The description I see here is a very sad attempt t...

The description I see here is a very sad attempt to describe such an amazing and glistening monument to our nation's history. This is a memorial that they said could never be built - due to its seeming impossibility. Calling it "curved" is an insult to the design and shape. This is a catenary curve, the shape a chain takes when hanging upside down by its own weight... but this is inverted! The structure itself is an equilateral triangle made of concrete wrapped in stainless steel, in addition as a whole the arch's two legged base forms an equilateral triangle with the top. What a monument to geometry and physics, and to those who built this structure, especially the ironworkers! Imagine having to invent and build a completely new mechanism to "climb' both legs of the Arch while slowly attempting to raise higher as the height of the Arch legs grew! As they got near the top they had to build a cross piece to anchor both legs together...Pictures from the construction are amazing. (Watch the movie "Monument to a Dream") The final piece did not fit due to the extreme heat of the weather and the top had to be "hosed down" to cool it enough to allow the capstone to fit. AMAZING. Not a single life was lost in its construction. The architect and designer of the Arch, Eero Saarinen, sadly did not live to see its finished beauty as he died of a heart attack before its completion.

Another story - in order to carry visitors and allow them to ascend to the top these engineering geniuses also had to invent a special tram. That is a whole other story. I am not a mathematician or engineer, but an appreciator of beautiful architecture. As you can see I could go on and on, and it is indeed a "Monument to a Dream".