Jan Kronsell, via Wikimedia Commons
One of my favorite stories ever to have appeared in the Culture section of SLM is poet Gabriel Gudding's 2006 essay about the Arch, "The Tuning Fork of St. Louis." More recently, I've come to see the Arch Grounds with a bit of cynicism, after learning that blocks and blocks of steel-clad buildings, and the original city plat of St. Louis, and St. Louis' first cohesive bohemian district were all cleared for them. Also, I was a little disappointed to learn the project came about because certain folks saw the opportunity to access some federal funds—and that the Arch competition was contrived as a way to get at them. The public pretty well knew it, too; the bond to fund the project was passed only after two instances of voting fraud. In the end, the city cleared away blocks and blocks of buidlings during the Depression, many of them containing functioning neighborhoods and businesses. And it took Percy Green scaling the unfinished monument to convince the city to hire black workers for the project. (I could go on. But I won't. If you want to get cynical and nostalgic with me, read my piece on Our Vanished Left Bank. Also, if you've read Tracy Campbell's The Gateway Arch, published last summer, you know all of this history, as well as the fact that Saarinen was a bit of a jerk, especially where his wives were concerned.)
Now that the Arch is here, and those grounds are cleared—and are about to be improved, thanks to CityArchRiver 2015—there's no point in being surly about it, though I will still insist to really love a city, you have to acknowledge its warts as well as its beauty marks....and realize that sometimes, they are one and the same thing. The Arch's history is not all pristine, but as a monument, it is stunning; it's impressive from both a Modernist design and an engineering perspective; and it is our most visible symbol of the city. Lots of St. Louisians have happy memories tethered to it through Fair St. Louis, field trips, and rides to the top in those weird little elevator pods. Mostly, though, it's that when you see it, you know you are home.
We all have an Arch story, whether it's Gabe Gudding's postindustrial magical realism take, or my hyperhistorical perspective, run through a slightly yellow (read: jaundiced) filter. So as part of the CityArchRiver Project, organizers are soliciting first-person YouTube videos from St. Louisans. From the press release:
My Arch Story is a new online space that invites people of all ages to proudly describe the significant role the Arch plays in their lives.
The website was launched in conjunction with the transformational project to enhance the Arch experience for everyone. The new Arch grounds will provide visitors and residents with new opportunities for entertainment, recreation, and learning through better accessibility, landscape improvements, renovated and expanded museum space, and acres of new community-oriented event spaces.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis Cardinals Senior VP & General Manager John Mozeliak, former St. Louis Rams player D’Marco Farr and many others are featured on the site, explaining how the Arch has inspired them and what it means to them. The Foundation is encouraging everyone go to http://myarchstory.cityarchriver.org to tell their own stories. Social media users are invited to use the hash tag #MyArchStory when sharing stories, pictures, and videos.
“There are so many stories that can be told about the Arch,” said CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation Executive Director Maggie Hales. "This website enables people to share personal stories by uploading their own videos, while raising awareness of the many benefits that will come as a result of CityArchRiver 2015."
The public is invited to hear more about the project at the annual CityArchRiver 2015 Report to the Community on February 5, 2014, when project leaders will provide an update on recent milestones and what to look for in the coming year.
"Just look into the camera and share what the Arch means to you," they coach on the website. "You can make your video as long or as short as you’d like—most videos are around 30 seconds to a minute long." So break out out the curling iron, the mustache wax, the face powder, and get filming, people! Sounds like the best kind of reality TV to me.
