Background on the St.louis Arch Monument (My Favorite Statue)

The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot (192 m) monument in St. Louis in the U.S. state of Missouri. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch,[5] it is the world's tallest arch,[4] the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere,[6] and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States,[5] 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,[7][8] for $13 million[9] (equivalent to $195 million in 2016[2]). The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967.[10] It is located at the site of St. Louis' founding on the west bank of the Mississippi River.[11][12][13] 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.