Plans announced for 50th anniversary of Gateway Arch

ST. LOUIS -- October marks the 50th anniversary of St. Louis' Gateway Arch, and organizers have announced plans to celebrate the occasion, including a fireworks display and a chance to meet construction workers who built the structure.

An all-day celebration is scheduled for Oct. 24 in Kiener Plaza, which will include food and drink vendors, children's activities and live music, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The day will end in a fireworks display showcasing the arch.

More celebrations will take place Oct. 28 to mark the anniversary of the arch's completion. A recognition ceremony will be at 11 a.m., which is the moment when the final piece was put into place. Journey to the Top tram ride tickets also will be sold for the original price of $1 that day.

Visitors to the top will get a "Top of the Arch" lapel button modeled after one that originally was distributed when the trams opened in 1967. They also will receive an "I went to the Top" certificate, similar to a certificate handed to riders in the 1960s.

A free Meet the Builders event also is scheduled for Oct. 28 and will be at the Missouri History Museum. Visitors can meet the electricians, sheet-metal workers, draftsmen, field engineers and other construction workers who built the arch. They will pose for photos and sign autographs.

An Arch Perspectives exhibit will be on display, and it will showcase various photos of the arch throughout the years. Screenings of "Monument to the Dream" documentary will be offered throughout the day in the museum's auditorium.

A panel discussion, called The Gateway Arch: An Icon for Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, also will be at the history museum. It will include National Park Service historian Bob Moore and the daughter of Gateway Arch architect Eero Saarinen.

Partners and sponsors of the events include the National Park Service, CityArchRiver Foundation, Great Rivers Greenway, Bi-State Development Agency, Jefferson National Parks Association, the city of St. Louis and the Missouri History Museum.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com