Exploring St. Louis and Southern Illinois - The Gateway Geyser - The World's Tallest Fountain
Ms. Milton continues to produce nice posts on people, places and events in the Metro East area and Southern Illinois. Again, she describes a place just across the Mississippi River that I haven't visited. The Gateway Geyser is visible from many St. Louis locations. However, for a great place to see the Gateway Geyser, enjoy views of the Arch and Riverfront, and have a great dinner or cocktail, I would such the rooftop patio at the Cielo Restaurant at the Four Season Hotel next to Lumiere Casino. For photos and videos of the Four Season, click on photos/video.
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hooting approximately 630 feet into the air several times each day, the stunning Gateway Geyser has the power to reach for the sky and to lure drivers from the interstate highways of Southwestern Illinois for a closer look.
If you've ever wondered about that massive fountain of water that can be seen from vantage points in both Missouri and Illinois, here's your answer.
Located in the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis, Illinois, the fountain was designed as a counterpart to the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch which rises over the Missouri side of the Mississippi River as a tribute to President Thomas Jefferson and his hope for a continental United States.
Eero Saarinen, the Arch's architect, originally envisioned a park surrounding his stainless-steel sculpture that visually linked both sides of the great river.
Saarinen died before the Arch was completed and his vision remained just that until 2009 when the Illinois park and geyser opened thanks to the determination of the late Malcolm W. Martin.
A St. Louis attorney, philanthropist and civil rights champion, Martin purchased the land for the park and provided the leadership necessary to establish an organization to guide the project through to its completion. Martin modeled the geyser -- which is the world's largest man-made fresh water fountain -- after one he had seen in Geneva, Switzerland.
The main geyser sits in a six-acre, million-gallon lake (inhabited by a number of happy -- and brave -- ducks during our visit) and is surrounded by four smaller fountains that represent rivers that converge at St. Louis.
Visitors are often surprised at the noise produced by the three 800-horsepower pumps that operate the geyser. They can process 7,500 gallons of water at 250 feet per second. Just as the Gateway Arch sports an aircraft warning beacon at its summit, so does the geyser. A light on the pump shed alerts pilots that the fountain will be operating so they can avoid the area.
Erupting like Old Faithful, the Gateway Geyser operates on a set schedule at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. from April through October.
The spray from the main geyser and its four smaller companions often produces brilliant rainbows such as the one to the right which I snapped this summer.
In addition to the geyser, the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park contains a newly constructed Mississippi River Overlook which rises 40 feet high and allows visitors to see over the Mississippi River flood wall for a magnificent view of the St. Louis skyline. If you're visiting St. Louis, this is the primo location from which to take a postcard-worthy skyline image.
To reach the park and fountain, take the Fourth Street exit from I-55/70. You can follow the signs for the Casino Queen or look for the smaller fountain icon signs that are now in place. Pass the casino parking lot entrance and make a left on the road that runs parallel to the flood wall. You'll see the park, observation tower and fountain on your left.
Here's a map that will help guide you to the park.
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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a REALTOR with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on homes for sale in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville, Troy and O'Fallon. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy at Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com.
(Please note that individual listings mentioned in this blog are accurately described in terms of availability and price at the time of the posting. As properties are constantly coming on and off the market, please contact me for the latest information on those that are of particular interest to you.)
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