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A Look Back: 1965 Arch Construction + Completion Newspaper Clippings

October 23, 2025

In April of this year, the GAPF office received a packet stuffed with twenty newspaper clippings, all sharing updates from the Gateway Arch's construction in 1965. In anticipation of the Arch's 60th birthday celebrations this weekend, our team took the time to carefully unpack, organize, and scan these clippings for digital preservation. What we found is a poignant reminder of the tremendous effort, collaboration, and excitement that were tied to the creation, construction, and completion of this great monument.

The physical clippings, pulled from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Globe-Democrat from August to October of 1965, hold a story of their own. At the time of their publishing, they were saved by a St. Louis resident, Mary Burton, and sent to her niece, Diane Malone (née Daugherty), who lived out of state. Diane had spent a summer in St. Louis with her aunt as the construction was progressing, and these little snippings were Mary's way of keeping her niece in the loop about the project's progress once she returned home. Diane's interest ran deep- her name is even preserved in the time capsule at the top of the Arch!

When Diane moved earlier this year, she found these articles stowed away in a box, still in great condition (if not a little faded). Not wanting to throw them away, she called our office, and we were more than happy to accept them! Thank you, Diane, for sharing this piece of both your and the Arch's history with us.

Before diving in, take a second to read the snippet below, published in the weeks leading up to October 28, 1965. Despite its unknown source, author, and exact publication date, the sentiment is especially powerful in capturing the everyday local's thoughts ahead of the last piece being set in place. 60 years later, we can offer a response to some of these musings- those very workmen are returning to the site this weekend, the structure has stood tall through countless snowfalls and seasons changing, and St. Louis is still gazing up at our Gateway Arch in awe.