The quieter, more contemplative half of the grounds, where curving walks replace straight lines and the North Reflecting Pond holds a mirror image of the full monument on still days. Part of the North Gateway and its Explorer's Garden, the landscape was designed to be taken slowly, with sweeping rows of trees and benches set among the lawns. Look upriver to glimpse the Eads Bridge, the 1874 crossing that was the first to span the Mississippi at this point, admired here from a distance. Off to the northwest, beneath the modern street grid, once stood the great earthworks that earned old St. Louis the name Mound City. A peaceful place to slow down, with photogenic reflections and room to wander off the busier paths.
That sheet of still water on your right is the North Reflecting Pond, and when the wind lays down it holds the whole Arch upside down — six hundred and thirty feet of steel, doubled, right at your feet. You're at the north end of the grounds now, the quieter half: the North Gateway and its Explorer's Garden, where the walks curve instead of run straight and the trees are set in long sweeping rows. There's a reflecting pond on each side of the Arch, this one its northern mirror — a landscape built to be taken slow. Look upriver to the north and you'll catch the Eads Bridge — that old crossing has a tale of its own coming up, and we're admiring it from a distance, not walking out to it. Now turn a little to the northwest, out past the trees toward the city's street grid. There's nothing much to see out there — and that is exactly the point. The oldest story on these grounds is buried in that empty middle distance, and Boone's been waiting for this spot to tell it. Stay right on the path, off the grass.
Photo: Daniel Haim · CC BY-SA 4.0
