Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen designed the Arch in 1947. The idea came from civic leader Luther Ely Smith, who proposed a memorial on the riverfront in 1933. Construction began on February 12, 1963, and was finished on October 28, 1965.
The Arch is 630 feet tall, clad in stainless steel and shaped as a weighted catenary arch. It is the world's tallest arch. It cost $13 million and opened to the public on June 10, 1967.
It stands at the 1764 site of the founding of St. Louis, and honors the westward expansion of the United States. It is nicknamed the Gateway to the West.