ST. LOUIS (AP) - October marks the 50th anniversary of St. Louis' Gateway Arch, and organizers have announced plans to celebrate the occasion, including a fireworks display and a chance to meet construction workers who built the structure.
An all-day celebration is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24 in Kiener Plaza, which will include food and drink vendors, children's activities and live music, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1M4NuYq) reported. The day will end in a fireworks display showcasing the arch.
More celebrations will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, to mark the anniversary of the arch's completion. A recognition ceremony will be held at 11 a.m., which is the moment when the final piece was put into place. Journey to the Top tram ride tickets also will be sold for the original price of $1 that day.
Visitors to the top will get a "Top of the Arch" lapel button modeled after one that originally was distributed when the trams opened in 1967. They will also receive an "I went to the Top" certificate, similar to a certificate handed to riders in the 1960s.
A free Meet the Builders event also is scheduled for Oct. 28 and will be held at the Missouri History Museum. Visitors can meet the electricians, sheet-metal workers, draftsmen, field engineers and other construction workers who built the arch. They will pose for photos and sign autographs.
An "Arch Perspectives" exhibit will be on display, and it will showcase various photos of the arch throughout the years. Screenings of "Monument to the Dream" documentary will be offered throughout the day in the museum's auditorium.
A panel discussion, called The Gateway Arch: An Icon for Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, also will be held at the history museum. It will include National Park Service Historian Bob Moore and the daughter of Gateway Arch architect Eero Saarinen.
Partners and sponsors of the events include the National Park Service, CityArchRiver Foundation, Great Rivers Greenway, Bi-State Development Agency, Jefferson National Parks Association, City of St. Louis, and the Missouri History Museum.