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Gateway Arch
Throughout its history, over a dozen designs had been proposed for the permanent illumination of Eero Saarinen's 630' stainless steel monument, which sits majestically along the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri. Its slim catenary shape and the difficult reflective nature of its skin left previous attempts sadly wanting. In addition to the daunting technical challenges; the relentless bureaucratic hurdles, resistance from site historians, and complications from migratory waterfowl made the task truly monumental.
Three and a half years of detailed technical analysis and a series of full scale mock-ups resulted in a powerful, yet remarkably elegant solution. Four 55' long subterranean chambers were constructed near the base of the monument's legs to house (44) 3000 watt xenon lighting fixtures, powerful enough to reach over 60 stories into the air. Precision optics greatly minimizes spill light and sky glow, while an atmospheric monitoring device extinguishes the entire system on foggy or low cloud deck nights to subdue light pollution and mitigate potential navigation problems for flying birds. The lighting system is virtually invisible by day when the Arch grounds, a United States National Park, are at their busiest. A specially designed walk-over grating keeps the visitor safe while obscuring the lighting instruments from view.
After over 35 years sheathed in darkness, Saarinen's architectural vision is now revealed at night in an effective and respectful way, further celebrating America's 19th Century westward expansion. The project has been a critical and public success and has helped draw people back to the St. Louis urban riverfront at night.