Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
|Jefferson National Expansion Memorial|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
|Location||St. Louis, Missouri, USA|
|Area||192.83 acres (78.04 ha)

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
|Jefferson National Expansion Memorial|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
|Location||St. Louis, Missouri, USA|
|Area||192.83 acres (78.04 ha)
90.96 acres (36.81 ha) federal
|Established||December 21, 1935|
|Visitors||2,944,976 (in 2005)|
|Governing body||National Park Service|
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was designated as a National Memorial by Executive Order 7523, on December 21, 1935, and is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS).
The park was established to commemorate:
- the Louisiana Purchase, and the subsequent westward movement of American explorers and pioneers;
- the first civil government west of the Mississippi River;
- the debate over slavery raised by the Dred Scott case.
The memorial consists of a 91-acre (36.8 ha) park along the Mississippi River on the site of the earliest buildings of St. Louis; the Old Courthouse, a former state and federal courthouse that saw the origins of the Dred Scott case; the 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2) Museum of Westward Expansion; and most notably, the Gateway Arch, a steel catenary arch that has become the definitive icon of the city.
The Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch is known as the "Gateway to the West". It was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947 and built between 1963 and October 1965. It stands 630 feet (192 m) tall and 630 feet (192 m) wide at its base. The legs are 54 feet (16.5 m) wide at the base, narrowing to 17 feet (5.2 m) at the arch. There is a unique tram system to carry passengers to the observation room at the top of the arch.
The Old Courthouse is built on land originally deeded by St. Louis founder Auguste Chouteau. It marks the location over which the arch reaches. Its dome was built during the American Civil War and is similar to the dome on the United States Capitol which was also built during the Civil War. It was the site of the local trials in the Dred Scott case.
The courthouse is the only portion of the memorial west of I-70. To the west of the Old Courthouse is a Greenway between Market and Chestnut Streets which is only interrupted by the Civil Courts Building which features a pyramid model of the Mausoleum of Mausolus (which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) on its roof. When Civil Courts building was built in the 1920s the Chouteau family sued to regain the property belonging to the Old Courthouse because it had been deeded in perpetuity to be a courthouse.
Museum of Westward Expansion
Underneath the Arch is a visitor center, entered from a descending outdoor ramp starting at either base. Within the center is the Museum of Westward Expansion, exhibits on the history of the St. Louis riverfront, and tram loading and unloading areas. Tucker Theater, finished in 1968 and renovated 30 years later, has about 285 seats and shows a documentary (Monument to the Dream) on the Arch's construction. Odyssey Theater, designed by Cox/Croslin Architects, Robert Cox, AIA and Charles Croslin, AIA, was completed in 1993 and has 255 seats. It was the first 70 mm film theater to be located on National Park Service grounds and operated by the NPS. The theater runs films from a rotating play list. Also located in the visitor center are retail operations run by the Jefferson National Parks Association, a not-for-profit partner.
A bronze standing full-length portrait of Thomas Jefferson, done by A. Lloyd Lillie, a nationally renown sculptor, stands inside the entrance of the Museum. The casual pose represents the ease with which Jefferson was able to move seamlessly among his many interests and areas of expertise. He was a president, statesman, ambassador, architect, farmer, and a framer of the Declaration of Independence. The standing pose illustrates his tireless efforts for his young, developing, and independent country.
The memorial was developed largely through the efforts of St. Louis civic booster Luther Ely Smith who first pitched the idea in 1933, was the long-term chairman of the committee that selected the area and persuaded Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 to make it a national park after St. Lou