Dallas, Texas vs. St. Louis: The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge vs. the Gateway Arch

Posted on October 21st, 2011 1:29pm by Jason Heid
Filed under Architecture, Local News, Sports

In watching the World Series games between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals from St. Louis the last couple nights, it’s hard to believe that this:

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas.

Will ever impress as much as this:

gateway-arch

The Gateway Arch, St. Louis.

One of these things is not like the other.

21 comments

  1. Truth.

    @ 2:00 pm on October 21, 2011

  2. There’s actually water in the river next to the St. Louis arch.

    @ 2:13 pm on October 21, 2011

  3. Worst part, the Margaret Hunt Bridge design isn’t even original. http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/jun/22/calatrava-bridge-dallas-looks-knockoff/

    That said, at least the Dallas skyline will be shown since Arlington has nothing to offer outside of the stadiums/Six Flags.

    @ 2:15 pm on October 21, 2011

  4. They should be showing a skyline of Ft. Worth, since Arlington is Tarrant County. NOT Dallas County.

    @ 2:59 pm on October 21, 2011

  5. It’s way more exciting when seen from this angle:
    http://imageshack.us/f/819/jackcm.jpg

    @ 3:10 pm on October 21, 2011

  6. Maybe the St. Louis Arch looks more impressive as there is nothing but a puny skyline to compete? I am proud to be from DALLAS and will gladly trumpet our town over theirs.

    @ 3:26 pm on October 21, 2011

  7. yeah, cause that Ft. Worth skyline is mesmerizing.

    @ 3:31 pm on October 21, 2011

  8. If cities were judged by metal arches, St. Louis would surely win. And symbolically, I suppose, the idea of a gateway to the West is a powerful image for St. Louis. Unfortunately, the towering arch in St. Louis frames a town in serious economic decline; http://bit.ly/qu3gzF

    Pretty old symbol, though.

    @ 4:20 pm on October 21, 2011

  9. Why does one HAVE to be better than the other?

    Why can’t both cities have their own identities non-competitively?

    Why can’t something be good (or not) without being required to be better than something else?

    @ 4:51 pm on October 21, 2011

  10. Truly, one cannot compare the cities. In terms of size and scale and attitude, Dallas is over the top in every sense of the term.

    For the longest time during construction, before the wires appeared, the MMH just looked like a fake, PVC pipe version of the Gateway Arch.

    In St. Louis, standing in the shadow of the Arch, on the banks of the massive, churning Big Muddy, is disquieting. I always am humbled by the sense of long-ago discovery, man-made monuments, and the force of nature.

    Oh, and you can gamble there. (+1)

    @ 5:04 pm on October 21, 2011

  11. But does St. Louis have a giant ferris wheel downtown?

    @ 5:17 pm on October 21, 2011

  12. Umm… It doesn’t really matter what county Arlington and Fort Worth are in. Although Fort Worth is a principal city in DFW, Dallas is THE principal city. People in the rest of the world know the entire region as “Dallas”. Only those who have family here, have done business here or have traveled here know that DFW isn’t just an airport code. It’s Dallas-Fort Worth.

    @ 5:47 pm on October 21, 2011

  13. @Bob–there are no winners; everybody gets a trophy!

    @ 6:48 pm on October 21, 2011

  14. We’re well on our way to becoming a “World Ass” city!

    @ 7:33 pm on October 21, 2011

  15. I want to ask why the comparison is being made — out of our self-pitty for not having a “bigger arch”, or is it envy?
    Objectively, they’re two seperate constructs, never meant to compete or conflict.

    All the best the Rangers do not have the stain of “Dallas” to their name. They’re such a treat because they’re, in so many ways, the anti-Dallas. And Dallas should take stock what can be accomplished with humble talent and grit.

    @ 2:30 am on October 22, 2011

  16. @Wm B Travis: Dallas is spending far more money to build a fancy bridge than is necessary because, as I’ve heard said many times, we expect it to become the new “postcard image” of the city. The comparison is one postcard image against a prospective postcard image in progress.

    @ 11:24 am on October 22, 2011

  17. Yes, St. Louis has a ferris wheel downtown..on the roof of the City Museum.

    @ 8:34 pm on October 22, 2011

  18. I still say the Hunt bridge looks like a big croquet hoop….or macrame project from the 70s…if the project is ever completed and a series of arches with cabling appears, then it will remind me of that thing you can buy to put your cat out in the backyard yet keep it contained.

    @ 4:27 pm on October 23, 2011

  19. STL Arch- government funded and cost $13M in 1963 (approx. $90M in today’s dollar–according to the Interwebs)

    Is that really a fair comparison?

    I like both, just like I enjoy a 5 carat diamond and a 1.5 carat diamond. Both nice, both different.

    Also, I can drive over only one! yeah, MHB!

    @ 4:28 pm on October 23, 2011

  20. In the world of bridges the Hunt bridge is kind of like the low end TAG watch. Nice to have but really nothing special.

    @ 12:05 pm on October 24, 2011

  21. It seems like a bridge to no where to me. I have not seen a single picture that shows the singleton side of the bridge. I had hoped people would take the bridge as a short cut to I-30 for those going to arlington and Ft. Worth etc. But traffic crossing the bridge are going to back up at Singleton ave. With all the traffic lights in West Dallas not much traffic is going to move over the bridge. So I-35 in Dallas and I-30 in Dallas is going to be just as crowed as always. So my hopes for traffic relief are dashed. Nice bridge but I am fearing it does nothing to help Dallas traffic flow. So we will continue with the biggest parking lots in Dallas, I-30 and I-35, etc.
    I hope I am wrong. We will see.

    @ 2:54 pm on March 4, 2012