Editing Gateway Arch (section)

===Final preparations (1959–1968)===
[[File:Gateway Arch.stl|thumb|3-D model of the Arch]]
Saarinen and city functionaries collaborated to [[zoning|zone]] buildings near the arch. In April 1959, real estate developer Lewis Kitchen decided to construct two 40-level edifices across from the arch. In July, after the plan was condemned for its potential obstruction of the arch, Kitchen discussed the issue with officials. A decision was delayed for several months because Saarinen had yet to designate the arch's height, projected between {{convert|590|and|630|ft|m}}. By October, Mayor Tucker and Director Wirth resolved to restrict the height of buildings opposite the arch to {{convert|275|ft|m}} (about 27 levels), and the city stated that plans for buildings opposite the arch would require its endorsement. Kitchen then decreased the height of his buildings, while Saarinen increased that of the arch.<ref name="Brown7">{{harvp |ps=. |Brown |1984 |loc=<!-- NEED WEBCITE LINK -->[http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-7.htm Chpt 7 (1959–1968)]}} Archived from [http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jeff/adhi1-7.htm the original] on May 15, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.</ref>

Moving the railroad tracks was the first stage of the project. On May 6, 1959, after an official conference, the Public Service Commission called for ventilation to accompany the tunnel's construction, which entailed "placing 3,000 feet of dual tracks into a tunnel 105 feet west of the elevated railroad, along with filling, grading, and trestle work." Eight bids for the work were reviewed on June 8 in the Old Courthouse, and the MacDonald Construction Co. of St. Louis<ref name="modernsteel.com"/> won with a bid of $2,426,115, less than NPS's estimate of the cost. At 10:30&nbsp;a.m. on June 23, 1959, the [[groundbreaking]] ceremony occurred; Tucker spaded the first portion of earth. Wirth and Dickmann delivered speeches.<ref name="Brown7"/>

The NPS acquired the $500,000 in escrow and transferred it to MacDonald to begin building the new tracks. In August, demolition of the Old Rock House{{#tag:ref |Built in 1818 by [[Manuel Lisa]], it was St. Louis' oldest standing building when Roosevelt approved the memorial in 1935.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/lewisclark2/circa1804/stlouis/BlockInfo/Block8BOldRockHouse.htm |title=Old Rock House |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=May 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827024310/http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/StLouis/BlockInfo/Block8BOldRockHouse.htm |archive-date=August 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |group=lower-alpha}} was complete, with workers beginning to excavate the tunnel. In November, they began shaping the tunnel's walls with concrete. Twenty-nine percent of the construction was completed by March and 95% by November. On November 17, trains began to use the new tracks. June 1962 was the projected date of fruition.<ref name="Brown7"/>

On May 16, 1959, the [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies|Senate appropriations subcommittee]] received from St. Louis legislators a request for $2.4911&nbsp;million, of which it granted only $133,000. Wirth recommended that they reseek the funds in January 1960.<ref name="Brown7"/>

On March 10, 1959, Regional Director Howard Baker <!-- Howard W. Baker, not Howard Baker, Sr. or his son --> received $888,000 as the city's first subsidy for the project. On December 1, 1961, $23,003,150 in total had been authorized, with $19,657,483 already appropriated—$3,345,667 remained not yet appropriated.<ref name="Brown7"/>