Monumental Reflections
Episode 1 of 1

After more than four decades dominating the St. Louis skyline, the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch has come to symbolize more than westward expansion. Magnificent in its simplicity, it is both sculpture and architecture - a tribute to the complex texture of America's past. MONUMENTAL REFLECTIONS, a provocative, affectionate and sometimes irreverent look at a national icon, re-examines the meaning of the Gateway Arch to its hometown and its country. The documentary travels to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit to uncover the roots of architect Eero Saarinen's inspiration, and to the Osage Indian Reservation in Oklahoma for an alternative interpretation of Manifest Destiny. In addition, artists, historians and construction workers who helped build the Arch share their views on the structure.