06/15/09 142 W, 1 I - + 7 - 10 Building the Gateway Arch


Reporting from the road. Reading the Wikipedia page about the Gateway Arch finds an interesting fact. When the arch was built, both legs were built up at the same time. When it was time to connect the legs up top, the legs couldn't be precisely aligned. The problem? Thermal expansion from the sunward-facing south leg. The solution? The St. Louis Fire Department sprayed said leg until it cooled sufficient to allow alignment. There's a treasure trove of construction photos by Arthur Witman cataloged and viewable from the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri-St. Louis web site. Though I couldn't find an image of the above event, this photo shows a presumably SLFD engine on scene at the construction site:
 


Arthur Witman photo, courtesy Western Historical
Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri-St. Louis





  
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