Newspaper Clipping CollectionINTRODUCTION TO THE COLLECTIONSince the creation of the memorial, staff members of Gateway Arch National Park (formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) have saved newspaper clippings related to the memorial, the riverfront, staff members, the National Park Service in St. Louis and other topics related to the memorial. In order to make the collection finding aids a useable size and because the collection is still expanding, the archivist broke the collection into subsections divided into the terms of superintendents.Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This first section covers the period before the appointment of the first superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The newspaper clipping collection begins with Luther Ely Smith’s grand idea to memorialize Thomas Jefferson and revitalize the riverfront area. The clippings trace the progress on creation of the memorial starting in 1933 with Mayor Dickmann’s foundation of a Civic Committee to work for the establishment of a federal memorial to the Louisiana Purchase and the pioneers who went west through St. Louis. The citizens of St. Louis organized the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association in 1934 to assist in the creation of the memorial. In 1935 members of the Commission met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the Memorial. In 1935 the Board of Aldermen of St. Louis passed a bond issue in the amount of $7,500,000 for acquisition of the land. President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7253 authorizing the allocation of funds to the Secretary of the Interior for the acquisition and development of a historic site to be known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on December 21, 1935. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This second section covers the administration of John L. Nagle, first superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Under Superintendent Nagle the park focused on acquiring land for the memorial and studying the history of the St. Louis area in order to create a plan for a museum or museums. A team of historians and architectural historians headed by Charles Peterson studied not only the history of the St. Louis Riverfront and its architecture, but historical events that took place in the memorial district. They also studied the French colonial heritage of the region, uncovering examples of a rare form of vernacular architecture in Cahokia, Illinois and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. A landscape plan of the proposed memorial, “Plan 8009,” was formulated. (To read some of these reports please see another Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Archives collection, RU 118 JNEM Research Reports.) In June 1936 the National Park Service created an office in St. Louis for the development of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and named John L. Nagle superintendent. Under Nagle’s tenure the park proceeded with the acquisition of land for the memorial and conducted a great deal of historical research about the area and the early history of St. Louis. Plans were made for a museum to tell the history of the American West. During this time the inclusion of the Old Courthouse in the memorial was first considered. On July 1, 1937 the Mayor approved Ordinance 41,142 authorizing the Mayor and Comptroller to deed the Old Courthouse to the U.S. Government. The railroad tracks next to the riverfront came under consideration and the Park Service first proposed a tunnel to hide the tracks. On October 9, 1939 demolition began on buildings on the site. In May 1940 the President approved the inclusion of the Old Courthouse in the Memorial. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This third section covers the administration of Julian C. Spotts, second superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Important events under Superintendent Spotts included the restoration of the Old Courthouse, the completion of demolition on the memorial site, Eero Saarinen’s triumph in the architectural competition for the design of the Arch, and reaching an agreement concerning the relocation of railroad tracks on the Memorial site. In November 1940 Julian C. Spotts succeeded John L. Nagle as superintendent. Restoration began on the Old Courthouse including construction of a new roof, installing plumbing, heating, electrical and fire protection systems, the restoration of parts of the building and the painting of the entire exterior. In December, Presidential approval was granted for the Works Project Administration to restore the Old Rock House. Demolition of all buildings in the memorial area, which started under the previous superintendent, was completed in May 1942. In October 1942, the Museum of National Expansion opened to the public in the south wing of the Old Courthouse. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association announced the architectural competition to determine the design of the Memorial in May 1947. In February of 1948, a winner was named--Eero Saarinen for his vision of the Gateway Arch. In December 1949, the City of St. Louis, the U.S. Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association, Eero Saarinen and Associates, the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the National Park Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the relocation of the railroad tracks. In June of 1950, President Harry S Truman dedicated the site. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law 361 (H.R. 6549), an Act authorizing the construction of the memorial in accordance with the Saarinen plan and authorizing an appropriation of $5,000,000 for the memorial. In 1954, work proceeded on the restoration of the courthouse including installing light wells, new millwork, the installation of new floors, a new brick sidewalk, the restoration of murals and the restoration of the West Courtroom on the second floor. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This fourth section covers the administration of George B. Hartzog, Jr., third superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. George B. Hartzog, Jr. (1920-2008) was born to a poor family in Colleton County, South Carolina. He became the youngest ordained minister in South Carolina, and also passed the state's bar exam without attending law school in 1942. After military service with the Military Police in World War II, Mr. Hartzog began working in National Park Service administration in 1946, first in Chicago, later in Washington, D.C. He was appointed assistant superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1955, and assistant superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1957. Mr. Hartzog became superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in 1958, moving along the construction process for the creation of the Gateway Arch. He resigned in 1962 to become director of Downtown St. Louis, Inc., but was quickly asked to become Associate Director of the National Park Service in 1963, and Director in 1964. Mr. Hartzog served as director during the largest expansion period in Park Service history. He resigned in 1972, and tells his own story in the book Battling for the National Parks, (1988). A separate oral history interview with George Hartzog is available in the Gateway Arch National Park Research Center. Important events in the tenure of Superintendent Hartzog include breaking ground on the Gateway Arch, the acquisition of funds to pay for the construction of the Arch, hiring the MacDonald Construction Company to build the Gateway Arch and Visitor Center and the creation of the cooperating agreement with Bi-State Development Agency. On February 1, 1959 George B. Hartzog, Jr. became the third superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Groudbreaking ceremonies were held for the Railroad Relocation Project on June 23, 1959. Vice President Richard M. Nixon visited the Old Courthouse and Memorial development project on June 21, 1960. On August 3, 1961 President Kennedy signed the 1962 fiscal year Interior Department Appropriation Bill including $9,497,000 for construction of the Gateway Arch and Visitor Center. Matching funds from the city of St. Louis amounted to $2,835,667. MacDonald Construction Company won the bidding process to build the Gateway Arch and Visitor Center on March 14, 1962 with a bid of $11,442,418. Also on March 14 the National Park Service entered into a cooperative agreement with the Bi-State Development Agency for the construction and operation of the transportation system to service the Arch. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This fifth section covers the administration of H. Raymond Gregg, fourth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. H. Raymond Gregg was Superintendent of JEFF from August 26, 1962 to June 19, 1965, when he resigned from the National Park Service. LeRoy Brown, then Assistant Superintendent, was appointed Superintendent August 1, 1965. However, Brown had been acting in the capacity of Superintendent from December 1964, while Gregg was given special assignments by the NPS. Under Superintendent Gregg the majority of construction of the Gateway Arch occurred and filming of Monument to the Dream begun. Superintendent H. Raymond Gregg became the fourth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on August 26, 1962. On February 12, 1963, the first stainless steel section of the Gateway Arch was set in place. Also in February of 1963, the National Park Service signed an agreement to hire Charles Guggeheim to produce a motion picture about the construction of the Gateway Arch to be called Monument to the Dream. President Lyndon B. Johnson visited the Gateway Arch on February 14, 1964. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This sixth section covers the first administration of LeRoy R. Brown, both fifth and eighth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. LeRoy R. Brown (1915-1997) served as Superintendent of JNEM from 1965 to 1968 and again from 1974 to 1975. Brown was born April 8, 1915, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and began government service in 1942 in the General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C. He transferred to the National Park Service in 1943, and came to St. Louis in June 1963 as Assistant Superintendent of JNEM. JNEM's Superintendent, H. Raymond Gregg, was assigned to other projects for the NPS, leaving Brown to act as a de-facto contracting manager for the Arch construction project. Brown was finally appointed Superintendent of JNEM on August 1, 1965. For all intents and purposes, LeRoy Brown was the Superintendent of the park during the construction of the Arch, and it was his willpower and forcefulness which got the Arch constructed. Mr. Brown moved to the Regional Office in Omaha in 1968, but was later brought back to JNEM as a retired annuitant for one year as Superintendent from 1974-1975. Mr. Brown died in St. Louis in 1997. A separate interview with Mr. Brown is available in the Gateway Arch National Park Research Center. Some of the events covered by newspaper clippings in this section include: the completion of the Gateway Arch on October 28, 1965, the opening of the Museum of Westward Expansion to the public on June 9, 1967; the opening of the transportation system to the top of the Gateway Arch on July 24, 1967; and the dedication of the Gateway Arch by Vice President Hubert Humphrey on May 25, 1968. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2007 This seventh section covers the administration of Harry W. Pfanz, sixth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Dr. Harry W. Pfanz (1922-2015) was born in Columbus, Ohio and studied education at Ohio State University. After service during World War II, Pfanz obtained a Ph.D. in History from Ohio State. He served as a historian at Gettysburg National Military Park from 1956 to 1966, when he came to St. Louis as the Assistant Superintendent of JNEM. Mr. Pfanz assisted LeRoy Brown with the dedication of the Arch in 1968. Upon departing for a position in the Regional Office in 1968, LeRoy Brown urged the Regional Director to move Harry Pfanz up to the position of Superintendent at JNEM, which was done. Dr. Harry Pfanz became the sixth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in December of 1968. Pfanz stayed on in this capacity until January 1971, when he transferred to Washington, D.C. Dr. Pfanz served as Chief Historian for the NPS from 1974 to 1980. He was the author of the two most authoritative books on military tactics during the second day's fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. A separate interview with Dr. Pfanz is available in the Gateway Arch National Park Research Center. Important events in the Superintendency of Harry W. Pfanz covered in these newspaper articles include the dedication of Luther Ely Smith, the beginning of landscaping of the Gateway Arch grounds, and an instance of a plane flying illegally through the Arch. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
August 2013 This eighth section covers the administration of Ivan D. Parker, seventh superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. A native St. Louisan, he graduated from Washington University and the Missouri Institute of Law. He served in the Marine Corps. Before he became superintendent, he worked as a personnel director for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. Some of the notable events that took place in Parker’s Superintendency include: a visit from Julie Eisenhower, the opening of the Arch movie theater, symphony concerts at the Arch, the completion of the grounds landscaping and the celebration of the four millionth visitor to the Arch. In February 1974, the National Park Service offered Superintendent Parker a new assignment in Washington, D.C., but Parker decided to retire instead. Assistant Superintendent LeRoy Brown, who had returned to the memorial in that capacity just the month before from a brief retirement, became the memorial's acting superintendent. (Historical information abridged from: Sharon A. Brown, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Administrative History, 1935-1981. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: June 1984.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
September 2013 This ninth section covers the second administration of LeRoy R. Brown, both fifth and eighth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. LeRoy R. Brown (1915-1997) served as Superintendent of JNEM from 1965 to 1968 and again from 1974 to 1975. Brown was born April 8, 1915, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and began government service in 1942 in the General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C. He transferred to the National Park Service in 1943, and came to St. Louis in June 1963 as Assistant Superintendent of JNEM. JNEM's Superintendent, H. Raymond Gregg, was assigned to other projects for the NPS, leaving Brown to act as a de facto contracting manager for the Arch construction project. Brown was finally appointed Superintendent of JNEM on August 1, 1965. For all intents and purposes, LeRoy Brown was the Superintendent of the park during the construction of the Arch, and it was his willpower and forcefulness which got the Arch constructed. Mr. Brown moved to the Regional Office in Omaha in 1968, but was later brought back to JNEM as a retired annuitant for one year as Superintendent from 1974-1975. Mr. Brown died in St. Louis in 1997. A separate interview with Mr. Brown is available in the Gateway Arch National Park Research Center. Some of the notable events that took place in Brown’s second Superintendency include: planning for the Museum of Westward Expansion and exhibits at the Old Courthouse, the celebration of the five millionth visitor to the Gateway Arch, concerts at the Arch by the St. Louis Symphony and the Army Jazz Ensemble, the one hundredth anniversary of the completion of the Eads Bridge and planning for the country’s bicentennial including a series of concerts called BHAM (Bicentennial Horizons of American Music). (Biographical information provided by park historian Robert J. Moore, Jr.) Finding Aid by Jennifer R. Clark
This tenth section covers the superintendency of Robert S. Chandler, ninth superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.September 2013 Robert S. Chandler started his long and distinguished career in the National Park Service (NPS) in 1958 as a horticulturalist with National Capitol Parks after graduating from the University of Maryland. He went on to lead the Job Corps Center first at Harpers Ferry and then at their Chicago office. In addition to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, he served as superintendent at a number of other parks: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Olympic National Park, Everglades National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. At his last park post he transitioned the Presidio in San Francisco from Army post to national park. He received two awards of merit from the Department of the Interior for Meritorious and Distinguished Service. After his retirement, he served on the National Park System Advisory Board and helped to write the report, “Rethinking the National Parks for the 21st Century.” He passed away in 2010 at the age of 74. Some of the notable events that took place in Chandler’s Superintendency include: the opening of the Museum of Westward Expansion underneath the Gateway Arch; construction of the grand stairway from the river to the Arch; events for the nation’s bicentennial; the visit of Charles, Prince of Wales to the Gateway Arch and Old Courthouse; symphony concerts on the park grounds; a folklife festival at the Arch and the seeking of funds for and development of the landscape around the Gateway Arch.
Information from these collections must be properly cited, whether used in publication or in other formats. In the case of these particular collections, the subtitle of the publication should also be cited. The proper format is: National Park Service
Gateway Arch National Park Archives
Newspaper Clipping Collection: [Insert Subtitle Here] Box__, Folder__ Researchers are advised that before records, photographs, and any other unpublished materials from these collections can be published or exhibited, permission from the National Park Service must be obtained in writing. |
Last updated: June 23, 2025