page_title: Gateway Arch
section_title: Modes of ascent
hierarchical_section_title: Gateway Arch / Public access / Observation area / Modes of ascent
caption_attribution_description: English: Observation platform stop of the Gateway arch north tram. St. Louis, MO, USA Deutsch: Gipfelstation der Gateway arch north tram, St. Louis, MO, USA
context_page_description: The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, and officially dedicated to "the American people," the Arch, commonly referred to as "The Gateway to the West" is the centerpiece of Gateway Arch National Park and has become an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination.
  The Arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947; construction began on February 12, 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1965 at an overall cost of $13 million. The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967.
  It is located at the site of St. Louis's founding on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
context_section_description: There are three modes of transportation up the arch: two sets of 1,076-step emergency stairs (one per leg), a 12-passenger elevator to the 372-foot (113 m) height, and a tram in each leg.
  Each tram is a chain of eight cylindrical, five-seat compartments with a small window on the doors. As each tram has a capacity of 40 passengers and there are two trams, 80 passengers can be transported at one time, with trams departing from the ground every 10 minutes. The cars swing like Ferris-wheel cars as they ascend and descend the arch. This fashion of movement gave rise to the idea of the tram as "half-Ferris wheel and half-elevator." The trip to the top takes four minutes, and the trip down takes three minutes.
  Because of a lack of funds in March 1962, the NPS did not accept bids for the arch's internal train system and considered discarding the idea. In May 1962, the Bi-State Development Agency proposed that it issue revenue bonds to obtain the required funds. The Department of the Interior and Bi-State entered into an agreement where Bi-State would construct and operate the tram. Bi-State would have to raise $1,977,750 for the construction of the tram system. It retired the bonds by setting a $1 riding fee to the top.
  Bi-State put in $3.3 million revenue bonds and has operated the tram system since. The tram in the north leg entered operation in June 1967, but visitors were forced to endure three-hour-long waits until April 21, 1976, when a reservation system was put in place. The south tram was completed by March 1968. Commemorative pins were awarded to the first 100,000 passengers. As of 2007, the trams have traveled 250,000 miles (400,000 km), conveying more than 25 million passengers.
caption: North stairs and tram descending from observation platform
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