When people from outside of St. Louis think of this city, the first thing that comes to mind is the Arch—the Gateway to the West. And while the Arch and its surrounding grounds are one of the region’s greatest assets—they are also one of its most underutilized.
First and foremost, we need to physically connect the Arch grounds with the rest of downtown. Last year, close to 4 million people visited the Arch. Yet, the Arch is so separate from downtown that many of these people never made their way into the rest of downtown. One of the recommendations of Downtown Now! (a civic partnership of the RCGA, the City of St. Louis, Downtown St. Louis Partnership, St. Louis 2004) is to put a grass-covered “lid” over the depressed lanes of I-70, to encourage pedestrians to explore the rest of the city.
Second, we need to allow people to use the Arch grounds more than once a year. Other than the July 4th weekend, the use of the Arch grounds is restricted by the National Park Service. Instead of maintaining the grounds as an antiseptic area devoid of people, we need to make this green space available for family picnics, touch football, concerts, outdoor festivals, or what have you. The Arch grounds are the largest open space downtown, offering a spectacular setting, with views of the river and the Arch. Much like the wonderfully animated Washington Monument grounds and adjoining Mall in the nation’s capital, we need to capitalize on this strength.
The Gateway to the West brings to mind another Gateway, the Technology Gateway Alliance, an RCGA sister organization that has developed as a natural extension of the St. Louis Regional FAST 50 Technology Awards, featured in this month’s cover story. The Alliance, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary, has more than 200 members—double the number of members that were expected by this time. In fact the Alliance is one of the fastest-starting such high-tech organizations in the country.
Technology Gateway has brought together the leaders of this region’s technology community, to advance the technology economy in the St. Louis area. In that vein, the Alliance and the RCGA are particularly pleased to be co-sponsoring with the Missouri Venture Forum the InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum in May 2000. This will be the first venture capital forum in the Midwest specifically for high-tech companies.(See story on page 32).
The Technology Gateway Alliance is making things happen as quickly as technology itself is changing. The St. Louis region is doing much more than just keeping up, it is forging new ground.
Richard C.D. Fleming
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association
