History of the Gateway Arch in Defiance
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The St. Louis Gateway Arch was completed on October 28, 1965. Architect Eero Saarinen
claimed it symbolized “the gateway to the West, the national expansion… and whatnot.” The
Arch is the tallest stainless steel monument in the world, constructed from 142 steel triangles
consisting of a hollow inner structure and an outer shell. Once in place, concrete was poured
between the outer layers and strengthened with tension bars set into the concrete. It stands 630
feet high and 630 feet wide – a shape known as a weighted catenary arch. Vice President
Hubert Humphrey declared the arch to be "a soaring curve in the sky that links the rich heritage
of yesterday with the richer future of tomorrow."
The Arch stood relatively undisturbed until the outbreak of the Pale Wars, when Nolan was
conscripted to fight for the EMC. He didn’t have long to wait. During the First Battle of St.
Louis, shelling from Votan artillery peeled away much of the Arch’s stainless-steel outer skin,
pitting the concrete layer inside like an apple core. Portions of the substructure became visible
for the first time, and the Arch loomed like a tattered ghost over the ruined city. It was in this
sad state that Nolan last laid eyes on the Arch. He left St. Louis, vowing never to return.
The Arkfall event of 2030 wrought havoc upon St. Louis. Entire city blocks were ground to
dust as slabs of rock rose and fell, burying most of the buildings (not to mention the Mississippi
river) deep underground. A pocket of surviving buildings exists known as "Old St. Louis,"
encased in permanent darkness far below the surface. Miraculously, the Arch itself was ripped
from its foundations and was thrust upward along with the newly terraformed crust. It remains
tethered to the surface, though only the top 300 feet of the Arch are now visible above ground.
The odds of the Arch surviving intact were astronomically low. Most people saw this as divine
intervention, or a sign of the resiliency of life on Earth. Others speculated some external force
must have saved the Arch from destruction.
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Early production design demonstrating how only the top 300’ feet of the Arch would appear over the town
One of the people who thought that the Arch owed its continued existence to external influence
was a woman named Nicolette Riordon, who was a low-level clerk with the newly formed
Earth Republic. Against the wishes of her superiors, she led an expedition to St. Louis. There
she met Rafe McCawley, who after his stint with the EMC Corp of Engineers during the war
had set up a small mining operation. As the two biggest personalities in the mining camp, Rafe
and Nicky argued frequently, and often seemed at cross purposes. They were both taken by
surprise when Rafe's team hit a massive vein of gulanite, which started a gulanite rush.
Hundreds of prospectors flocked to Missouri, and within a couple years a boom town had
sprung up. In 2037, it was christened Defiance and Nicky was elected its first mayor.
Rafe McCawley’s mining company quickly became the most powerful operation in town (he’d
soon consolidate all his rivals under his own banner). It was Nicky who suggested to Rafe that
they should resurface the Arch as a symbol that humanity wouldn’t let the Votans wipe them off
the face of the earth. Rafe’s team rebuilt the wall and plaque at the base of the Arch to make it
feel a little more familiar. However, as the engineers began to work on the higher portion of the
Arch, they ran into severe problems. The concrete holding the layers together was badly eroded
to the point that the simple act of renovation threatened the stability of the entire structure.
Much to Rafe’s chagrin, Nicky turned to “the enemy” for assistance. A group of Indogene
engineers agreed to provide the advanced technology required to strengthen the Arch's
substructure. Castithan merchants acquired the rare and necessary Votan components. The
renovation began in earnest, becoming a symbol of the resiliency of all forms of life.
By 2046, the majority of the structural work on the Arch has been completed, though several
sections are still under construction. Scaffolding moves up one side of the Arch as sections are
reinforced and resurfaced. Only one of the two elevators leading up to the observation deck has
been restored to working order (the one on the side with the scaffolding is earmarked for a later
date). The outer metal skin has been replaced. This allows the entire surface of the arch to
function as a powerful broadcast tower. Repeaters are set up along the ridge of the shield wall
that surrounds Defiance Valley. Alak Tarr has set up a radio station atop the Arch using
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salvaged equipment, taking advantage of its height for optimal transmission. He broadcasts
under the watchful eye of Amanda, who insists that Alak augment his rockin’ tunes with regular
reports on weather and current events.
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Partway through construction, workers removed the dedication plaque set into one leg of the
Arch, revealing a time capsule that had been placed there back in 1965 on the day of the Arch’s
dedication. It contained signatures of 1500 schoolchildren present that day. Sparking to this
idea, humans and Votans plan to re-dedicate the Arch upon its completion, adding their own
plaque and time capsule on the base of the opposite leg. It will contain the names of loved ones
lost in the Pale Wars.