Meet me in St. Louie, Louie

Today I'm again joining Jo from Let's Art Journal who is our host this month at Art Journal Journey with her Hello Springtime theme.  I'm also joining Moo-Mania and More with their Colo(u)rful theme.  In addition to that, I'm joining Try it on Tuesday with their Say it with Flowers theme.

It's definitely springtime at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO (Missouri, the state just east of Kansas in the U.S.).

According to Moo-Mania and More, they want to see colo(u)r in our entries with hardly any or no white areas.  I assure you, the arch is silver, made of brushed steel, and the clouds are the only white in this entry.

I may be stretching Try it on Tuesday's theme, but these are definitely flowering trees.  They even make a statement! 

The paper doll stands on washi tape (both the tape and the doll are by Tim Holtz).

I took a bit of license on this song.  The second line is actually "meet me at the fair."  This sentiment reads:

Meet me in St. Louie, Louie.
Meet me at the Arch.

The arch grounds look NOTHING like the last time I was there.  That doesn't surprise me, though, since I haven't been to the arch since the mid-1990s.

I began to wonder when all these flowering trees were planted.

Nothing like the internet to help fill in the blanks.

For this page, I began by printing a music score I found in my stash.  I'm not sure if it came from the Graphics Fairy or the New York Public Library.  I added it to my Challenges altered book using very strong double sided tape.  I did the same with the image I found in a magazine.  I used the same tape to adhere the image. When I laid the book completely flat, the pink paper broke at the center of the book.  I used the flower I created from punches to hide the page number and reinforce the flower theme.

Now I digress.  Years ago, I traveled to New York to see the reopening of the Statue of Liberty.  I was there on day four of the reopening.  I was young and dumb, and got sucked into Lee Iaccoca's promises, since I thought it was a good cause to repair the Statue.  When I got home, people asked what I thought of the Statue of Liberty.  I told them how disappointed I was.  It was NOTHING like the Arch, which I had already visited several times.

First, when you visit the Arch, you may take as much time as you like to take photos, appreciate the beauty of both the river and the city of St. Louis from high above.  Even though I'm frightened of heights, this didn't frighten me, and it was exhilarating.  For the Arch, you take a tram to the top and stay as long as you like.  There are viewing areas/windows that allow you to see from both sides.

When I visited the Statue of Liberty, I climbed the 354 steps, many of them tight.  I was in excellent physical health, but many people would not have made it.  My friend Sally wouldn't have even fit in the tight 19 inch staircase which winds to the top of the crown.  Back then, they allowed people who wanted to climb to the top to do so.  Now they only allow a limited number per day to climb to the crown.  Once up top, we were forced to keep moving.  I only had a brief time to take a few photos from the viewing windows and had to move on.  Such a disappointment.  It also wasn't as high (tall) as I anticipated it would be, either.  Certainly not like the Arch, which spoiled me for views and beauty.

While at the arch, you learn how it was created.  Much of the final work had to be done at night or early morning, since once the sun heated the arch, it distorted the two legs (until they were assembled, that is).

Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, as seen from the top of the Gateway arch. Compliments of Wikipedia.

The Arch grounds were completely revamped beginning in 2015.  This and all following photos are from the St. Louis Dispatch, the city's main newspaper.

Back in the 80s, the City had concerts on the lawn in front of the Arch every July 4th.  I saw famous people like Elton John, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Willie Nelson, and others.  There were up to 850,000 people in attendance at some of the concerts.  It was summer and humid, but if it rained, the ground, which was basically fill dirt, turned to mud.  Believe me, I know.

Apparently that isn't the case anymore.  Now the project has brought in tons and tons of topsoil and planted nearly 4200 London Plane trees.  This is no longer a St. Louis National Expansion Memorial, because in 2018, according to Wikipedia:

The United States Congress approved the Gateway Arch National Park Designation Act in early 2018 to re-designate Jefferson National Expansion Memorial as Gateway Arch National Park. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the act into law on February 22, 2018.

This is a concept drawing, so I have no idea what the Arch looks like today.  However, you can see the trees that line both sides of the Arch.  Perhaps you will meet me under the Arch, too!

I'm so glad you decided to visit today.  Please also join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey, Try it on Tuesday, and Moo-Mania and More, too.