This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, June 9, 2008: The National Park Service won't be replacing the Gateway Arch's gleaming stainless steel with, say, yellow enamel paint (or installing a drive-thru window), but if you have an idea for improving the grounds surrounding the 630-foot memorial, now is the time to speak up.
Arch superintendent Tom Bradley says that two upcoming "open house style meetings'' are designed to get people thinking about ways to improve the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which includes the Arch and Old Courthouse. There won't be an official presentation, but rather stations where five "preliminary alternatives" will be explained, and where people can ask questions and makes comments.
"What it's not is where someone has a microphone and stands before a group,'' he said. "It's more of a sharing of information and soliciting comments.''
The meetings are a follow-up to Bradley's announcement on May 8 that the Park Service would seek public input on ways to reinvigorate the grounds of the 43-year-old Arch, as encouraged by the Danforth Foundation.
The Park Service has identified five "preliminary alternatives" based on proposals developed internally and by the city of St. Louis and other public and private organizations, Bradley said.
They are:
Alternative 1 - "No action" (a baseline against which the other alternatives are assessed)
Alternative 2 - "Connections"
Alternative 3 - "Expanded programming"
Alternative 4 - "Portals"
Alternative 5 - "Park into the city''
If those items sound vague, that's because they are. Bradley explained that the alternatives are really just concepts at this point -- and the final plan might include parts of all of them.
"They are all kind of arbitrary at this stage,'' Bradley said. "I don't hear anybody objecting to making it easier to get to the Arch or crossing Memorial Drive -- or making it more accessible for people with mobility problems. So, that might well be part of the final preferred alternative.''
Alternative 4, titled "portals'' means adding gateways -- or, more entry points -- into the park, while "expanded programming'' could mean additional exhibits or more educational outreach.
"The one we're calling 'connections' is to improve connections with the city and the riverfront -- but all of the alternatives may include that as a part,'' Bradley said.
He compared the "Park into the City'' concept to New York's Central Park.
"That is an idea, where the park has a lot of activity of its own,'' he said. "One of the criticisms is that there is not enough activity in the park, so it's a way of trying to increase that. The issue is that St. Louis does not have a lot of residential areas surrounding the park.''
Bradley said the Arch's current management plan has been in place since 1964, and the Park Service recognizes that improvements can be made.
"This is a catalyst for people to look at the riverfront; it's an opportunity for big improvements,'' Bradley said. "We're going to get ideas we haven't anticipated. Maybe some great ideas will come out of this.''
Want to contribute?
* Wednesday, June 25, 5 to 8 p.m., Trolley Room of the Dennis and Judith Jones Visitor and Education center (the Lindell Pavilion) in Forest Park.
* Tuesday, July 1, 3 to 6:30 p.m., Old Courthouse, 11 North Fourth Street.
To be included on the project mailing list, requests should be sent by mail to: Superintendent, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, 11 North Fourth Street, St. Louis, Mo. 63102; by telephone to 314-655-1600; or by e-mail to jeff_superintendent@nps.gov