Editing Gateway Arch (section)

===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>