Editing Gateway Arch (section)

===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"/>