Monument to the Dream (1967) [N/A]

Featuring:
Paul Richards

Written by:
Shelby Storck

Directed by:
Charles Guggenheim, L.T. Iglehart


Release Date:
June 11, 1967

Original Title:
Monument to the Dream

Genres:
Documentary

Production Companies:
Guggenheim Productions

Production Countries:
United States of America

Ratings / Certifications:
 N/A

Runtime: 30

Documents the evolution of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch from concept drawings, to fabrication of its stainless steel sections, to assembly and completion. Innovative structural techniques and brilliant design show why this avant-garde monument is among the greatest civil engineering achievements of the twentieth century. Oscar Nominee: Best Documentary Short

Soaring above the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch stands today as the nation's tallest arch and national monument. "Monument to the Dream", at unnerving heights, traces the adventures of the Arch's evolution, from the early concepts on the drawing board to the fabrication of its stainless steel sections, and the triumphant placement, in a race against the sun, of its final section in the fall of 1965. Through the words of the master architect Eero Saarinen, and the ambient chorus of mallets beating metal sheets into graceful curves, the film reveals the innovative structural techniques and the brilliant design of this avant-garde monument, presenting one of this century's greatest civil engineering achievements as a metaphor for the struggle to win the West. This film went on to be nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short in 1967. "It is one of the most beautiful films of its kind I have ever seen." ---J. Carter Brown, The National Gallery of Art

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Rankings and Honors

Monument to the Dream (1967) on IMDb
Internet Movie Database 8.1/10
Awards Won: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 1 nomination total

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