Jefferson National Expansion Administrative History

¹Memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 12 January 1949, JEFF; memorandum, J.B. Rasbach to Director NPS, 15 February 1949, JEFF.

²Memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 1 March 1949, JNEMA.

³Ibid.; memorandum, Drury to Superintendent JNEM, 4 March 1949, JNEMA.

⁴Richmond C. Coburn to Smith, 21 April 1949, JNEMA; Spotts to Saarinen, 22 April 1949, JNEMA; Spotts to Clifford Shoemaker, 31 May 1949, JNEMA.

⁵"Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting" Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association, 29 June 1949, typed meeting minutes, JNEMA; memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 8 July 1949, JNEMA; memorandum for the files, comments made at meeting of July 7 1949, in Mayor Darst's office, typed comments, JNEMA.

⁶Eero Saarinen, Report on Modifications to the McDevitt Levee Tunnel Plan as requested by architects in meeting July 8 1949, 14 July 1949, JNEMA; memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 8 July, JNEMA.

⁷William Crowdus to Smith, 8 July 1949, JNEMA; Chester Davis to Smith, 11 July 1949, JNEMA.

⁸Memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 12 July 1949, JEFF; Eero Saarinen, Levee Plan Limits Freedom to Cope with Unknown Factors in Design of Memorial, 15 July 1949, JNEMA.

⁹Joseph Darst to Julius Krug, 22 July 1949, JNEMA; The Jefferson Memorial: A Compendium of Relative Facts to Date, n.d., typed report, JNEMA.

¹⁰Krug to Darst, 11 August 1949, JNEMA.

¹¹Crowdus to Saarinen, 15 August 1949, JNEMA; memorandum (confidential), Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 21 September 1949, JNEMA; memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 28 September 1949, JNEMA. In stressing the need for parking, Mayor Darst estimated that space would be needed for 3,500 autos daily. Spotts doubted that 10,000 visitors would ever attend the memorial on any given day except for special occasions. Such a large visitation would seriously damage the area from overuse. In 1978 the memorial's highest attendance stood at 3,500,000 for a calendar year.

¹²"Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting," Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association, 30 October 1949, meeting minutes, JNEMA.

¹³Saarinen to Smith, 24 October 1949.

¹⁴Memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 26 October 1949, JNEMA; St. Louis Star-Times, 26 October 1949, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 26 October 1949.

¹⁵William Wurster to William Crowdus, 1 November 1949, JNEMA.

¹⁶Memorandum, Director NPS to Secretary of the Interior, 2 November 1949, JNEMA.

¹⁷Saarinen to Spotts, 5 November 1949, JNEMA.

¹⁸St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 9 November 1949; telegram, Clinton Anderson to Smith, 7 November 1949, JNEMA.

¹⁹St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 14 November 1949; Darst to Smith, 23 November 1949, JNEMA.

²⁰Memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 30 November 1949, JNEMA. Saarinen and Severud estimated that the Arch, complete with foundations and elevators, would cost $6,500,000.

²¹Memorandum of Understanding, 6 December 1949, JNEMA. Those signing the document: Mayor Joseph Darst, P.J. Neff, chief executive officer for the trustees, Missouri Pacific Railroad; Armstrong Chinn, president, Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis; Luther Ely Smith for the commission, William Crowdus for the association, Eero Saarinen and National Park Service Director Newton Drury.

²²Memorandum, Associate Director NPS to Secretary of the Interior, 8 December 1949, JNEMA; Memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 13 January 1950, JEFF.

²³Memorandum, Superintendent, JNEM to Regional Director, Region Two, 8 December 1949, JNEMA.

²⁴Ibid.

²⁵Spotts to Saarinen, 22 December 1949, JNEMA; Saarinen to Spotts, 14 December 1949, JNEMA.

²⁶Spotts to Saarinen, 22 December 1949, JNEMA.

²⁷See St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis Globe-Democrat and the St. Louis Star-Times, October-November-December, 1949 (especially the Star-Times, 28-30 November, 1-2 December, 1949). Association members sought citizen support by placing an ad entitled "Wake Up St. Louis" in all three newspapers on November 8. Many letters of support came in. Attacks on the Arch came from some businessmen who feared a "white elephant." St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 28 October 1949. The president of the Cardinal baseball organization proposed placing a stadium on the site, which provoked even more controversy. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4 November 1949.

²⁸St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 9 December 1949.

²⁹Smith to Chapman, 10 December 1949, JNEMA.

³⁰St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 14 November 1949. For more information on the deteriorated state of the parks in the late 1940s and early 1950s, see John Ise, Our National Park Policy (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press 1961), Chapters XXI and XXV.

³¹Memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 18 February 1949, JNEMA; Smith to Drury, 24 February 1949, JNEMA; "Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting," Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association, 6 May 1949, typed meeting minutes, JNEMA; memorandum, Spotts to Director NPS, 11 May 1949, JEFF.

³²Spotts to Saarinen, 22 December 1949, JNEMA. St. Louis Counselor Crowe, Terminal counsel Richard Coburn, and association members agreed on the draft. The commission's executive committee approved the draft on December 19. Smith to John Sullivan, 29 December 1949, JNEMA; Smith to Wayne Morse, 30 December 1949, JNEMA.

³³Smith to Oscar Chapman, 11 February 1950, JNEMA; Bill, S. 2784, U.S. Senate, 81st Congress, 2nd session, 5 January 1950, JNEMA; Smith to Horace Albright, 21 February 1950, JNEMA.

³⁴Smith to Clinton Anderson, 17 February 1950, JNEMA; Smith to Ken Regan, 6 March 1950, JNEMA; see Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association legislative files.

³⁵Secretary of the Interior to Carl Hayden, 3 May, 1950, JNEMA; William Warne to Mary Norton, 10 May 1950, JNEMA; telegram, Smith to Chapman, 6 March 1950, JNEMA.

³⁶Smith to Morse, 2 May 1950, JNEMA.

³⁷Record of Reports to the Committee on House Administration, House of Representatives and Hearing Before the Library Subcommittee, 10 May 1950, typed report, JNEMA.

³⁸Sullivan to Crowdus, 16 May 1950, JNEMA; Bill, H.R. 8591, House of Representatives, 81st Congress, 2nd session, 22 May 1950.

³⁹Joseph Darst to Forrest Smith, 2 February 1950, Forrest Smith Papers, file No. 858, WHMC.

⁴⁰Program, Thirty-Fifth Division, Thirtieth Reunion, 9, 10, 11 June 1950, JNEMA; St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 11 June 1950. The reunion attracted such notables as the French ambassador to the United States, various state governors, cabinet members, congressmen and army brass. Both Mayor Joseph Darst and Missouri Governor Forrest Smith walked in the parade with Truman, but newspaper accounts said that Darst was wilting and Smith was limping by the time they reached the Old Courthouse. The walk did not seem to affect "spry" Truman. In his speech, Truman accused the Soviet Union of preparing for war, had harsh words for American isolationists, and compared the importance of foreign policy in Jefferson's day with that of 1950.

⁴¹Telegram, Joseph Darst to Mary Norton, 27 June 1950, JNEMA.

⁴²Report (to accompany H.R. 8591), House of Representatives, 81st Congress, 2nd session, no. 2433, 29 June 1950; telegram, William Semsrott to Smith, 29 June 1950, JNEMA.

⁴³Smith to Clinton Anderson, 1 July 1950, JNEMA; Bill, S. 3867, U.S. Senate, 81st Congress, 2nd session, 6 July 1950, JNEMA; Anderson to Semsrott, 25 July 1950, JNEMA.

⁴⁴Crowdus to Alben Barkley, 27 July 1950, JNEMA.

⁴⁵Smith to Barkley, 2 August 1950, JNEMA; Anderson to Drury, 3 August 1950, JNEMA.

⁴⁶Drury to Anderson, 9 August 1950, JNEMA.

⁴⁷Anderson to Semsrott, 14 September 1950, JNEMA.

⁴⁸Memorandum, Smith and Semsrott to Ronald J. Foulis, 15 September 1950, JNEMA; Sullivan to Crowdus, 20 September 1950, JNEMA.

⁴⁹Semsrott to Anderson, 2 October 1950, JNEMA; Crowdus to Regan, 5 October 1950, JNEMA.

⁵⁰Mrs. Perry S. Forthmann to Foulis, 21 October 1950, JNEMA; Smith to Howard I. Young, 24 November 1950, JNEMA; report by William Semsrott, 1 December 1950, JNEMA; Regan to James Douglas, 4 December 1950, JNEMA.

⁵¹Stanley Rector to Douglas, 7 December 1950, JNEMA; Crowdus to members of the Board of Trustees, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association, 14 December 1950, JNEMA; Sullivan to Crowdus, 20 September 1950, JNEMA.

⁵²Spotts to Saarinen, 16 January 1950, JNEMA.

⁵³Memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 25 January 1950, JNEMA.

⁵⁴Armstrong Chinn to Frank J. McDevitt, 1 February 1950, JNEMA; Spotts to Saarinen, 3 February 1950, JNEMA; Saarinen to Spotts, 14 February 1950, JNEMA.

⁵⁵Darst to Spotts, 7 March 1950, JEFF; "Minutes of Conference, Mayor's Office," 14 March 1950, typed meeting minutes, JEFF; James Crowe to C.O. Griffis, 14 April 1950, JEFF; Armstrong Chinn to Forrest G. Ferris, Jr., 26 April 1950, JEFF.

⁵⁶Forrest G. Ferris, Jr. to Smith, 31 May 1950, JNEMA; Complaint Before the Public Service Commission of the State of Missouri, City of St. Louis, Missouri and Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association v. Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, St. Louis Merchants Bridge Terminal Railway Company, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company 24 May 1950, JEFF.

⁵⁷State of Missouri Public Service Commission City of St. Louis v. Terminal Railroad, transcript, 14 June 1950, p. 51, JEFF.

⁵⁸Ibid., p. 54.

⁵⁹Ibid., p. 57.

⁶⁰State of Missouri Public Service Commission, City of St. Louis v. Terminal Railroad, transcript, oral argument, 8 September 1950, pp. 23, 33-34, JEFF. Louis La Beaume, a former jury member for the architectural competition, also testified before the commission. He advocated placing a concrete embankment carrying the tracks across the front of the memorial. In his judgment the proposal would not destroy Saarinen's plans but would serve useful purposes. Cheaper than a tunnel, the embankment would allow the train passengers to see the memorial. The defendant's counsel, Ernest Hubbell, praised the plan while city counselor Forrest G. Ferris, Jr. condemned it; pp. 21-22, 42-44.

⁶¹Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association to Clinton Anderson, 18 August 1952, JNEMA; Saarinen to Spotts, 13 August 1952, JNEMA.

⁶²Memorandum, Lawrence Merriam to Director NPS, 24 February 1950, JNEMA; memorandum, Conrad Wirth to Regional Director, 16 March 1950, JNEMA; memorandum, Regional Director to Superintendent JNEM, 31 March 1950, JNEMA.

⁶³Smith to Wayne Morse, 3 January 1951, JNEMA; Bill, S. 230, U.S. Senate, 82nd Congress, 1st session, 8 January 1951, JNEMA; Bill, H.R. 2937, U.S. House of Representatives, 82nd Congress, 1st Session, 27 February 1951, JNEMA. The introduction of the House bill was delayed due to the death of Representative John B. Sullivan in January 1951. House Speaker Sam Rayburn appointed Representative Frank Karsten to the United States Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission to fill Sullivan's vacancy. Smith to Alben Barkley, 6 February 1951, JNEMA.

⁶⁴Ronald Foulis to William Semsrott, 19 January 1951, JNEMA; In Re Jefferson National Expansion Memorial S. 3867 and H.R. 8591, 81st Congress, typed report, n.d., JNEMA.

⁶⁵Anderson to Smith, 10 January 1951, JNEMA.

⁶⁶Foulis to Thomas C. Hennings, Jr., 22 January 1951, JNEMA; Foulis to Frank Karsten, 8 February 1951, JNEMA; Hennings to Foulis, 8 February 1951, JNEMA.

⁶⁷Report by W.H. Semsrott on Status of Riverfront Legislation in Washington, 19 February 1951, JNEMA.

⁶⁸Karsten to Foulis, 5 March 1951, JNEMA.

⁶⁹Stanley Rector to William Semsrott, 23 April 1951, JNEMA.

⁷⁰St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 April 1951; William Crowdus to Luther Ely Smith, Jr., 4 April 1951, Luther Ely Smith Papers, file: death, Smith, L.E., MHS; Drury to Smith, 20 March 1951, Luther Ely Smith Papers, file: Personal Files N, MHS.

⁷¹Hennings to Crowdus, 8 May 1951, JNEMA.

⁷²Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association to Clinton Anderson, 7 June 1951, JNEMA; Karsten to Crowdus, 9 June 1951, JNEMA.

⁷³Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association to Clinton Anderson, 7 June 1951, JNEMA, Crowdus to Regan, 7 June 1951, JNEMA.

⁷⁴Mrs. Perry S. Forthmann to Saarinen, 17 July 1951, JNEMA.

⁷⁵Report of Mr. William H. Semsrott, 30 August 1951, JNEMA.

⁷⁶Memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 13 April 1951, JEFF; memorandum, Superintendent JNEM to Director NPS, 23 February 1951; JNEMA; St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 15 February 1951; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 30 March 1951.

⁷⁷Saarinen to Spotts, 26 January 1951, JNEMA; memorandum, Spotts to Regional Director NPS, 6 February 1951, JNEMA; memorandum, Regional Director to Director NPS, 21 February 1951, JNEMA.

⁷⁸Memorandum, Spotts, to Regional Director, NPS, 2 July 1951, JNEMA.

⁷⁹Forthmann to Saarinen, 26 January 1951, JNEMA.