ABSTRACT
In Mehroff's book he describes how the Gateway Arch led to a major transformation in the way inhabitants of the city thought about themselves and their city. The Gateway Arch also provides a certain kind of psychic boost to the inhabitants of the city who see themselves, now, as living in a place with a significant iconic structure. It competes, as a symbol of technological innovation and achievement, with the Seattle Space Needle, a 605 foot tower, that is Seattle's dominant symbol. The passion for technological innovation also in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam and, more recently, in the construction of the Cowboys Stadium in Texas. The chapter focuses on new technology and innovation in the rhetoric of President Obama and many politicians, who stress our genius for innovation as the primary means of improving our economic situation.
