Museum at the Gateway Arch

About this museum

The Gateway Arch rises 630 feet above the Mississippi River, the tallest monument in the United States and one of the most elegant feats of structural engineering in American history. Beneath it - literally in the ground beneath the arch - the Museum at the Gateway Arch tells the story that the monument commemorates: the westward expansion of the United States, the Louisiana Purchase, and the journeys of Lewis and Clark, the mountain men, the pioneers, the Native peoples who inhabited and resisted, and the countless others who passed through St. Louis on their way to becoming part of the American West.The museum describes itself as a world - class institution offering a free and accessible experience for all - language that reflects both ambition and a genuine commitment to inclusion. The Eero Saarinen arch above ground belongs to everyone who visits; the museum below continues that democratic spirit. Exhibits move through the long arc of western expansion chronologically and thematically, combining original artifacts, interactive elements, and audiovisual presentations that serve visitors of all ages and backgrounds.With a 4.8 - star rating and a website at gatewayarch.com, the museum has documented its standing as one of the premier free cultural attractions in the Midwest. St. Louis is a deeply historical city - founded by French fur traders in 1764, transformed by the Louisiana Purchase, rebuilt after the Civil War, and defined by its position as the gateway to the continent's interior - and the museum does justice to the complexity of that history without flattening its contradictions.Current hours show Saturday access from 9AM to 6PM; check gatewayarch.com for the full weekly schedule. Located at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the St. Louis riverfront, the museum is a natural companion to the tram ride to the top of the arch. Admission is free. For anyone passing through St. Louis - or making it a destination - the Museum at the Gateway Arch is essential.