CityArchRiver 2015 Postcard

Enhancing the Arch Experience for Everyone
The Gateway Arch is an international icon and the defining symbol of the
St. Louis region. CityArchRiver will create an experience around the Arch as
memorable as the Arch itself. By creating a seamless park experience from the
city to the Mississippi River through enhancements respectful of the historic
landmark, visitors will have a more vibrant and safer place to visit, enjoy, and
return. The CityArchRiver project is now underway and will be complete in 2017.
A New Model for Urban Parks
CityArchRiver will make the Arch grounds and surrounding areas safer and more enjoyable
for everyone by connecting, invigorating, and expanding the park’s grounds and museums.
Connect
Invigorate
Expand
Before CityArchRiver, the Arch sat
isolated from the rest of the region
and therefore lacked the constant
activity usually associated with a
vibrant urban park. By providing
safer and easier pedestrian, bicycle,
and vehicle access to the park,
entry to the Arch grounds will be
open and welcoming to all visitors.
CityArchRiver enhancements will
provide visitors and residents with
new opportunities for entertainment,
recreation, and learning through
landscape improvements to the Arch
grounds, renovated and expanded
museum space, and acres of new
community oriented event spaces.
More than 7 miles of new or
renovated pathways will provide
added access to the Arch
grounds for pedestrians and
cyclists, allowing all visitors to
enjoy a new park experience.
Project Components
The Park Over the Highway
North Gateway
The CityArchRiver project extends the park over I-44 between Chestnut
and Market Streets to join the Arch grounds with the Old Courthouse,
physically connecting St. Louis to its most famous landmark.
The north side of the Arch grounds will be developed to include 7 acres
of usable park space, including an Explorers’ Garden with a raised walkway
featuring views of Eads Bridge and the Mississippi River. Washington
Avenue will end at Memorial Drive, allowing the park to expand directly
to Eads Bridge and Downtown St. Louis.
The Museum
Museum Entrance
•A new glass entrance to the museum and visitors center below
the Arch will face the Old Courthouse, providing an accessible
and welcoming arrival.
•A series of story galleries will draw visitors through a narrative
that begins with Colonial St. Louis and spans more than two
centuries to the design and construction of the Gateway Arch.
•
The Riverfront
Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard will be elevated, reducing the number of
flooding occurrences that close the riverfront. This will provide access for
pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles to a 1.5 mile promenade for riverfront
activities and commerce and connect existing bicycle trail networks at
Biddle Street and Chouteau Avenue.
North Gateway Park
Kiener Plaza
Kiener Plaza will be developed to include a wider array of possibilities
for amenities and programming. The development of the plaza creates a
central hub for activities to welcome visitors to St. Louis and the Arch.
The Old Courthouse
East Slope Pathways
Today, visitors to the riverfront must hike the Grand Staircase.
The East Slope Pathways are gentle, accessible meanders from
the Arch to the riverfront. Visitors will be able to descend to the
river without a single stair step.
Impact
CityArchRiver will create thousands of jobs and promote an enhanced
image for St. Louis worldwide. This project will bring global recognition
to the region and its many cultural and recreational assets. Creating
a lively urban space that provides more amenities, experiences, and
recreational choices will inspire younger generations to engage with
and reside in our region.
With your support, this project will have a lasting effect on the
economic, social, environmental, and educational fabric of the entire
metropolitan region. To support this transformational project, visit
www.CityArchRiver.org/Donate
The Old Courthouse will be renovated to provide better accessibility
and offer new exhibits.
For more information about CityArchRiver and how you can
be part of the transformation, visit www.CityArchRiver.org.
Riverfront