Editing Gateway Arch (section)

==Historical background==
{{see also |Gateway Arch National Park#History |l1=History of the Gateway Arch National Park}}

===Inception and funding (1933–1935)===
Around late 1933, civic leader [[Luther Ely Smith]], returning to St. Louis from the [[George Rogers Clark National Historical Park]] in [[Vincennes, Indiana]], saw the St. Louis riverfront area and envisioned that building a memorial there would both revive the riverfront and stimulate the economy.<ref name="Brown1">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110629023124/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-1.htm Chpt 1 (1933–1935: The Idea)]}} Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114607/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-1.htm the original] on February 14, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.</ref><ref name="Bahr25–27"/> He communicated his idea to mayor [[Bernard Dickmann]], who on December 15, 1933, raised it in a meeting with city leaders. They sanctioned the proposal, and the nonprofit Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association JNEMA for short, was formed. Smith was appointed chairman and Dickmann vice chairman. The association's goal was to create:<ref name="Brown1"/>
{{blockquote|A suitable and permanent public memorial to the men who made possible the western territorial expansion of the United States, particularly President Jefferson, his aides Livingston and Monroe, the great explorers, Lewis and Clark, and the hardy hunters, trappers, frontiersmen and pioneers who contributed to the territorial expansion and development of these United States, and thereby to bring before the public of this and future generations the history of our development and induce familiarity with the patriotic accomplishments of these great builders of our country.}}

Many locals did not approve of depleting public funds for the cause. Smith's daughter SaLees related that when "people would tell him we needed more practical things", he would respond that "spiritual things" were equally important.<ref name="Corrigan">{{cite news |last=Corrigan |first=Patricia |date=October 27, 1985 |title=The Triumph of the Arch: 1965–1986 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |page=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112675273/ 1F], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112675227/ 12F], and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112675259/ 13F]}}</ref>

The association expected that $30&nbsp;million would be needed to undertake the construction of such a monument (about ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|30000000|1933|r=-1}}}}{{Inflation-fn|US}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}} dollars). It called upon the federal government to foot three-quarters of the bill ($22.5&nbsp;million).<ref name="Corrigan"/>
[[File:St. Louis riverfront after demolition for Gateway Arch (1942).jpg|thumb|left |The St. Louis riverfront after demolition]]

The suggestion to renew the riverfront was not original, as previous projects were attempted but lacked popularity. The Jefferson memorial idea emerged amid the economic disarray of the [[Great Depression]] and promised new jobs.<ref name="Brown1"/> The project was expected to create 5,000 jobs for three to four years.<ref name="James">{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/75864536.html?dids=75864536:75864536&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |title=Poky Pump Primer: St. Louis' Depression Project Nears End in a Boom |last=James |first=Richard D. |date=June 19, 1964 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |page=8 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/61hd5SSkR?url=http://hn.bigchalk.com/pqdocs/share4/pqimage/hnirs101v/201109141847/44152/32214/out.pdf |archive-date=September 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Committee members began to raise public awareness by organizing fundraisers and writing pamphlets. They also engaged Congress by planning budgets and preparing bills, in addition to researching ownership of the land they had chosen, "approximately one-half mile in length&nbsp; ... from Third Street east to the present elevated railroad." In January 1934, Senator [[Bennett Champ Clark]] and Representative [[John J. Cochran|John Cochran]] introduced to Congress an [[appropriation bill]] seeking $30&nbsp;million for the memorial, but the bill failed to garner support due to the large amount of money solicited. In March of the same year, [[joint resolution]]s proposed the establishment of a federal commission to develop the memorial. Although the proposal aimed for only authorization, the bill incurred opposition because people suspected that JNEMA would later seek appropriation. On March 28 the Senate bill was reported out, and on April 5 it was turned over to the House Library Committee, <!-- explanation of what this committee does: possibly https://books.google.com/books?id=T7Kag69deVwC&pg=PA257&dq="House+Library+Committee" --> which later reported favorably on the bills. On June 8, both the Senate and House bills were passed. On June 15, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signed the bill into law, instituting the United States Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission. The commission comprised 15 members, chosen by Roosevelt, the House, the Senate, and JNEMA. It first convened on December 19 in St. Louis, where members examined the project and its planned location.<ref name="Brown1"/>

Meanwhile, in December, the JNEMA discussed organizing an architectural competition to determine the design of the monument. Local architect [[Louis LaBeaume]] had drawn up competition guidelines by January 1935.<ref name="Brown1"/> On April 13, 1935, the commission certified JNEMA's project proposals, including memorial perimeters, the "historical significance" of the memorial, the competition, and the $30&nbsp;million budget.<ref name="Brown1"/> Between February and April, the [[Missouri General Assembly|Missouri State Legislature]] passed an act allowing the use of [[bond (finance)|bond]]s to facilitate the project. On April 15, then [[List of Governors of Missouri|Governor]] [[Guy Brasfield Park|Guy B. Park]] signed it into law. Dickmann and Smith applied for funding from two [[New Deal agency|New Deal agencies]]—the [[Public Works Administration]] (headed by [[Harold L. Ickes|Harold Ickes]]) and the [[Works Progress Administration]] (headed by [[Harry Hopkins]]). On August 7, both Ickes and Hopkins assented to the funding requests, each promising $10 million, and said that the [[National Park Service]] (NPS) would manage the memorial.<ref name="AECOM26–27">{{harvp |ps=. |AECOM |2010 |pp=26–27 }}</ref> A local bond issue election granting $7.5&nbsp;million (about ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|7500000|1933|r=-1}}}}{{Inflation-fn|US}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}} dollars) for the memorial's development was held on September 10 and passed.<ref name="Brown1"/><ref name="James"/>

On December 21, President Roosevelt signed [[Executive order (United States)|Executive Order]] 7253<ref name="Bahr25–27">{{harvp |ps=. |Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects |Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates |Alvine and Associates |2010 |pp=25–27 }}</ref> to approve the memorial,<ref name="Luther Smith">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/luther_ely_smith.pdf |title=Luther Ely Smith: Founder of a Memorial |work=Experience Your America |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |date=March 2001 |access-date=January 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029171015/http://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/luther_ely_smith.pdf |archive-date=October 29, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> allocating the 82-acre area as the first [[National Historic Sites (United States)|National Historic Site]].<ref name="Bahr25–27"/><ref name="Corrigan"/><ref name="AECOM26–27"/> The order also appropriated $3.3&nbsp;million through the WPA and $3.45&nbsp;million through the PWA<ref>{{cite book |last=Tranel |first=Mark |title=St. Louis Plans: The Ideal and the Real St. Louis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvrdp7Kn3kgC&pg=PA9 |year=2007 |publisher=[[Missouri Historical Society|Missouri Historical Society Press]] |location=St. Louis |isbn=978-1-883982-61-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/stlouisplansidea00unse/page/9 9] |chapter=Introduction |url=https://archive.org/details/stlouisplansidea00unse/page/9 }}</ref> ($6.75 million in total).<ref name="James"/> The motivation of the project was two-fold—commemorating westward expansion and [[Job creation program|creating jobs]].<ref name="Brown1"/> Some taxpayers began to file suits to block the construction of the monument, which they called a "[[boondoggle (project)|boondoggle]]".<ref name="Corrigan"/>

===Initial planning (1936–1939)===
Using the 1935 grant of $6.75&nbsp;million and $2.25&nbsp;million in city bonds,<ref name="James"/> the NPS acquired the historic buildings within the historic site—through [[Eminent domain#Condemnation|condemnation]] rather than purchase—and demolished them. By September 1938, condemnation was complete. The condemnation was subject to many legal disputes which culminated on January 27, 1939, when the [[United States courts of appeals|United States Circuit Court of Appeals]] ruled that condemnation was valid. A total of $6.2&nbsp;million was distributed to land owners on June 14.<ref name="Bahr25–27"/><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Barnidge v. United States |court=8th Cir. |date=1939 |vol=101 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=295 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9922834053880419877 }}</ref> Demolition commenced on October 9, 1939, when Dickmann extracted three bricks from a vacant warehouse.<ref name="Brown2"/>

Led by Paul Peters, adversaries of the memorial delivered to Congress a leaflet titled "Public Necessity or Just Plain Pork". The JNEMA's lawyer, Bon Geaslin, believed that the flyers did not taint the project, but motivated members of Congress to find out more about the same. Although Representative John Cochran wanted to ask Congress to approve more funds, Geaslin believed the association should "keep a low profile, maintaining its current position during this session of Congress". He advised the association to "get a good strong editorial in one of the papers to the effect that a small group of tenants ... is soliciting funds [to fight] the proposed improvement, and stating that these efforts do not represent the consensus of opinion in St. Louis ... , and pointing out that such obstructions should be condemned".<ref name="Brown2"/>

Congress's reduction in spending made it impossible for the allocated funds to be obtained. NPS responded that the city would reduce its contribution if the federal government did. It also asserted that the funds were sanctioned by an executive order, but superintendent John Nagle pointed out that what "one Executive Order does, another can undo". In March 1936, Representative Cochran commented during a House meeting that he "would not vote for any measure providing for building the memorial or allotting funds to it". Geaslin found Cochran's statements to be a greater hindrance to the project than Paul Peters' opposition, for Congress might have Cochran's opinions as representative of public opinion.<ref name="Brown2"/>

Peters and other opponents asked Roosevelt to rescind Executive Order 7253 and to redirect the money to the [[American Red Cross]]. Smith impugned their motives, accusing them of being "opposed to anything that is ever advanced in behalf of the city."<ref name="Brown2"/> In February 1936, an editorial written by Paul W. Ward in ''[[The Nation]]'' denounced the project.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ward |first=Paul W. |date=February 23, 1936 |title=Washington Weekly |journal=[[The Nation]] |volume=142 |issue=3687 |pages=267–268 |url=http://www.thenation.com/ |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/61pEyZjFD?url=http://content.ebscohost.com/pdf17_20/pdf/1936/NAT/04Mar36/14254537.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=14254537&S=R&D=nih&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESep7c40dvuOLCmr0mep7ZSs6i4SbWWxWXS |archive-date=September 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Smith was infuriated, fearing the impact of attacks from a prestigious magazine, and wanted "to jump on it strong with hammer and tongs". [[William Allen White]], a renowned newspaper editor, advised Smith not to fret.<ref name="Brown2"/>

Because the Mississippi River played an essential role in establishing St. Louis's identity as the gateway to the west, it was felt that a memorial commemorating it should be near the river. Railroad tracks that had been constructed in the 1930s on the [[levee]] obstructed views of the riverfront from the memorial site.<ref name="Bahr25–27"/> When Ickes declared that the railway must be removed before he would allocate funds for the memorial,<ref name="Brown2">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114612/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-2.htm Chpt 2 (1936–1939)]}} Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114612/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-2.htm the original] on February 25, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.</ref> President of the St. Louis Board of Public Service Baxter Brown suggested that "a new tunnel ... conceal the relocated tracks and re-grading of the site to elevate it over the tunnel. These modifications would eliminate the elevated and surface tracks and open up the views to the river."<ref name="Bahr25–27"/> Although rejected by NPS architect [[Charles E. Peterson|Charles Peterson]], Brown's proposal formed the basis for the ultimate settlement.<ref name="Brown2"/>

By May 1942, demolition was complete.<ref name="Luther Smith"/> The [[Basilica of St. Louis, King of France|Old Cathedral]] and the Old Rock House, because of their historical significance, were the only buildings retained within the historic site.<ref name="Bahr19">{{harvp |ps=. |Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects |Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates |Alvine and Associates |2010 |pp=19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-3.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101115343/http://www.nps.gov:80/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 1, 2009 |title=Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: Administrative History (Chapter 3) |access-date=September 29, 2015 }}</ref> The Old Rock House was later dismantled in 1959 with the intention of reassembling it at a new location, but pieces of the building went missing. Part of the house has been reconstructed in the basement of the Old Courthouse.<ref>Hoppe, Nancy Marie. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160312172737/http://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/upload/old_rock_house.pdf "Whatever Happened to The Old Rock House?"], The Museum Gazette, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, National Park Service.</ref>

===Design competition (1945–1948)===
{{quote box |width=26em |salign=right |quote= ... [T]he steel monument one sees today—carbon steel on the interior, stainless steel on the exterior, and concrete in-filling, with an equilateral-triangle-shaped section that tapers from 54 to 17 feet at the top, and the concept of a skin that is also structure—is in essence [Saarinen's] competition design.<ref name="SaarinenPelkonenAlbrecht">{{cite book |last1=Saarinen |first1=Eero |author-link1=Eero Saarinen |last2=Pelkonen |first2=Eeva-Liisa |last3=Albrecht |first3=Donald |title=Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future |url=https://archive.org/details/eerosaarinenshap0000saar |url-access=registration |pages=222–229 |year=2006 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |location=New Haven |isbn=978-0-9724881-2-9 }}</ref> |source= —''Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future'', 2006}}

In November 1944, Smith discussed with [[Newton B. Drury|Newton Drury]], the [[National Park Service#Directors|National Park Service Director]], the design of the memorial, asserting that the memorial should be "transcending in spiritual and aesthetic values", best represented by "one central feature: a single shaft, a building, an arch, or something else that would symbolize American culture and civilization."<ref name="Brown4"/>

The idea of an architectural competition to determine the design of the memorial was favored at the JNEMA's inaugural meeting. They planned to award cash for the best design.<ref name="Corrigan"/> In January 1945, the JNEMA officially announced a two-stage design competition that would cost $225,000 to organize. Smith and the JNEMA struggled to raise the funds, garnering only a third of the required total by June 1945.{{#tag:ref |Once he revisited a generous sponsor, requesting more money: "Now you have to protect your investment".<ref name="Taylor"/> |group=lower-alpha}} Then mayor [[Aloys P. Kaufmann|Aloys Kaufmann]] feared that the lack of public support would lead officials to abandon hope in the project. The passage of a year brought little success, and Smith frantically [[Underwriting|underwrote]] the remaining $40,000 in May 1946. By June, Smith found others to assume portions of his underwriting, with $17,000 remaining under his sponsorship. In February 1947, the underwriters were compensated, and the fund stood at over $231,199.<ref name="Brown4">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114617/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-4.htm Chpt 4 (1945–1948)]}} Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114617/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-4.htm the original] on February 14, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.</ref>

Local architect [[Louis LaBeaume]] prepared a set of specifications for the design, and architect [[George Howe (architect)|George Howe]] was chosen to coordinate the competition. On May 30, 1947, the contest officially opened. The seven-member jury that would judge the designs comprised [[Charles Nagel (architect)|Charles Nagel Jr.]], [[Richard Neutra]], [[Roland Wank]], [[William Wurster]], LaBeaume, [[Fiske Kimball]], and S. Herbert Hare.<ref name="Bahr29–31">{{harvp |ps=. |Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects |Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates |Alvine and Associates |2010 |pp=29–31 }}</ref> The competition comprised two stages—the first to narrow down the designers to five and the second to single out one architect and his design.<ref name="Brown4"/> The design intended to include:<ref name="AECOM32">{{harvp |ps=. |AECOM |2010 |pp=32 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|(a) an architectural memorial or memorials to Jefferson; dealing (b) with preservation of the site of Old St. Louis—landscaping, provision of an open-air campfire theater, reerection or reproduction of a few typical old buildings, provision of a Museum interpreting the Westward movement; (c) a living memorial to Jefferson's 'vision of greater opportunities for men of all races and creeds;' (d) recreational facilities, both sides of the river; and (e) parking facilities, access, relocation of railroads, placement of an interstate highway.}}
[[File:Eero Saarinen with Gateway Arch Model.jpg|thumb|left |Saarinen working with a model of the arch in 1957]]

Saarinen's team included himself as designer, J. Henderson Barr as associate designer, and [[Dan Kiley]] as landscape architect, as well as [[Lilian Swann Saarinen|Lily Swann Saarinen]] as sculptor and [[Alexander Girard]] as painter. In the first stage of the competition, [[Carl Milles]] advised Saarinen to change the bases of each leg to triangles instead of squares. Saarinen said that he "worked at first with mathematical shapes, but finally adjusted it according to the eye." At submission, Saarinen's plans laid out the arch at {{convert|569|ft|m}} tall and {{convert|592|ft|m}} wide from center to center of the triangle bases.<ref name="SaarinenPelkonenAlbrecht"/>

On September 1, 1947, submissions for the first stage were received by the jury. The submissions were labeled by numbers only, and the names of the designers were kept anonymous. Upon four days of deliberation, the jury narrowed down the 172 submissions, which included Saarinen's father [[Eliel Saarinen|Eliel]],<ref name="Taylor">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-28-stlouis-arch_x.htm |title=St. Louis' Arch to Ring in 40th Year |last=Taylor |first=Betsy |date=October 20, 2005 |work=[[USA Today]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=September 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070521041827/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-28-stlouis-arch_x.htm |archive-date=May 21, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to five finalists, and announced the corresponding numbers to the media on September 27. Eero Saarinen's design (#144) was among the finalists, and comments written on it included "relevant, beautiful, perhaps inspired would be the right word" (Roland Wank) and "an abstract form peculiarly happy in its symbolism" (Charles Nagel). Hare questioned the feasibility of the design but appreciated the thoughtfulness behind it.<ref name="Brown4"/> Local St. Louis architect [[Harris Armstrong]] was also one of the finalists.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Raimist |first=Andrew |date=April 2006 |title=Ten Things You Should Know About Harris Armstrong |journal=[[Dwell (magazine)|Dwell]] |volume=6 |issue=4 |page=3 |issn=1530-5309 |quote=In 1947, Armstrong was among five finalists in the design competition for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the St. Louis riverfront ... Armstrong was the only St. Louis architect to be selected as a finalist. |url=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/107044798_8abd47c867_o.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424202333/http://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/107044798_8abd47c867_o.jpg |archive-date=April 24, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The secretary who sent out the telegrams informing finalists of their advancement mistakenly sent one to Eliel rather than Eero. The family celebrated with champagne, and two hours later, a competition representative called to correct the mistake. Eliel "'broke out a second bottle of champagne' to toast his son."<ref name="Taylor"/> They proceeded to the second stage, and each was given a $10,069 prize (about ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|10069|1947|r=-1}}}}{{Inflation-fn|US}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}} dollars). Saarinen changed the height of the arch from 580 feet to {{convert|630|ft|m}}<ref group=lower-alpha>He would also change the width of the arch to match its height.</ref> and wrote that the arch symbolized "the gateway to the West, the national expansion, and whatnot."<ref name="SaarinenPelkonenAlbrecht"/> He wanted the landscape surrounding the arch to "be so densely covered with trees that it will be a forest-like park, a green retreat from the tension of the downtown city," according to ''[[The New York Times]]'' architectural critic Aline Bernstein Louchheim.{{#tag:ref |In 1954, Louchheim married Saarinen.<!-- additional info: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/11/05/the-purpose-driven-wife.html --><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K6BOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1967,4840007 |title=Eero Saarinen: Widely Known Detroit Architect |date=September 2, 1961 |work=[[The Blade (Toledo)|Toledo Blade]] |agency=Associated Press |page=1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/03/archives/eero-saarinen.html |title=Eero Saarinen |date=September 3, 1961 |work=[[The New York Times]] |quote=The associate art editor of this newspaper wrote of him in 1953 that his contribution was 'in giving form or visual order ... ' The words were written a year before the writer, Aline Bernstein Louchheim, became the architect's wife. }}</ref> |group=lower-alpha}} The deadline for the second stage arrived on February 10, 1948, and on February 18, the jury chose Saarinen's design unanimously,<ref name="Brown4"/> praising its "profoundly evocative and truly monumental expression."<ref name="Mehrhoff">{{cite book |last=Mehrhoff |first=W. Arthur |title=The Gateway Arch: Fact and Symbol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6T0-KMqbIagC |pages=17–18 |year=1992 |publisher=[[Bowling Green State University|Bowling Green University Popular Press]] |location=Bowling Green, OH |isbn=978-0-87972-568-6 }}</ref> The following day,<ref name="Bahr29–31"/> during a formal dinner at [[Hotel Statler (St. Louis, Missouri)|Statler Hotel]] that the finalists and the media attended, Wurster pronounced Saarinen the winner of the competition and awarded the checks—$40,000 to his team<ref name="SaarinenPelkonenAlbrecht"/> and $50,000 to Saarinen.<ref name="Duffy"/> The competition was the first major architectural design that Saarinen developed unaided by his father.<ref name="Brown4"/>

On May 25, the United States Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission endorsed the design.<ref name="Bahr29–31"/> Later, in June, the NPS approved the proposal.<ref name="SaarinenPelkonenAlbrecht"/> Representative [[H. R. Gross]], however, opposed the allocation of federal funds for the arch's development.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZwYrAAAAIBAJ&pg=6360,7161845 |title=Monument Completed: 'Gateway to West' Portrays St. Louis' Role in History |date=October 29, 1965 |newspaper=[[Reading Eagle]] |page=3 |access-date=December 16, 2010 }}</ref>

The design drew varied responses. In a February 29, 1948, ''The New York Times'' article, Louchheim praised the arch's design as "a modern monument, fitting, beautiful and impressive."<ref name="Louchheim1">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/ |title=For a Modern Monument: An Audacious Design |last=Louchheim |first=Aline B. |date=February 29, 1948 |work=The New York Times |page=X8 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/61qMXs7wB?url=http://hn.bigchalk.com/pqdocs/share4/pqimage/hnirs102v/201109201235/05606/8482/out.pdf |archive-date=September 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some local residents likened it to a "stupendous hairpin and a stainless steel hitching post." The most aggressive criticism emerged from [[Gilmore David Clarke|Gilmore D. Clarke]],<ref name="AECOM39–40">{{harvp |ps=. |AECOM |2010 |pp=39–40 }}</ref> whose February 26, 1948,<ref name="Corrigan"/> letter compared Saarinen's arch to an arch imagined by fascist [[Benito Mussolini]], rendering the arch a fascist symbol. This allegation of plagiarism ignited fierce debates among architects about its validity. [[Douglas Haskell]] from New York wrote that "The use of a common form is not plagiarism ... [T]his particular accusation amounts to the filthiest smear that has been attempted by a man highly placed in the architectural profession in our generation."<ref name="Corrigan"/> Wurster and the jury refuted the charges, arguing that "the arch form was not inherently fascist but was indeed part of the entire history of architecture."<ref name="Mehrhoff"/> Saarinen considered the opposition absurd, asserting, "It's just preposterous to think that a basic form, based on a completely natural figure, should have any ideological connection."<ref name="AECOM39–40"/>

By January 1951, Saarinen created 21 "drawings, including profiles of the Arch, scale drawings of the museums and restaurants, various parking proposals, the effect of the levee-tunnel railroad plan on the Arch footings, the Arch foundations, the Third Street Expressway, and the internal and external structure of the Arch." [[Fred Severud]] made calculations for the arch's structure.<ref name="Brown5"/>

===Railroad agreement (1949–1958)===

Several proposals were offered for moving the railroad tracks, including:
* Bates-Ross. Tracks would cross the memorial site diagonally in a tunnel.
* Bowen. Similar to Bates-Ross proposal.{{how|date=August 2022}}
* Hill-Tunnel. Supported by Saarinen and NPS engineer Julian Spotts, it would route the tracks in a tunnel below Second and First Streets. Saarinen further said that if the tracks passed between the memorial and the river, he would withdraw his participation.
* LaBeaume-Terminal. Opposed by Saarinen and the NPS, it would lay "three tracks on a contained fill along the lines of the elevated tracks."
* Levee-Tunnel. Proposed by Frank J. McDevitt, president of the St. Louis Board of Public Service, it would lower the tracks into a tunnel concealed by walls and landscaping.

On July 7, 1949, in Mayor [[Joseph Darst]]'s office, city officials chose the Levee-Tunnel plan, rousing JNEMA members who held that the decision had been pressed through when Smith was away on vacation. Darst notified Secretary of the Interior [[Julius Krug]] of the city's selection. Krug planned to meet with Smith and JNEMA but canceled the meeting and resigned on November 11. His successor, [[Oscar L. Chapman]], rescheduled the meeting for December 5 in Washington with delegates from the city government, JNEMA, railroad officials, and Federal government. A day after the conference, they ratified a [[memorandum of understanding]] about the plan: "The five tracks on the levee would be replaced by three tracks, one owned by the [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]] (MPR) and two by the [[Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis]] (TRRA) proceeding through a tunnel not longer than 3,000 feet. The tunnel would be approximately fifty feet west of the current elevated line." It would also have an overhead clearance of {{convert|18|ft|m|adj=off}}, lower than the regular requirement of {{convert|22|ft|m}}. Chapman approved the document on December 22, 1949, and JNEMA garnered the approval of the [[Missouri Public Service Commission]] on August 7, 1952.<ref name="Brown5">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114622/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-5.htm Chpt 5 (1949–1952)]}} Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20091101114622/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-5.htm the original] on March 30, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.</ref>

Efforts to appropriate congressional funds began in January 1950 but were delayed until 1953 by the [[Korean War]]'s depletion of federal funds.<ref name="Brown5"/>

In August 1953, Secretary of the Interior [[Fred Andrew Seaton|Fred A. Seaton]] declared that the Department of the Interior and the railroads should finalize the agreement on the new route. In October, NPS and the TRRA decided that the TRRA would employ a surveyor endorsed by Spotts "to survey, design, estimate, and report on" the expenses of shifting the tracks. They chose Alfred Benesch and Associates, which released its final report on May 3, 1957. The firm estimated that the two proposals would cost more than expected: more than $11&nbsp;million and $14&nbsp;million, respectively. NPS director [[Conrad L. Wirth|Conrad Wirth]] enjoined Saarinen to make small modifications to the design. In October, Saarinen redrafted the plans, suggesting:<ref name="Brown6">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091101115349/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-6.htm Chpt 6 (1953–1958)]}} Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20091101115349/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-6.htm the original] on April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.</ref>
{{blockquote|[the placement of] the five sets of railroad tracks into a shortened tunnel 100 feet west of the trestle, with the tracks being lowered sixteen feet. This did not mean that the memorial would be cut off from the river, however, for Saarinen provided a {{convert|960|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} tunnel to be placed over the railroad where a "grand staircase" rose from the levee to the Arch. At the north and south ends of the park, 150-foot tunnels spanned the tracks, and led to the overlook museum, restaurant, and stairways down to the levee. Saarinen designed a subterranean visitor center the length of the distance between the legs, to include two theaters and an entrance by inward-sloping ramps.}}

On November 29, involved interests signed another memorandum of understanding approving Saarinen's rework; implementing it would cost about $5.053&nbsp;million. On March 10, 1959, mayor [[Raymond Tucker]] proposed that they drop "the tunnel idea in favor of open cuts roofed with concrete slabs," which would cost $2.684&nbsp;million, $1.5&nbsp;million less than the cost of the approved plan. On May 12, 1958, Tucker, TRRA president Armstrong Chinn, and Missouri Pacific Railroad president Russell Dearmont entered a written agreement: "The TRRA would place $500,000 in escrow for the project, and the city [would] sell $980,000 of the 1935 bonds to match the Federal contribution." Director Wirth and Secretary Seaton approved the plan on June 2.<ref name="Brown6"/>

In July 1953, Representative [[Leonor Sullivan]] introduced H.R. 6549, a bill authorizing the allocation of no more than $5&nbsp;million to build the arch. After much negotiation, both houses of Congress approved the bill in May 1954, and on May 18, 1954, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] signed the bill into law as Public Law 361. Congress could not afford to appropriate the funds in 1955, so association president William Crowdus resorted to asking the [[Rockefeller Foundation|Rockefeller]] and [[Ford Foundation]]s for $10&nbsp;million. The foundations denied the request because their function as [[private foundation (United States)|private foundation]]s did not include funding national memorials. In 1956, Congress appropriated $2.64&nbsp;million to be used to move the railroad tracks. The remainder of the authorized appropriation was requested via six congressional bills, introduced on July 1, 1958, that revised Public Law 361 to encompass the cost of the entire memorial, increasing federal funds by $12.25&nbsp;million. A month later the Department of the Interior and the [[Office of Management and Budget|Bureau of the Budget]] endorsed the bill, and both houses of Congress unanimously passed the bill. Eisenhower signed it into law on September 7. The NPS held off on appropriating the additional funds, as it planned to use the already-appropriated funds to initiate the railroad work.<ref name="Brown6"/>

===Final preparations (1959–1968)===
[[File:Gateway Arch.stl|thumb|3-D model of the Arch]]
Saarinen and city functionaries collaborated to [[zoning|zone]] buildings near the arch. In April 1959, real estate developer Lewis Kitchen decided to construct two 40-level edifices across from the arch. In July, after the plan was condemned for its potential obstruction of the arch, Kitchen discussed the issue with officials. A decision was delayed for several months because Saarinen had yet to designate the arch's height, projected between {{convert|590|and|630|ft|m}}. By October, Mayor Tucker and Director Wirth resolved to restrict the height of buildings opposite the arch to {{convert|275|ft|m}} (about 27 levels), and the city stated that plans for buildings opposite the arch would require its endorsement. Kitchen then decreased the height of his buildings, while Saarinen increased that of the arch.<ref name="Brown7">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=<!-- NEED WEBCITE LINK -->[http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-7.htm Chpt 7 (1959–1968)]}} Archived from [http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-7.htm the original] on May 15, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.</ref>

Moving the railroad tracks was the first stage of the project. On May 6, 1959, after an official conference, the Public Service Commission called for ventilation to accompany the tunnel's construction, which entailed "placing 3,000 feet of dual tracks into a tunnel 105 feet west of the elevated railroad, along with filling, grading, and trestle work." Eight bids for the work were reviewed on June 8 in the Old Courthouse, and the MacDonald Construction Co. of St. Louis<ref name="modernsteel.com"/> won with a bid of $2,426,115, less than NPS's estimate of the cost. At 10:30&nbsp;a.m. on June 23, 1959, the [[groundbreaking]] ceremony occurred; Tucker spaded the first portion of earth. Wirth and Dickmann delivered speeches.<ref name="Brown7"/>

The NPS acquired the $500,000 in escrow and transferred it to MacDonald to begin building the new tracks. In August, demolition of the Old Rock House{{#tag:ref |Built in 1818 by [[Manuel Lisa]], it was St. Louis' oldest standing building when Roosevelt approved the memorial in 1935.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/lewisclark2/circa1804/stlouis/BlockInfo/Block8BOldRockHouse.htm |title=Old Rock House |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=May 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827024310/http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/StLouis/BlockInfo/Block8BOldRockHouse.htm |archive-date=August 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |group=lower-alpha}} was complete, with workers beginning to excavate the tunnel. In November, they began shaping the tunnel's walls with concrete. Twenty-nine percent of the construction was completed by March and 95% by November. On November 17, trains began to use the new tracks. June 1962 was the projected date of fruition.<ref name="Brown7"/>

On May 16, 1959, the [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies|Senate appropriations subcommittee]] received from St. Louis legislators a request for $2.4911&nbsp;million, of which it granted only $133,000. Wirth recommended that they reseek the funds in January 1960.<ref name="Brown7"/>

On March 10, 1959, Regional Director Howard Baker <!-- Howard W. Baker, not Howard Baker, Sr. or his son --> received $888,000 as the city's first subsidy for the project. On December 1, 1961, $23,003,150 in total had been authorized, with $19,657,483 already appropriated—$3,345,667 remained not yet appropriated.<ref name="Brown7"/>