Jefferson National Expansion Memorial - Accessibility (U.S. National Park Service)

The National Park Service and its partners welcome all visitors and make many efforts to accommodate people with disabilities in the Old Courthouse and the Gateway Arch complex. Both sites have accessible exhibits and programs, and both offer various assistive devices.

Regretfully, we do not offer access for wheelchairs, scooters, or strollers to the top levels of the Gateway Arch or the Old Courthouse.

Parking

Designated accessible parking spaces are available in the Arch Parking Garage on Washington Avenue, at the north side of the Arch grounds. There are 3 city blocks between the garage the Arch Visitor Center entrance.

RVs and other vehicles over 7 feet high, which cannot enter the garage, can drop off passengers at the Old Cathedral parking lot on South Memorial Drive. Parking for oversize vehicles is available on Lenore K. Sullivan Drive, south of the Poplar Street Bridge.

Gateway Arch

The top of the Gateway Arch is not wheelchair accessible. To reach it and return, you must manage a minimum of 96 steps, although they are separated by 6 flights of stairs. You may need to stand for 20 minutes at a time, especially in the busy summer season. There is no seating at the top of the Arch.

For those who cannot visit top of the Gateway Arch, a virtual tour is available at video kiosks in the Visitor Center.

The rest of the Gateway Arch complex, such as the lobby, Museum of Westward Expansion, theaters, and museum stores are accessible by ramps or elevators.

Assistive listening devices are available for use in the two theaters. Please request the devices at the Information Desk in the lobby.

Rear-window captioning devices are available for both theaters. Please request them at the Information Desk in the lobby.

Audio description is always available for the film Monument to the Dream and sometimes available for other films. Please call ahead to confirm availability and request devices at the Information Desk in the lobby.

Sign language interpretation for live programs is available with advance notice. Please call 314-655-6614.

Old Courthouse

Most of the first floor is accessible to wheelchairs, but the upper floors in the Old Courthouse are reachable only by climbing stairs. On the first floor, it is necessary to climb two stairs to enter the theater or the Museum Shop.

Steps above the first floor:
between first and second floor         33 steps
between second and third floor        22 steps
between third floor and balcony       22 steps

The floor levels change in the upper floors, and single steps separate these different levels.

A wheelchair lift provides access to the Old Courthouse from Broadway, on the east side of the building. The exhibits and rest rooms on the first floor of the Old Courthouse are fully accessible.

Assistive listening devices are available for the theater.

Access Pass

If you are a U.S. citizen and have a permanent disability, you may obtain a free Access Passport at the Gateway Arch Information Desk or at the Old Courthouse Museum Shop. The passport allows free admission to federal areas which charge entrance fees and provides reductions for other types of user fees.

Service Animals

Service animals are welcome at the park.

The Levee and
Lenore K. Sullivan Boulevard

There are around 65 steps in the Grand Staircase between the Arch Grounds and Leonore K. Sullivan Boulevard, which borders the levee. There are no designated accessible parking spaces on the levee.

Contact us

For further information, please contact us through our information line at 314-655-1700or e-mail us through our website at www.nps.gov/jeff. Missouri Relay at (voice) 1-800-735-2966 provides services for those who are hearing impaired.