Wender·Vista
Gateway Arch National Park
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the Mississippi riverfront in downtown St. Louis

Gateway Arch National Park

— — a curve of stainless steel against the river sky.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The smallest national park in the system, sitting on 91 acres of riverfront in downtown St. Louis. Eero Saarinen's arch rises 630 feet above the Mississippi, the tallest man-made monument in the United States and a clean weighted catenary in stainless steel. The Old Courthouse stands at the foot of the lawn, where Dred Scott first sued for freedom in 1846.

from the studio
Gateway Arch National Park
— bring it home

Gateway Arch National Park, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Gateway Arch National Park

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Gateway Arch National Park covers 91 acres along the west bank of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It is the smallest unit in the National Park System and the only national park set inside an active American downtown. Congress redesignated the site from the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to a national park in February 2018. The park commemorates the city's role as the gateway to the American West in the nineteenth century and the Lewis and Clark expedition's departure up the Missouri River in May 1804.

— the light

The arch is clad in 886 tons of stainless steel, polished to a mirror finish that catches every weather. Mornings on the river turn it copper-rose; midday reads silver-white; late afternoon throws a long shadow across the lawn and onto the courthouse dome. Eero Saarinen specified a weighted catenary so the curve would read as natural geometry rather than imposed form. Photographers shooting from the Illinois side at the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park frame the full sweep with the Old Courthouse standing beneath.

— the visit

The Tram to the Top runs from a visitor centre beneath the lawn and carries passengers in small five-seat capsules to the observation deck, 630 feet above the riverbank. Tickets are timed and capacity is roughly 6,400 visitors a day; summer slots regularly sell out by midmorning. The Museum at the Gateway Arch, opened in 2018, is free and traces the westward expansion from the Louisiana Purchase forward. The Old Courthouse is currently undergoing exterior restoration and reopens by phase.

— where
United States · St. Louis, Missouri
— within
Gateway Arch National Park
— position
38.6247° N · 90.1848° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Old Courthouse
1839 federal courthouse
1 km W
Busch Stadium
baseball stadium
9 km W
Forest Park
urban park
13 km E
Cahokia Mounds
ancient earthworks
N
Gateway Arch National Park
Old Courthouse
Busch Stadium
Forest Park
Cahokia Mounds
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Gateway Arch National Park — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

630 feet, both width and height. It is as wide at the base as it is tall, and remains the tallest man-made monument in the United States.

The Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who won the design competition in 1947. The arch was completed in 1965, four years after his death from a brain tumour at age 51.

In February 2018, when Congress redesignated the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial as Gateway Arch National Park. It is the smallest unit in the National Park System at 91 acres.

The 1839 federal courthouse on the park grounds. Dred Scott first sued for freedom there in 1846, in the case that reached the Supreme Court as Dred Scott v. Sandford eleven years later.

A tram of small five-passenger capsules climbs through the legs of the arch in about four minutes. Tickets are timed and often sell out the same day in summer.

Close, but technically a weighted catenary, wider and thicker at the base and narrowing toward the apex. Saarinen and the engineer Hannskarl Bandel chose the form so it would read as a natural curve.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers who grew up in St. Louis or moved away from it. The arch carries the city the way the Eiffel Tower carries Paris. A Small with a handwritten note travels well.

The silver curve and river greys suit Mid-Century Modern, Industrial Loft, and American Modernist rooms. It also holds its own against a black accent wall in a Minimalist study.

Yes. Saarinen sits at the centre of the current Mid-Century revival, and a piece that references his most famous work pairs naturally with Eames, Knoll, and Florence Knoll furniture.

A single Large reads well above a console. For a sofa wall, a 4-tile Mural holds the space; a 9-tile Mural anchors a larger room with high ceilings and a long sightline.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any wet or vertical install. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and will not lift in steam or warm shower air.

A microfibre cloth and water. The finish does not need polish or sealant. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based sprays, which dull the surface over time.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender, our curator. We do not licence outside imagery and we do not resell.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.