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One Year Until 50th Anniversary of Last Piece of Arch

October 28, 2014 Downtown, Featured, Parks 2 Comments

The big 50th anniversary of the day the final piece of the Arch was lowered into place is one year from today. CityArchRiver 2015 has been working for a few years now to complete a big update to the Arch grounds for a huge celebration, but don’t expect to see everything you remember from the winning design completed in the next year. The balance of the work will be finished after this anniversary, well after in some cases (cough: gondola).

Here are some future anniversaries, opportunities to celebrate:

  • June 10, 2017: 50th anniversary of the Arch opening to the public
  • May 25, 2018: 50th anniversary of the inauguration by VP Humphrey
  • May 30, 2022: 75th anniversary of the opening of the design competition
  • February 18, 2023: 75th anniversary of the jury selecting Saarinen’s design the winner
  • December 15, 2033: 100th anniversary of the idea for a riverfront memorial
  • May 28, 2037: 50th anniversary of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places
  • February 12, 2038: 75th anniversary of the start of construction
  • October 10, 2039: 100th anniversary of the start of demolition to clear the historic riverfront
Luther Ely Square will be extended over the highway, but the new museum entrance won't be open
Luther Ely Square will be extended over the highway, but the expanded museum won’t be open until Spring 2017
Work on the highway lid has moved quickly, though it remains a mess currently.
Work on the highway lid has moved quickly, though it remains a mess currently.
View of the south side of the lid
View of the south side of the lid
Lid view from the Arch side
Lid view from the Arch side
What we've known as the entry/exit areas will become exit-only once the new museum opens
What we’ve known as the entry/exit areas will become exit-only once the new museum opens
The ash trees will be cut down to be replaced, the grounds are expected to be complete by May 2016
The ash trees will be cut down to be replaced, the grounds are expected to be complete by May 2016
View looking north from south of the Arch
View looking north from south of the Arch
Trees to the south have already been tagged for removal.
Trees to the south have already been tagged for removal. Click image to see video from May 1982 when these trees were young
Works is progressing on the riverfront, this should be complete by a year from now.
Works is progressing on the riverfront, this should be complete by a year from now.

I suspect a year from today I’ll be both impressed and disappointed by what is finished.

— Steve Patterson

 

Currently there are "2 comments" on this Article:

  1. ScottF says:
    October 28, 2014 at 9:18 am

    I just heard on the radio this morning that they are going to start cutting down the ash trees. I wish there were a better solution to this. Maybe they could leave a percentage of the ash trees so we could still have some mature trees while the new ones are growing. If the ash borer arrives, they can be cut down at that time.

     
  2. KevinB says:
    October 28, 2014 at 11:57 am

    More interested in another anniversary at this point — the sesquicentennial for our Union Station coming up in a shade under five years.

    By the end of this decade, I think we’ll have a better idea than at any other time in the last 50 years exactly what St. Louis “is.” Is it a former powerhouse in an irreversible decline? Is it a proud old matron, wistful for its past and content in its present/future? Will we be a City on the rise, utilizing youth/technology/community growth/cost of living/etc. to continue a steady rise in both the national and local narrative?

    In five years, I suspect we’ll know. Both St. Louis and Union Station have been connected over that time period, suffering similar identity crisis. If that place is back to being a beautiful, popular hub of activity (with a few excursion trains to boot!), I suspect it bodes well for the City.

     

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