( 2 8 October 2 0 0 5 , Friday )







I visited ST . LOUIS on 1 4 April of 1 9 9 6 , a Monday ,

a memorable trip even though I had an unsuccessful

job interview . At last footloose that afternoon , I walked

from the Federal Building to BUSCH MEMORIAL STADIUM ,

home ballpark of the ST . LOUIS CARDINALS from 1 2 May

of 1 9 6 6 through 1 9 October of this year .







I saw the latter three innings of the game between the

Cardinals and the HOUSTON ASTROS that Monday

afternoon , almost nine years ago as I type . ( Houston

victimized DENNIS ECKERSLEY in the top of the

tenth inning and won , 4 to 2 . ) Following the game ,

I walked to the NATIONAL EXPANSION MEMORIAL

PARK , dominated by the loftiest of free - standing

National Monuments , the GATEWAY ARCH .



=========================================

=========================================



Recalling the Arch is a pleasure . It is a glorious sight ,

six - hundred - thirty feet aloft , higher than the

WASHINGTON MONUMENT by seventy - five feet . I

have been to the summit of both structures , and

appreciate both , butt I ' ve a special fondness for

the Arch even though the ride in the interior tram

that hoists one to the top is miserably cramped .







Designed by Finnish - born architect EERO

SAARINEN in 1 9 4 7 , the Saarinen proposal was

based on one of the most basic of structures , the

equilateral triangle . ( The Arch actually looks more

like a parabola . ) The Gateway Arch commemorates

President THOMAS JEFFERSON and the expedition of

MERIWEATHER LEWIS and WILLIAM CLARK ,

appropriate in that the fledgeling city of St . Louis

was a crucial conduit for a newly - enlarged Republic

and for its processionals of Citizens moving West .







Among the things I should like to do , when next I

see the Arch : I ' d like to fling a Frisbee around one

of the " limbs " , as I can throw a curve with a

Frisbee ( not , alas , with a baseball ) . I ' d also

like to bungee - jump from the top of the Arch ,

which will surely be a pipe - dream as I doubt I

could ever procure a permit .







Visitors to the Arch have a museum and a theatre

awaiting them , underground , along with the aforesaid

tram for those hot to ascend to the observation platform

at the top . Looking West , one can see Busch Stadium

and the OLD COURT HOUSE , where DRED SCOTT

petitioned for his Freedom . ( The United States Supreme

Court decided against Dred Scott , by a 7 to 2 tally , in

1 8 5 7 , a disasterous decision that made War - Between -

The - States all butt inevitable . )







Even more impressive is the view to the East , where

one can behold the MISSISSIPPI RIVER in its mid -

Continental immensity . The Mississippi looked very

wide and very muddy on 1 4 April of 1 9 9 7 , with

RiverBoats moored on the Illinois side ; said boats

are floating casinos . The Gateway Arch , by my

estimate a good one - hundred - twenty - million

tons of concrete and steel ( based on data I found

on a Web site ) , was in its thirty - second year at

the time of my visit . To - day , 2 8 October ' 0 5 ,

is the Fortieth Anniversary of the Arch ' s Grand Opening .







Don ' t wait forty years to see it !







******************************************************************

******************************************************************