This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 7, 2011 - Efforts to bring improvements to the grounds of the Gateway Arch and to connect the Arch better to St. Louis as well as to Illinois were given a million-dollar boost Thursday when the Danforth Foundation announced it will grant that amount to help move the project along.
The grant is to the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, sponsor of the competition mounted last year to select a design team for the Arch work, estimated to cost about $300 million. Funds are to come from public and private sources.
The competition winner, Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates, Brooklyn, was announced in September. Its design concept is to be shown to the public later this month.
Among the foundation's members are the Arch Superintendent Tom Bradley, Mayor Francis Slay, community leaders from Missouri and Illinois, academics, architects and national park advocates.
The goal of the redesign, according to the foundation, is "to help complete design development of efforts to improve the visitor experience at the Arch grounds and improve its connections to downtown St. Louis, the Mississippi River and the Illinois riverfront area."
In a prepared statement, the Danforth Foundation's chairman, former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth said, "Through the efforts now under way, two of St. Louis' most valuable assets -- the Gateway Arch and our position on America's greatest river -- will be enhanced for the enjoyment of area residents and visitors from around the world. We're pleased to be able to help."
The Danforth Foundation once offered $50 million to build a history museum on the Arch grounds. About two years ago, the proposal was rejected by the Parks Service as intrusive and "not making much sense."
St. Louis lawyer Walter Metcalfe Jr. has led the effort to effect improvements to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the proper name for the Arch and the Old Courthouse and its surruondings. Metcalfe is a member of the CityArchRiver board.
"Without the voice and the advocacy of the Danforth Foundation, there would be no project," said Metcalfe. "The foundation's clear endorsement and the foundation's influence have been extraordinarily important to the progress of this chapter in the renewal of the Arch."
"Our focus now is to ensure that the next vital steps of design development are completed on time," he said in a prepared statement. "This important contribution is critical to our achievement of that goal."
Editor's note: The Danforth Foundation is a donor to the Beacon.