Aug. 20 will mark the centennial of architect Eero Saarinen’s birth. Were it not for the fact that his masterpiece adorns the St. Louis riverfront, it’s not likely that many people here would take note.
Mr. Saarinen never saw the Gateway Arch, except in his vision for it. He died of a brain tumor 11 days after his 51st birthday in 1961. But his masterpiece is getting renewed attention this year.
“Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch captured our imagination in 1965, and continues to bring international acclaim,” our bi-state congressional delegation wrote late last month.
The senators and representative predicted that a design competition that builds on Saarinen’s masterwork will “pave the way for one of the most important architectural events of the coming years,” and will have an “indelibly positive impact on our region,” bringing it “new economic vitality.”
The delegation is referring to “Framing a Modern Masterpiece,” the international competition under way that was organized at the direction of the National Park Service and the city of St. Louis. The contest’s purpose is to re-imagine and reinvigorate the park and areas that surround the Arch. The objective is to have the winning design in place by Oct. 28, 2015 — as part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Gateway Arch’s completion.
Politicians are famous for penning laudatory letters that extol local virtues. They hand them out like ha’pennies. Still, in this hyperpartisan era, it’s nice to see this much common cause on anything.
Democrats signed on — Sens. Claire McCaskill, Dick Durbin and Roland Burris and Reps. William Lacy Clay, Russ Carnahan and Jerry Costello. Republicans signed on — Sen. Christopher S. “Kit” Bond and Reps. John Shimkus and Todd Akin.
They addressed their letter to the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, the public-private entity connected to many of the region’s most influential businesses, institutions and citizens and formed to raise funds and see the project through.
The delegation pledged to “work to achieve our common goal of erecting the winning design by the project deadline, October 28, 2015.”
They called their commitment a “unique partnership” that “will be key to forging a working bond with the Department of Interior, the National Park Service and our colleagues in Washington.”
The contest already has drawn together powerful local forces not known for consulting with one another. Engineers from the Illinois and Missouri Departments of Transportation have been at the same table with officials from the city streets department, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The National Park Service, state and federal preservationists, Metro East parks, the river transportation industry and the Great Rivers Greenway District also have been on hand.
They are helping five teams of top designers from around the world puzzle through the transportation and engineering challenges posed by a tangle of highways, bridges, street schemes and river channels that, in many ways, have isolated the Arch.
Their entries will be publicly unveiled on Aug. 17, and the winner will be announced Sept. 24.
The intention is to keep the winning team intact. Using private funds under a very public process, the concepts will start to be translated into concrete plans.
On the centennial of his birth, Mr. Saarinen’s brilliance again has brought St. Louis together.
