From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

It will be recalled that what became the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and Gateway Arch began in late 1933 when Luther Ely Smith, a prominent Republican lawyer and civic activist, peered out of a train window at the shabby St. Louis riverfront and decided the city should do better.

One rigged election, one massive land clearance project and one world war later, Mr. Smith had a second idea: The as-yet-unbuilt memorial should have “a central feature, a shaft, a building, an arch, or something which would symbolize American culture and civilization.”

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From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

Ask how to improve St. Louis’ most iconic symbols and there’s no shortage of ideas.

At a National Park Service open house on improving the Arch grounds Wednesday night, there seemed to be dozens and dozens, from the simple — adding picnic tables so downtown workers can watch the Mississippi River flow by while they eat lunch — to the grand — erecting a new museum on the grounds that would become an icon in its own right.

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From KTVI - myFOXstl.com:

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is an international landmark, but the Arch grounds and nearby river front need improvements.

People are talking about what should be done.

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From the St. Louis Beacon:

Former Missouri Sen. John C. Danforth believes the National Park Service has made up its mind against any changes or improvements to the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

He described a meeting last night in Forest Park, and another one next week at the Old Courthouse downtown, as “window dressing.”

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