Lee and Karen Duquette,
The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
went up inside the Gateway Arch, 630 feet high
July 22 and 23, 2017

The Address of Gateway Arch National Park is 1 North 4th Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63102.

The Riverboats at the Gateway Arch are located on the riverfront's cobblestone levee at 50 A. Leonor K Sullivan Blvd, St. Louis, Missouri.

For parking at the Gateway Arch, you have several options:

Preferred Parking Program: The Stadium East Parking Garage offers a discounted rate of $9 for 5 hours (always subject to change). It is recommended to pre-purchase parking at iparkit.com/TheArch, especially on days when the St. Louis Cardinals have home games or other large events are happening. If parking is not pre-purchased on event days, the special rate will not apply and event day parking rates will apply12.

Riverfront Parking: Available for a fee (card only) and is not operated by the Gateway Arch or Riverboats at the Gateway Arch. Access is from the cobblestone levee at 50 S. Leonor K Sullivan Blvd. However, parking availability is subject to weather and river conditions.

Accessible Parking: There is no on-site parking, but passenger drop-off / pick-up is available on 4th Street across from the Old Courthouse. Accessible parking is available on Market Street between Memorial Drive and 4th Street and on Memorial Drive between Walnut and Market Streets and Chestnut and Pine Streets. Additionally, accessible parking is available at the Stadium East Garage.

Above parking quotes are from the Internet, and all of this information is subject to change at any time.

The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument in St. Louis, Missouri. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of an inverted, weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, and officially dedicated to "the American people," it is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and has become an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination.

The Arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947; construction began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, for $13 million (equivalent to $190 million in 2015). The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967. It is located at the site of St. Louis' founding on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

The Arch has served as the site for multiple incidents, accidents, and stunts, and following the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 and the September 11 attacks it has received a number of security related upgrades.

Below: Karen Duquette took numerous photographic views of the Gateway Arch at different angles and at different times of day and evening.

During this time, the area all around and under the Gateway Arch was under construction.

Then Lee and Karen Duquette went up into the Gateway Arch to get views from the tiny windows shown below. This was not the first time that they have been inside the Arch. They were also here in October 2006 and again in 2022. The photos are very different from these. These can be seen by using the TOC-G link at the bottom of most pages and scrolling down to the Gateway Arch. That link also has photos of other things in this area that the two RV Gypsies did not see this time. It is best to finish any page on this website before visiting elsewhere.

Below: The stairway from the top of the Arch back down to the elevators. Each of the 8 elevators had 5 seats inside, and they were really close together. The door to the elevator was only 4 feet high and the inside walls of the elevator were curved. There was not much head-room, and it was extremely crowded with 4 people seated inside. (It can seat a 5th person). The elevator journey took about 4 minutes.

Below: Lee and Karen Duquette inside the Gateway Arch 630 feet above the ground.

Below: Views from inside the Gateway Arch, taken though the tiny windows shown above. About 30 miles in every direction can be seen from this observation deck (on a clear day). Views looking west included the Old Courthouse, Busch Stadium, and Ballpark Village.

Back up to the Gateway Arch photos from 2009, (2 pages) but be sure to return here afterwards.

OR

If you came here from the Gateway Arch 2022 page, or have not seen that section, return there now. It is very different from these.

OR

Continue navigation in the order of occurrence - downtown St. Louis 2017.
OR

Return to the Missouri menu to continue navigation in the order of your choice.

OR Continue Navigation in the order of your choice via the alphabetical or category buttons below OR Click here to see travels by the year (not the best way)