What a beautiful sight! And this is just from the parking lot. As you walk closer, you pass reflection pools, which should yield a pretty picture, right?

And they would, too, if it weren't for that pond scum. No, actually, I think that is pollen. The reflections are still nice, but they'd be nicer still without the interference.

A straight-on shot and a closer shot: the people standing there in both photos give you a better idea of the size of this thing. It is big: 630' tall, 630' leg-to-leg.

Now comes some reading, because what comes next was not photographable. I had been wanting to go up in the Arch for 30 years, but for one reason or another never did. So when I planned this trip, I said to myself, "I am going up in the Arch!"

You go down one flight underground to the lobby to pick up your ticket (which you will wish you had bought on the Internet if you didn't), then descend two or three more flights. You stand on the stairs in groups of five, each group in front of a door. The door opens, five people get out of each "car," which is like a large oil drum turned on its side. The door is 2' wide and 4' tall, so unless you are quite small (which I'm not), getting in isn't that easy. You have to step over a sill while stooping down, with nothing to hold on to. When you get most of your body in, you find you cannot stand up (unless you're less than 5' tall). I sat on the back end; there were also two seats on each side. Two kids, maybe 8 and 10 years old, got in, then their mother; next their father tried to get in, but he had mobility problems, plus being rather large, and had a very difficult time of it.

We sat there and chatted for a minute, then the door closed. Then there was a jerk, a squeak, and we started moving. The car swings a little as the "tram," as they call it, moves, so it stays upright. The man panicked; he had a frightened look on his face, and grabbed his wife. She tried to calm him. I looked at the kids; they were starting to panic, too. So big brave me, I said, "This thing has been running for 30 years and there's never been an accident. It's perfectly safe." (I didn't know if that was true or not.) The woman said something soothing, and the man calmed down. But the worst was yet to come.

After 4 minutes or so, the car stopped. The lady got out, no problem. The kids got out, no problem. The man stood up, as nearly as possible, and tried to get out, but it was even harder for him to get out than it had been for him to get in. I thought, "My god, am I going to get stuck in here?" I was getting somewhat claustrophobic by then.

But he managed to get out. Then I tried to get out, and had almost as much trouble as he did. In effect, I fell out of the thing, although I managed to remain more-or-less upright.

I continued to have trouble standing up. The floor up there is not level, but on an arc. The room you go into is only 6'9" high and 7'2" wide, and 65' long, and there must have been over 100 people in it. I have a hard time being in a crowded room, and with the floor not level and being 630' above the ground, I found it very unpleasant.

But I had waited 30 years for this, and I wasn't about to leave there with no photos. I headed in the direction of one of the tiny (7" x 27") windows when a girl charged in front of me, almost knocking me down. So I headed for a different window, and felt vertigo coming on. I deliberately forced myself to remain calm, walked slowly over to the window, and shot this picture.

Next I crossed the room, found an empty window, and shot a photo in that direction. I wanted to walk the length of the room, but it was packed with people, and I felt panicky, so I headed for the stairs to the tram.

The ride back down was uneventful, and I was glad to get out of there.

Back outside, the air felt delightful. I took a stroll on the esplanade, and went to find a place to eat.

Well, I am glad I went to the top. It wasn't much fun, but still it was a good experience. If you have good mobility and aren't afraid of heights and are not claustrophobic and do not mind crowded places, you definitely should "take the tram."

Interesting articles about the Arch may be found here. Click on "In Depth."

Photos and text ©D.L. Mark 2002

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