Gateway Arch replica.

Gateway Arch Replica

Architect Eero Saarinen designed the Gateway Arch, signature landmark for St. Louis, completed in 1965 (and opened in 1967). It's 630 ft. tall and 630 ft. wide. Visitors ride a tram capsule up a leg and gaze down upon the city and the Mississippi River.

But if you don't intend to take the ride, and only view the Arch from a distance, that's where the one in Vandalia comes in handy. Its replica "baby arch" is 1/10th the height of the original -- but who can tell? And it saves you an hour or more driving to the real one.

The "baby arch" tribute seems to date back to the 1960s, and for decades it was compromised by serving as a signpost for a motel, but in recent years it's just been an arch.

Gateway Arch Replica

Jay's Inn

Address:: 1500 N. Sixth St., Vandalia, IL
Directions:: I-70 exit 63. South on US 51/Kennedy Blvd one block, then turn right onto Fletcher St. Two blocks to the Arch, at the corner of Sixth St.
Phone:: 618-283-2363

Nearby Offbeat Places

Madonna of the Trail, Vandalia, IL - 1 mi.

Abe Lincoln Reading Newspaper, Vandalia, IL - 1 mi.

Kaskaskia Dragon, Vandalia, IL - 1 mi.

In the region:

Duct Tin Man, Effingham, IL - 32 mi.

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