest you have to pay for. You will still have to go through security to enter no matter what.
If you are nervous about going up in the Arch let me ease your mind a bit (coming from a claustrophobic mess) We had 4 full grown adults and a teenager in the small ass pod with us and we were fine. They had cold air pumping (for those of us who need air flow to survive) and they also had a window so you could see the inside the he Arch. That was SUPER helpful for me because I didn’t feel so confined. It took approximately 6 minutes to go up and 3-4 to come down. Now I will say coming down was HELLA fun. Think Tower of Terror on a smaller scale. Once you got up to the top, they gave you 10 minutes to walk around. There wasn’t much room but again AIR FLOW! (I swear that was my saving grace) You can take pics and look around at the city and river below. If it’s a windy day you can actually feel the slight sway of the Arch. That was cool. Once you board to come back down you speed down that leg to the bottom and exit. Thats it! I will say the restroom to people ratio was on point. They had multiple restrooms all about the museum and they were never crowded! I noticed multiple family and handicapped restrooms too which is amazing. I’m not sure about handicap accessible pods to go up in the Arch, so that may be something to look into. I’m not sure it’s possible with the size of the pod but hey where there’s a will there’s a way! I hope that helps if anyone is hesitant to go up in the Arch, if I can do it anyone can. I mean I don’t even like elevators!
So, if you ever find yourself in St. Louis be sure to visit the Arch and the Arch grounds. It’s truly a spectacular sight to see.