The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is a park located 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; andThe debate over slavery raised by the Dred Scott case. The memorial consists of a 91acre 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 45000sqft Museum of Westward Expansion; and most notably the Gateway Arch, a steel catenary arch that has become the definitive icon of the city.ComponentsThe Gateway ArchThe Gateway Arch, known as the "Gateway to the West", is the tallest structure in Missouri. 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 630ft tall and 630ft wide at its base. The legs are 54ft wide at the base, narrowing to 17ft at the arch. There is a unique tram system to carry passengers to the observation room at the top of the arch.
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