Overview
The Gateway Arch is the world’s tallest arch, also a monument constructed with stainless steel façade to commemorate the US famous westward expansion. The Arch is also known as the “Gateway to the West”, to resonate with the Lewis and Clark expedition which embarked from St. Louis in 1804 to explore the Louisiana Territory. This week we will resume our exploration on the world famous architecture through the case of stainless steel applied in the Gateway Arch.
The Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch took roughly 2.5 years to build. The construction was commenced on 12 February 1963 and completed on 28 October 1965. It was not until June of 1967 the Arch was opened to the public. It stands 630 feet (or 192 meters) tall on the West bank of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis, Missouri and is wide as it is tall. The Gateway Arch is twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument.
Designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who won the architectural competition conducted by the committee Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Expansion Association, abbreviated as JNEMA. His design was aimed to symbolize the American pioneer spirit meanwhile represent the “Modern Age” without the traditional obelisk, rectangular box or dome shape. The Gateway Arch was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and on the list of Historic Landmarks in 1987.
The Background Information
The Gateway Arch project can be traced back to 1933 when the civic leader Luther Ely Smith, after paying his visit to the George Rodgers Clark National Historical parks in Indiana, thought to build the memorial at St. Louis for 2 purposes: to revive the riverfront area and to stimulate the economy. His idea prompted the formation of the committee JNEMA as mentioned above.
Under the shadow of the Great Depression, the then people didn’t like the idea of using the public funds for things which were regarded unnecessary, like the memorial. However, Smith managed to convince the public that the idea was valuable.
The Challenges
The project was still facing other challenges after the persuasion. First challenge was raising the money of $13 million. It was funded by Executive Order 7253, signed by President Roosevelt on December 21, 1935, partially supporting it with $6.75 million US dollars and $2.25 million worth of the city bonds.
Land acquisition posed the second challenge though it was finally solved with $6.2 million distributed to the displaced people. Third challenge was the relocation of the railroad track which blocked the riverfront views from the monument. The ways were constructed in the 1930s. The battle continued up to 1958 where six congregational bills were introduced to solve the problem and move the tracks to another favorable location. President Heinhower signed the bill on September 7, 1958.
The demolition process started on October 9, 1939, but the construction started after 30 years of planning in 1963.
The Success
Despite the guarantee of 5,000 job opportunities to local people, the construction hired less than 100 workers. The good thing is that no one died during the construction. Better thing is it was completed on time and on budget. Above all the construction was successful though many people thought it could fail for the misaligned legs.
Stainless Steel Applied in the Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch was constructed with carbon steel and concrete to provide strength and covered with stainless steel as the façade for aesthetic appeal. It was hollow inside and was later equipped a tram system to take tourists to the top for the panoramic view of the city to generate revenues.
The construction was taken over by Macdonald Construction Company. Unlike building the skyscraper, the Arch was built from the base of two legs which were constructed separately and worked their way up to join in the middle at the highest point of the arch. Any mistake at the placement of each base could result in the misalignment of legs and hence the failure.
Stainless Steel 304 Material
Stainless steel 304 No.3 finish was selected as the skin material. There were 142 sections made from stainless steel with each 12 feet (or 3.66 meters) long, with 71 sections for each leg. They were shipped from Pennsylvania by train as pieces and were assembled at the site. The workers had to be skillful and experienced in welding the sections carefully for the measurements to be equal and precise.
The local people came to site looking at the scene of the final piece jointing the legs with the expectation of failure. The reason was the legs got a bit curved by gravity after over two years’ construction. Meanwhile the legs got expanded under heat, leaving a gap less than 1 meter, too small for the last section (2.5 meters) to fit in. However, the workers used cold water to cool off the legs firstly and then expanded the gap with hydraulic jacks. In this way the last section was fit into the arch perfectly announcing the success of the project.
Stainless Steel at CIVMATS
At CIVMATS, we manufacture and stock high quality stainless steel materials for projects tailored for each industry, not confined to architecture field. If you have any demand for stainless stee materials, such as pipes, bars, plates sheets coils, and wires, welcome to us for enquiry and purchasing.
