St. Louis’ Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is now officially Gateway Arch National Park. The renaming bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last year and was signed into law by President Trump this past February. Supporters say renaming the national park makes it more recognizable to visitors.
“The name ‘Jefferson National Expansion Memorial’ was established long before the Gateway Arch was envisioned, and has simply never been adopted by our millions of visitors,” says Mike Ward, superintendent at the Gateway Arch National Park. “We hope this new name will best reflect the magnificent renovations and visitor experience we will unveil in a few months.”
Completed on October 28, 1965, the Gateway Arch is a gleaming icon alongside the Mississippi River that commemorates the U.S. spirit of westward expansion from the mid-1800s. Clad in 500 tons of stainless steel and built 630 ft high in the form of an inverted, weighted catenary curve, it is the world's tallest arch, the tallest monument in the Western Hemisphere and Missouri's tallest accessible structure.
For more about the Gateway Arch’s construction, see the 1963 article in our MSC archives.