A Rare History Of The Gateway Arch

Wednesday (October 28th) was the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Gateway Arch. That morning, I had the honor of speaking with the children of its architect, Eero Saarinen, Eric and Susan -- as well as a Ciccardi Bruce, who was there when the last piece of the Arch was put in place. We discussed how Saarinen came up with the idea for the Arch, how he had to compete against his own father to win the design competition, and what the Arch grounds were like that day a half-century ago. Eric also revealed how Eero Saarinen's original plan did not include using triangular pieces to build the legs of the Arch -- that idea came from sculptor Carl Milles, to whom Saarinen never gave credit.

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