10th and St. Charles, St. Louis, Missouri, 1978

Every city has a celebrated monument that sets it apart: A tower or cathedral, a square or park. St. Louis has the Arch. I found it deeply moving and profound. There were days when standing beneath the Arch, I felt I knew the power of the pyramids. It was restorative, contemplative. It was more than a technological marvel or a symbol. It was pure form, the beauty of mathematics, a drawing on the heavens, perfect pitch. It was constant and it was never the same. Light and color made their way over its surface.

I have seen the Arch change from blinding white to deep black in broad daylight. I have seen it disappear, reflect like a mirror, and turn pink, sometimes all in one day. Standing beside it, one sees human scale diminish as when a figure stands at the ocean's edge. The Arch contains the space that cathedrals aspire to, and you feel it most when you submit to it.