Bits and pieces of the former World Trade Center have found their place all over the country at local fire departments, government buildings, and police stations as part of memorials to remember the events of September 11, 2001. The latest piece of the towers—an I-beam—is on its way to Wichita, Kansas where it will be used as part of the country’s first airport sculpture using materials from the World Trade Center.

The unique art installation should be in place in time for the tenth anniversary of the attacks later this year, and it will greet travelers right inside the airport terminal. Airport officials worked to acquire the beam from ground zero for about two years, and have been working with artists to turn the beam into a sculpture and memorial suitable for display. ]]> kjb 2011-06-20T10:39:45-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/8/25/71534/2477

We knew that St. Louis was busy looking for some help giving a facelift to their city’s most famous attraction. However, it now looks like things are getting pretty serious as park officials and organizers have finalized an open call for plans, suggestions, and proposals to improve the Gateway Arch.

Specifically they’re looking to update and upgrade the park that surrounds the monument, the one dedicated to the American dream of heading west. Already there are plenty of naysayers that dislike that the current park, as it and the monument are detached from the rest of downtown and a huge intestate next to the Arch doesn’t really help things either. ]]> kjb 2010-08-25T09:16:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/28/82332/762

Now that Southwest Airlines has announced that they are all about St. Louis, the city is eager to get to work on their most famous attraction. After all, with an influx of new visitors thanks to cheap flights, the city needs to show off its offerings. Late last week the National Park Service released an almost 300 page set of plans dealing with the future of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial—that’s the Gateway Arch for those less familiar with its full name.

The park service is looking to preserve and maintain the grand lawn area beneath the Arch and wants to add some snazzy new stuff to the north and south ends of the area. The entire memorial is almost 100 acres large, so they have a lot of room to play with. One of the biggest updates would be to expand the park across the Mississippi River. That would provide East St. Louis with a little Arch love, and would allow the Arch to be better connected to the downtown area. Certain blocks downtown could be cleared to allow for new walkways for pedestrians to check things out. ]]> kjb 2009-10-28T16:09:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/24/131811/479

The Mémorial Canadien de Vimy in France is a towering tribute--austere in height but ornamented at the base--to Canada's World War I dead on the Continent who never received a proper burial. And though we're hard pressed to find anything aphrodisiac about it, after two instances of public exhibitionism with the memorial as a backdrop, we're wondering what people are seeing in the stone.

Mere weeks after a couple was fined for taking erotic photographs in front of the landmark, set on the site of the 1917 Vimy Ridge battle, a French couple was convicted of making a porn movie at the memorial. They weren't caught in the act, but the 30-somethings (whose names have not been released) put the video on a pay site, which means they may have made money off their odd act of desecration.

Must we point it out? Spain's Valley of the Fallen is the sexiest memorial ever. Accept no substitutions.

Related Stories:
· French Couple Rapped for Sex Video at Canada WWI Memorial [AFP]
· Memorials coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: OliBac, en vacances !!!!!]]]> egw 2008-07-24T13:45:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/21/72255/3787

After you've seen the exhibit at the National Building Museum, check out these Eero Saarinen masterpieces.

Everyone has seen the Gateway Arch, at least in pictures, but few realize that it's part of the larger Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Designed by Saarinen, the structure raises 630 feet above the ground and is also 630 feet wide at its base. Besides being instantly recognizable, it's also the largest memorial in the United States.

Although Saarinen passed away four years before the arch was completed, it stands today as probably his most famous achievement. After his death, designer Richard Bowser incorporated a tram to take guests to the top of the arch, something that Saarinen felt was important to add. We're glad he did: Without the unique elevators, the only option to get to the top would be 1,000-plus stairs.

Related Stories:
· Jefferson National Expansion Memorial [Official Site]
· Architecture Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]]]> kjb 2008-07-21T11:45:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/30/104719/091

Can't afford a European vacation this summer? Do what our contributor Claire Duffett did: Explore Southeast Asia instead.

Are we talking about the same war? You don't know the history of the Vietnam War until you've learned about the "struggle against American aggression" from the tour guides at Ho Chi Minh City's Reunification Palace.]]> ced138 2008-06-30T13:00:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/14/121230/970

A brand-new visitor center at Gettysburg National Military Park opens today. The building, designed to look like a 19th-century barn, brims with multimedia presentations, a feature film "experience" and hundreds of thousands of Civil War artifacts.

The new 22-minute film is narrated by Morgan Freeman and focuses on both the battle and its important aftermath. (While the fighting only lasted three days, it took four months for Abraham Lincoln to visit the site and deliver what came to be known as the Gettysburg Address.)

The visitor center will also house the Gettysburg Cyclorama. The 360-degree painting is currently being restored, but should be back on view by September. And of course walking the battlefield itself is still the main draw.

Interestingly, the new visitors center is LEED-certified as a green building, so you can count this as both a learning holiday and green travel.

Related Stories:
· Gettysburg National Military Park [Official Site]
· New Visitor Center Opens at Gettysburg [NPR]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: JonnyJonJon]]]> pbb 2008-04-14T12:14:08-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/