The Baby Arch

The Baby Arch is the result of a joint effort by the Committee of Retired Boilermakers, the Warren County Visitors Bureau, Lumber Heritage Region and Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development Council. This project is the final stage of a quest for recognition for the men who worked for the Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Company ("PDM") plant in Warren, Pennsylvania. These men, members of the United Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local #659, were responsible for fabricating the pieces that became the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. , , From 1962 to 1965, approximately 280 men worked on the Gateway Arch project in Warren. PDM Boilermakers cut, fabricated and welded the above-ground steel exoskeleton of the Arch, amounting to 80% of the project. PDM shipped these fabricated sections 700 miles (1127 km), by train and semi-trucks, from Warren to St. Louis. Each part had to be intricately measured, cut and ground to within 1/64th of an inch (0.39 mm) to make sure they would fit together perfectly with the other segments to form the Arch. The project used over 900 tons of stainless steel. Today, over 50 years later, the completed Arch in St. Louis stands 630 feet (192 meters) tall. , , On November 14, 2012, the Committee of Retired Boilermakers boarded a motor coach bound for St. Louis to claim their contribution in building the Gateway Arch, and to "put Warren on the map” as “the home of the Arch” where most of its wedge-shaped components were made. Tom Bradley, Superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, held a ceremony and lunch to honor the men. "We've had many reunions here of workers over the years, but none quite like this one. Many of you were instrumental in building the Arch, this incredible memorial, yet never saw it when it was completed,” Bradley told the men. "But it's due to your hard work that we're here today.” Warren's retired Boilermakers returned to St. Louis on October 28, 2015 to again be recognized at the 50th anniversary Builders' Day celebration at the Arch.