Visiting the Top of the Arch

It took twenty months of living five minutes from the  Arch, but we finally made it to the top!

Beautiful walk up to the Arch.  With the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Arch approaching, they've recently held a design company to completely redo the grounds of the Arch.

It was a beautiful fall day when we visited.

See the little black spots on each side?  Those are the windows on the viewing deck.

This is a really neat museum in the base of the Arch.  I wish that we had had more time to visit it. 

These panels were my favorite part.  The went around the entire museum.  They took a passage from the Lewis and Clark journals and then matched it to a photo of what they were describing.  It was a chance to take their journey with them.

There was a small section on the expansion of the Cardinals to St. Louis making them the first baseball team west of the Mississippi.

Historians conduct classes throughout the day in this museum.  While we were there, an American Indian expert was giving a demonstration on their musical instruments.

Finally, it was time for our journey to the top!  Each capsule holds five people.  You are given a number and then line up on the appropriate step.  We rode up in capsule number six.

Tony's picture from the top.

My picture from the top.  Tony had issues with stepping up and leaning over.  He preferred to just stand there and look.  All in all, I was very impressed with how well that Tony handled his trip to the top given his issues with height.  I do have a picture of him on the ride up, but I'll be nice and not share it.

The Old Courthouse

Busch Stadium

Looking straight down from the top.  You can see the old Catholic Cathedral in the photo.  It was the first Catholic Cathedral west of the Mississippi.  As beautiful as it is, it has nothing on the new Basilica.

Most don't realize this, but the Arch is actually a square.  Despite appearances to the contrary, it's 530ft tall and 530ft wide.

View of the Mississippi River from the top.

We took a ride on one of the Steamboats after we completed our trip to the top of the Arch.

The viewing deck

The space capsule that takes you to the top.  Even my head was hitting the curved part of the ceiling in it!  Tony had to bend over a little bit.  I can't imagine someone super tall fitting into it!