America's Tallest National Monument Turns 42

Today St. Louis celebrates the 42nd anniversary of its most recognizable symbol, The Gateway Arch. To this day the proclaimed 'Gateway to the West' remains synonymous with the city's landscape and culture, leaving many left to wonder where would St. Louis have been without it? Standing 630 Feet High and 630 wide, the arch has even become an international symbol for the United States. During its building process people said that it would fall and that a poorly funded project would leave the nation with a half finished monument. The construction of the largest stainless steel structure in history was not without its setbacks including budget issues and the premature death of its architect, Eero Saarinen four years before completion. As it stands today, the Gateway Arch represents the human capacity to pursue dreams and America"s ability to achieve great things. It is an architectural and design masterpiece that has touched everyone who has touched it. The comprehensive story behind this historical monument is chronicled in the award-winning Janson Media DVD The Gateway Arch: A Reflection of America, available now worldwide.

The Gateway Arch: A Reflection of America chronicles for the first time the complete story of this great American symbol... from Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and St. Louis" role in westward expansion; to the eventual construction of the largest stainless steel structure in history. The film is narrated by Academy Award-winner and St. Louis native Kevin Kline and produced by Civil Pictures, producers of the international award-winning documentary The World"s Greatest Fair. Among the documentary"s awards and accolades are 4 Mid America Emmy Awards, 2 International AVA Awards, a Telly Award, Davey Award and a Riverfront Times &'Best of St. Louis&' Award.

&'When its construction launched in 1963, St. Louis"s famed Gateway Arch had already spent decades in the rudimentary conception and discussion phases. A definitive symbol not simply of Americana, but of American westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, the arch embodies a &'gateway to the west&' - standing, as it does, at the very head of the Lewis & Clark trail - and thus, when it finally came to be, represented a culmination of almost 200 years of American history. As narrated by Academy Award-winning thespian Kevin Kline, the hour-long documentary The Gateway Arch: A Reflection of America tells the full story of the arch"s initiation as a project, its development by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, and the events that led up to its completion and designation as a national historic landmark in 1965. The program draws from exhaustive research to incorporate long-obscure construction footage from the early "60s, dozens of interviews, archival illustrations and blueprints, and much, much more.&' ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Civil Pictures is a nonprofit company dedicated to preserving history through cinema. Its goal is always to engage, to entertain, to inspire, and, most importantly, to educate a diverse local, national and international audience.