June 10, 1967: The Gateway Arch Opens

June 10, 1967: The Gateway Arch opens in St. Louis. It becomes the symbol of that city, leading to its nickname, the Gateway City.

In 1933, Luther Ely Smith, a St. Louis lawyer and "civic booster," visited the memorial to George Rogers Clark in Vincennes, Indiana. Knowing that Clark was the father of William Clark, whose westward expedition with Meriwether Lewis was launched from St. Louis in 1804, he decided that his hometown should have his own such memorial.

After consulting with Mayor Bernard Dickmann, Ely was appointed chairman of the nonprofit Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association (JNEMA, pronounced "Jenny May"). The goal was to produce:

A suitable and permanent public memorial to the men who made possible the western territorial expansion of the United States, particularly President Jefferson, his aides Livingston and Monroe, the great explorers, Lewis and Clark, and the hardy hunters, trappers, frontiersmen and pioneers who contributed to the territorial expansion and development of these United States, and thereby to bring before the public of this and future generations the history of our development and induce familiarity with the patriotic accomplishments of these great builders of our country.

One thing led to another, including the Great Depression and World War II, and delays meant that construction had not even begun by the time Smith died in 1951. Dickmann left office in 1941, but did live to see the Arch's completion, dying in 1971.

Eero Saarinen, an American architect of Finnish descent, won the design competition: His idea for an arch as a "gateway to the West" was chosen in 1948. But he, too, did not live to see its completion, dying of a brain tumor in 1961, only 51 years old.

It had been hoped that the Arch would be finished by 1964, the 200th Anniversary of the settling of St. Louis by the French. They didn't make it. Construction finally began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, at a cost of $13 million. It took a little longer to build the visitors' center, beyond the May 12, 1966 opening of the nearby Busch Memorial Stadium, new home of the baseball Cardinals and the football Cardinals. The monument finally opened to the public on June 10, 1967.

The Arch is 630 feet wide, and also exactly 630 feet high, making it the tallest habitable structure in the State of Missouri. It doesn't match the definition of a "building," since very little of it is actually occupiable. The tallest building in the State is One Kansas City Place, 624 feet. The tallest building in St. Louis is One Metropolitan Square, 593 feet. There are a few taller structures in the State, either radio and TV antennae or smokestacks.

The Arch includes the Museum of Westward Expansion, and a tram that carries passengers to its apex, where there is an observation deck, looking out over eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, and the Mississippi River in between.

Like the Empire State Building in New York, and some other prominent structures, the Arch has a lighting system, using various colors for various events and commemorations.

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June 10, 1967 was a Saturday. Darren Robinson, of the rap group The Fat Boys, was born. This was also the day that Israel won its "Six-Day War" with its Arab neighbors. I have a separate entry for that event.

These games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees lost nearly as badly as the Arab nations did -- and, like them, on home soil. They lost 9-0 to the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. Gary Peters went the distance for the Pale Hose, giving up just 4 hits, all singles: To Mickey Mantle, Joe Pepitone, Horace Clarke and Charlie Smith, for whom the Yankees traded Roger Maris to St. Louis, even-up. Dumb trade, although Roger was happier.

Thad Tillotson didn't get out of the 5th inning, giving up home runs to Don Buford and to Peters himself. Peters got 2 hits, and Pete Ward reached base 5 times: 2 doubles, a single and 2 walks.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. The Senators got 2 home runs, both from Frank Howard. The Red Sox got 2 home runs, from George Scott and Rico Petrocelli. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-2 with 2 walks, while Tony Conigliaro went 0-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-4 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) The Giants got homers from Willie McCovey, Tom Haller and Jim Ray Hart. Willie Mays went 1-for-4. The Braves got homers from Felipe Alou and Gary Geiger. Hank Aaron went 3-for-4, but Joe Torre went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-4, and Willie Stargell went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 9-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 with an RBI. For the Astros, Jimmy Wynn, a Cincinnati native, hit a home run over the left-field scoreboard, and onto Interstate 75, the Mill Creek Expressway.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. 

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rich Rollins hit 2 home runs, Tony Oliva hit 1, and Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-2, but drew 3 walks. The only Oriole run came on a solo homer by Boog Powell. Frank Robinson went 0-for-4, and Brooks Robinson went 1-for-3.

* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Clyde Wright pitched 7 innings of 4-hit ball, and Minnie Rojas went 2 perfect to finish the shutout. Al Kaline went 0-for-4.

* And the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Since a doubleheader was already scheduled for the next day, this game was moved to August 31. The Cubs won, 2-1. Rookie Tom Seaver pitched 9 innings, to no avail. Ernie Banks went 1-for-5, and was replaced for a pinch-runner -- Fergie Jenkins, usually a pitcher. Al Spangler singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.