Armstrong Wins Jefferson Memorial Competition, Runner-up Saarinen’s “Arch” Deemed “High-risk”

{the winning submission by Mr. Harris Armstrong}

ST. LOUIS, February 27, 1948 – The long anticipated result of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial architecture competition is in. Following participation from around the world, Kirkwood, Missouri’s Harris Armstrong has been awarded the grand prize.

His vision of open park land with a reflecting pool, arbor of trees and single block building was singled-out for being “feasible” and “low-risk”. “There were several remarkable and inspirational submissions, some really brilliant designs,” said competition jurist Fiske Kimball. “However, only Mr. Armstrong’s, of the final designs, was viewed as low-risk.”

A lot was riding on the competition outcome as St. Louis seeks to revitalize its downtrodden riverfront. Competition jurists were keenly aware that the winning design needed to be “good enough” while not overly complicated or aspirational.

Mr. Saarinen’s proposed “arch” garnered admiration, but fell short in the final examination said George Howe, coordinator of the competition. “Of course it would be great if we could have chosen the “best” design,” Howe offered. “But we have to be practical here. There were just too many questions about how this “arch” would work. Someone would have had to study the issue.”