Kiley didn’t design Gateway

Dan did not design the Gateway Arch in St Louis. He designed the original competition plan for the plantings in the park around the arch. If I remember correctly, Dan’s designs had Burle Marx overtones. Eero Saarinen conceived of the arch and personally designed it (with the help of structural and mechanical engineers, and many others).

Saarinen also conceived and designed the park. Dan did not carry out the actual planting designs because the National Park Service did not employ him, although Saarinen’s intent was that he would.

I was with Eero Saarinen and Associates for a decade from 1950 until he died. I myself worked on the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Saarinen was personally intent on shaping the land for the park, including the unusual monumental stairs of his design, riverfront railroad tunnels, elevated highway structures and of course, the unique visitors centre.

Saarinen started his career as a sculptor and that is one clue to his competition conception of the great stainless steel monument rising out of the meadows and forests of the West, framing the westward historic passage.

Revere those who made all this possible. A group of St Louisans bought the site, financed and organised an international design competition, selected the jury, provided the westward expansion memorial concept, embraced the winning design and persuaded the National Park Service to take over their project, their design and its architect, and to build it.

Of course Dan Kiley was a great landscape architect who did wonderful things. But give credit where credit is due.