Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/875351
B M & T ••• January/February 2017 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 13 T he CityArchRiver project is transforming the Gateway Arch experience by better connecting the Gateway Arch complex, riverfront and downtown St. Louis for visitors and residents alike. The Gateway Arch was built to honor President Thomas Jefferson and his dream of a continental United States. The complex's Arch Visitor Center, The Arch Store, and Monument to the Dream documentary film will remain open for business during the important construction process that brings the grounds surrounding the iconic monument into the future. Tram rides to the top of the Gateway Arch are temporar- ily suspended until spring 2017. Visitors can now explore a new pathway from the Laclede's Landing entertainment district to the Gateway Arch. The new North Gateway park section of the renovation includes 7.5 acres of new park space, a natural amphitheater, shaded lawns, pathways for cycling and pedestri- ans, the explorers' garden, diverse plantings, and a scenic raised walk- way. Additionally, a new entrance to the Arch will be reimagined featur- ing natural lighting, which will face the park over the highway. This west-facing entry plaza gives visitors an easier way to access the Gateway Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion. Overall, the park will increase in size by 11 new acres, with renovations to the his- toric Old Courthouse and a completely revamped museum experience. The museum will explore America's western journey and the important role St. Louis and its people played in the growth of the United States. More than five miles of new pathways are under development along with additional green space and pedestrian and bike-friendly lanes to encourage activity in the park and along the Mississippi River. The project will create more accessibility overall for the Arch grounds, including vehicles and other forms of transportation. The Arch grounds renovation will be a boom for meeting planners with new event spaces beneath the Arch providing unique locations and memorable backdrops for meetings. The renovated museum will also be able to accommodate events and meetings, sure to leave a last- ing impression for anyone in St. Louis on business or pleasure. After their meetings, guests can ride the elevators to the top of the nation's tallest man-made monument for 30-mile views of St. Louis and the Mississippi River. Visitors to downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch will also enjoy new attractions such as the National Blues Museum, Ballpark Village, Citygarden, and Busch Stadium all within walking dis- tance from the Arch grounds. Designed by world-renowned landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the $380 million project is scheduled for full completion in 2018. The renovation project construction has includ- ed a new park over the highway connecting the Arch grounds directly to downtown St. Louis' central business district. The new pathway pro- vides pleasant and safe green space for pedestrians walking to the monument from the historic Old Courthouse, downtown hotels and America's Center Convention Complex. CityArchRiver is providing many new reasons to visit St. Louis. For more information about the plans in store for the Gateway Arch please visit cityarchriver.org. We encourage you to visit www.explorest- louis.com to learn more about all that St. Louis has to offer your next meeting or convention. CITYARCHRIVER, RESHAPING ST. LOUIS' ICONIC MONUMENT AND THE REGION'S FUTURE