Trivia question: Name an historic landmark that is exactly as tall as it is wide.
We have a winner. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is 630 feet in both directions. It's on some parkland right by the Mississippi River, and a fine symbol for St. Louis as a jumping off point for the Westward expansion of the nation.
It's all something of a salute to Thomas Jefferson, who had a vision that America would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He took a giant step in that direction with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 from France, as Napolean needed some money after some expensive wars in Europe.
Besides, it's a fun ride as well. Visitors hope in a claustrophobia-creating tram, which bounces around a bit as it goes to the top. There you look out as the city and river below. The bottom also has a short museum, which shows a movie on Lewis and Clark.
For whatever reason, I always thought the Arch spanned the Mississippi River. It does not; it is completely on land. Even so, it is an impressive structure that dominates the area.
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