Sunday, December 02, 2007

Gateway to the West

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Okay...by seeing these snaps, you know where I had been for this Thanksgiving...!Yes, St. Louis! We drove to the Midwest USA (St. Louis, Milwaukee and Chicago) from Baltimore. I know, this doesn’t sound good and few of our friends wondered why we are doing such crazy thing, driving so far, that too in these wintry days when this part started to turn white...!But still we drove there, as that was the only part we haven’t visited yet and then if not now, then when...;)?? Now tell me was it not a good excuse??...;o)


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The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (also known as the Gateway Arch or simply The Arch) is located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Arch is known as the "Gateway to the West". Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel, it stands 630 feet (192 m) tall, and is 630 feet (192 m) wide at its base. Construction began February 12, 1963 and the last section of the Arch was put into place on October 28, 1965. It is the tallest habitable structure in St. Louis, and the second tallest in Missouri, as well as the world's tallest monument.


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Here are some interesting facts about arch:

Outer Width - Outside North Leg to Outer South Leg - 630' (192m)
Maximum Height - 630' (192m)
Shape of Arch Section - Equilateral Triangle
Dimension of Arch at Base - 54 ft. (16.46m)
Dimension of Arch at Top - 17 ft. (5.18m)
Size of Windows - Approx. 7" x 27" (180 mm x 690 mm)


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Capacity of Observation Platform - 100 - 140 persons
Deflection of Arch - 18" in 150 MPH wind (0.46 m in 240 km/h wind)
Number of Sections in Arch - 142
Thickness of Plates for Outer Skin - 1/4" (6.3mm)
Type of Material Used in Arch Exterior - Stainless Steel; #3 Finish Type 304
Structural Capacity of Observation Area - 100 lb/sq. ft (488 kg/m)


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Needless to say, being an architect, I absolutely love this monument and so the trip, as we visited few more interesting things in Milwaukee and Chicago.

More to come...So stay tuned ;)




Place - St. Louis, Missouri, Camera-Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT with 18-55 Canon lens

10 comments:

Knittnerd said...

I've always wanted to go there! I've only seen it from an airplane. Great shots!

ps I got my computer back so I will finally be posting new pics to my page soon

Kerri Farley said...

Wonderful shots....I especially love the reflection!
And even though travelling over Thanksgiving can be a nightmare sometimes...I think it is good to do the things you want...live life to the fullest!
Great job!

Lori said...

Wow, your shots are amazing!! I've never seen the arch in person, though I'd like to. I especially like your photo with the reflection on the pond. That's an awesome photo!

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

all the shots are awesome, Ashish......i loved the last one totally.....a perspective of the arch I have never seen before..not even in tourist mags :DD

and we were in Chicago and Milwaukee two Thanksgiving back..isn't Milwaukee downtown charming??? and did you go to their art museum?? the one which opens up and folds up?? I am sure as an architect, you would have absolutely flipped........guess what, we make our way to Chicago this Dec end ..i so love the city and my friends there :)

keep them coming, Ashish :)

Cris said...

Wonderful pictures! This last one gives a romantic view of the Arch.

Geraldo said...

Great pictures and information! I appreciate the metric conversions, they save mental calculations for us in the rest of the world... :-)

I was going to say I could guess what you saw in Milwaukee (my son lives there), but Moi said it first. Anyway, I'll be waiting for the pictures...

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

i too am waiting for the pics..:) when we went to Milwaukee , it was snowing out there....that season's first snow...so it almost looked like a fairy tale kinda magical to me :)

and the flute pic on my blog is not Krishna's (it looks very much like it though, doesn't it??) : it was a garden sculpture in Key West where I caught it ....I am so glad u liked it :)

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Great shots! Makes me want to visit.

Anonymous said...

WoW...beautifully captured shots!

Jim said...

What an excellent series of shots