Gateway Arch National Park / Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
This is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis that rises 630 feet into the sky. Its stainless-steel curve is striking as it frames the city behind it and reflects the light that changes with the time of day.
This monument is a symbol. It represents the westward expansion of the United States, marking St. Louis as the historic “Gateway to the West”. From here, explorers, settlers and expeditions moved outward, into territory that would shape the country’s future.
Completed in 1965, the Arch was designed by architect Eero Saarinen, who envisioned something modern, bold and lasting. Its clean sweeping form stands in contrast to the more traditional monuments, yet it carries the same purpose: to remember and to define.
The site became part of the National Park System in 1935, when it was established as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This preserves the historic significance of this location along the Mississippi River. In 2018, it was redesignated as Gateway Arch National Park, giving it full national park status.
Read More From Nancy
Pullman National Monument
While teaching in Chicago in 2018, we took a trip to Pullman National Monument, a relatively new addition to the National Park Service at the time. The Pullman community was a grand idea. It was created in the 1880s by George Pullman, founder of the Pullman Palace Car Company. His vision was to create a […]
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Driving from the Chicago area after a weekend seminar, I found myself discovering one of the lesser-known sites in the National Park System: George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes. Before this visit, I knew almost nothing about the history connected to George Rogers Clark or the important role Vincennes played during the American Revolution. The memorial is a massive […]
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Some of America’s most remarkable landscapes were not shaped by rivers or mountains, but by ice. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore preserves one of the finest examples of how glaciers transformed the Great Lakes region, creating a landscape where towering dunes, forests, inland lakes, islands, and miles of Lake Michigan shoreline exist side by side. […]
