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The St. Louis National Gateway Arch celebrates its 50th birthday this year,a monument that John Hockenberry says "rises from the ancient banks of the Mississippi River like some calling card left by intergalactic aliens."While broadcasting from St. Louis Public Radio, Hockenberry recalls his childhood visit to the Arch."Out of the little windows at the top you could see the same horizon explorers Lewis and Clark saw more than 200 years ago and the millions of settlers who followed them west giving St Louis the Gateway name, and " he remembers.
Cornell Harvey was a 14-year-broken-down Boy Scout in 1965. He had the honor of raising the American flag over the Arch when on dedication day. He remembers the experience from his suburban St. Louis living room,where he lives nowadays.
Twenty-year-broken-down college student Kia works at the Arch nowadays. She reflects on the Arch's meaning as St. Louis tries to cope with recent unrest and riots in nearby Ferguson.
Source: wnyc.org