The traditional VP celebration has represented for St. Louisans a perceived link between different components of the community in a holiday celebration, while also reinforcing the notion of a benevolent cultural elite. The Gateway Arch is among the most pervasive symbols of St. Louis. It has its roots in the Great Depression. The Jefferson National Expansion Association, under the leadership of Mayor Bernard Dickmann, aimed to rehabilitate the riverfront and levee district. A commission selected the design for an arch submitted by Eero Saarinen.
Plans lay idle for almost twenty years.
Two years later, the National Park Service opened trains to carry visitors to the top of the 632-foot high Arch. The St. Louis club, later known as the Browns, played at Sportsman's Park on Grand between Dodier and St. Louis Avenue. Chris von der Ahe bought the team in 1881 to build clientele for his nearby saloon. The Browns joined the newly formed American League in 1900, but proved to be among the most hapless franchises in the history of major league baseball. In it, a major league team had control over the players on a series of minor league teams at different levels.