The Great Platte River Road Archway

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 3:12 pm

The Great Platte River Road Archway

OWH wrote:An interchange for the Archway?

The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument would gain direct access to Interstate 80 and the City of Kearney would get the east interchange it has long sought under a transportation funding bill now moving in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne was able to secure $8 million in funding for the new Kearney interchange in the bill that moved out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday. Osborne is a member of the committee.

"This is wonderful news for Kearney," said Jon Abegglen, who has led a local task force on the interchange issue.

The funding - enough to fully build the interchange - still would have to be approved by the full House when it takes up the matter, and the Senate has yet to consider it. But Abegglen said Kearney officials are hopeful the funding will come. If it does, work could begin as soon as 2007, he said.

The bill also includes other highway funding for Nebraska, including $7.5 million for the on-going Heartland Expressway project in Nebraska's Panhandle.

The new Kearney interchange would be located within a half mile of the Kearney archway monument, the at-times controversial tourist attraction straddling the Interstate. The difficulty of access has been one of the reasons visitation has fallen far short of early expectations, supporters have said.

Abegglen said that while many will relate the new interchange to the arch, planning for it actually predates the arch by many years.

Though it's Nebraska's fifth-largest city with a population exceeding 27,000, Kearney has a single I-80 interchange, the heavily congested Second Avenue that carries 30,000 cars a day. It has created fire and safety issues for Kearney, the home of a major regional medical center, Abegglen said.

The new interchange will provide an eastern gateway to the city and serve as the headway of a bypass that will ultimately route much traffic around the city.

Abegglen said it also will provide much easier access to Kearney's airport and to Cabela's, the popular outdoor outfitter.

"It goes without saying the arch will benefit," he said. "But this has been a source of frustration in our community for a long time. Second Avenue is really reaching a critical point."

The interchange has long been in the plans of the Nebraska Department of Roads but has been on a waiting list. Kearney officials were told last year it would take at least another five to six years to begin funding it with state dollars.

GoWest · Post by **GoWest** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 3:35 pm

While nice for Kearney, I really am not that interested in visiting the arch. It doesn't look that entertaining to me. Has anybody been to it. Do you give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down?

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 4:45 pm

I give it a thumbs up. I also think that it is actually a nice looking structure also. It was a pain to get to, so I am glad that this will be rectified.

Alt(Bayern)München · Post by **Alt(Bayern)München** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:58 pm

We stopped at the arch on the way out West to the Black Hills with the family this Summer.
It was actually pretty cool.
A pain in the |expletive| to get to, but cool!

DMRyan · Post by **DMRyan** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 7:06 pm

Being a history buff, I'd give it a shot. Looks wise, the architecture is nothing to spit at. It looks like a combination of lincoln logs mixed with some kind of gilded westener's house with those metal sculptures on top. It does help break up the monotony of a flat I-80 though.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 7:15 pm

DMRyan wrote: It does help break up the monotony of a flat I-80 though.

So does Omaha.

guy4omaha · Post by **guy4omaha** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 7:44 pm

Definitely a thumbs up. When attendance began to fall short of expectations they did cut back on some of the features though. Hopefully, the new interchange helps and the arch management restores the facility back to its original scale.

It feels a lot bigger inside compared to what it looks like as you drive by underneath. Anyone else feel the same way? Or not?

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 2:18 am

I went to it the summer it opened. I give it a thumbs up as well. Yeah, it's gimmicky, but all in all it's not a bad museum. If any of you city slickers are interested, the tri-cities offer three pretty good museum experiences with which you could fill a weekend. Kearney's archway. Grand Island's Stuhr. And The Hastings Museum. They're all within 45 minutes of each other.

This interchange, if it comes through, will help out immensely. BTW, a couple months ago I saw a guy walking around a supermarket here in Glendale who was wearing a denim jacket with a huge advertisement for the Kearney Archway on the back. I did a double-take when I saw it. It's so kitschy!

GoWest · Post by **GoWest** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:43 am

What's with the barbed wire chain link look on the top of it? Can you walk up there. It looks like the roof comes to a peak.

Alt(Bayern)München · Post by **Alt(Bayern)München** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:36 pm

You cannot walk on the roof. It starts at ground level on the left of the picture above. You then go up and across the interstate on one level, when you get to the right side of the interstate, you go up one more level and go back across to the left.
On the top level there is a little window looking down on to the interstate with radar guns and a speed indicator on a screen, on the wall...no one was within 10 miles of the limit while we were up there!

guy4omaha · Post by **guy4omaha** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 9:47 am

Go West.... it looks like the majority of responses so far give the Arch a "Thumbs Up". Are you going to reconsider and visit it?

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 9:13 pm

Here are some pictures from inside. There is a lot more then this, some places were to dark to photograph at ISO 1600. (I never use flash) I think it is a really great place to visit. They are doing some construction on the surrounding area, so it will have a really nice picnic and walkway.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:47 pm

Great photos Bradley!
Thanks for posting them.

GoWest · Post by **GoWest** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:48 am

guy4omaha wrote:Go West.... it looks like the majority of responses so far give the Arch a "Thumbs Up". Are you going to reconsider and visit it?

The photos of the inside look great. It looks like it might be worth stopping by and taking a look.

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 12:39 pm

Thanks guys! I always thought the archway was a big joke and I didn't plan on visiting it that day. I planned on just going as far west as Grand Island and touring Stuhr Museum. Well, Stuhr turned out to be a real joke. It was such a hole in the wall place. At 8$ per person, it was a huge let down. I had visited the 1880's town in South Dakota, which I liked a lot, and I thought that Stuhr would be a lot like it. It wasn't at all. Everythig seemed very run down and unkept.

Anyway, we had so much time on our hands we thought, what the heck lets try the Archway. My wife was against it, she thought it was just an expensive pedestrian bridge and with the wind Sunday, she said she would wait in the car. We both went in to eat (They have a great restaurant--good Buffalo Burgers!) and were floored by the entry way.

We had a blast inside and so did my 8 month old. My wife wants to go again when we go to Colorado on Memorial Day weekend.

BTW, Props to the people who work at the Kearney Arch. They were super friendly, very helpful, and lots of fun to chat with. We came in with a stroller which the employees took up an elevator for us so we could take our daughter up the Escalator exibit. Top Notch Service! Even in the fast food restaurant they had table service to refill our drinks and get us anything we needed. My daughter dropped her pacifier in view of one of the waitreses, and she ran over and took it into the kitchen to wash it off for us. Anyway, the whole experience of that place is worth trying out at least once.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:14 pm

bradley414 wrote:I planned on just going as far west as Grand Island and touring Stuhr Museum. Well, Stuhr turned out to be a real joke.

Wha:?:

Really?

To each his own, I guess. But I've always considered Stuhr a jewel of central Nebraska. From the architecture of the main building (not to mention the art inside) to the working steam locomotive, to the authentic 19th century buildings and train station (used on a number of occasions by Hollywood film crews) to the Native American exhibits. I've always thought of Stuhr as really classy and not at all gimmicky like the Arch (which I also like).

TechnicalDisaster · Post by **TechnicalDisaster** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:23 pm

The thing that really upset me off about Stuhr was how they run the place during the winter. None of the buildings were open except for the main building. Everything else was closed and locked up tight. Most of the buildings had the windows boarded up for the winter, so you couldn't even peek in the windows to see what was inside if you wanted to. The only art that I saw in the main building was done by elementary students (literally, like a elem. school project) All that for $8 per person?

If your not going to run your exhibits year round, you really shouldn't be open, or be prepared to open on days the weather is nice. Besides, everything to see is inside buildings, how hard is it to go around and unlock doors?

I may tour the museum again down the road, but I certainly will never go there in the winter ever again.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:15 pm

I didn't even know it was open in the winter. Yeah, that's lame.

Grade School artwork? What happened to all the regular exhibits?

But charging you $8 to see school art is not a joke. It's criminal. You should write a letter of complaint to the Grand Island Independent. They would have no qualms about publishing it which might, in turn, embarass the museum enough to close up completely for the winter.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:32 pm

Does anyone have any other pictures of Kearney? To me Kearney seems to be the most prosperous of the tri-city-central-state whatever they're called cities and I've always kind of wondered what it looked like.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 12:47 am

Kearney Arch on an upswing after 5 years of uncertainty

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1638&u_sid=1456109

But now, five years old, the $60 million museum-over-an-Interstate is - like the pioneers it celebrates - a survivor.

It has overcome a financial crisis, adjusted its operations for reality and plotted a new future focusing on more activities and educational programs.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:10 am

Attendance is still declining, but I can vouch for increasing educational outreach... my son and I both attended one of their cub scout sleepovers.

As the article also points out, and we all know... the construction of a new interchange will probably double attendance.

OmahaDevelopmentMan · Sun Jul 10, 2005 12:00 pm

That interchange is pry the main reason why the arch's attendance is so low. Its so stupid how it is now. You have to drive past it, then get off, then backtrack again to get back on. It really creates too much hassel for all the travelers who are looking to take a quick break. Hopefully that interchange will work out. Along with those additional buildings they were talking about. It would be nice to see this thing really take off.

Calibraskan · Post by **Calibraskan** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:34 pm

Its always been unbelievable to me that they built this thing without on/off ramps from both directions RIGHT AT THE MONUMENT!!!! What were they thinking?!?!.....This would have made an astronomical difference in the success of the project.
I haven't been to the Chicago area for many years....do they still have those Stuckeys built over the tollways??? That type of layout would have made the Archway work!!!
The designers really shot themselves....in the head!
The new interchange may help but to the degree of what I'm talking about.

guy4omaha · Post by **guy4omaha** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:44 pm

My recollection is that there were so many naysayers to the project when the developers were trying to raise funds and get all the regulatory approvals that they didn't think they could get approval for the exit as well.

It seemed to me the developers thought that if they could at least get the thing built, then somehow the exit could be attained later.

It's too bad it had to be done this way. The arch was really cool when it first opened with the Disney imagineer influence, the restaurants, etc. But without the exits, no one stopped to see it. Negative momentum followed. Scalebacks and negative reputation.

I predict (okay hope) that the exit gets built soon enough to save the arch and that it can grow back into its original vision. With exit ramps, more development could follow to supplement the arch.

time will tell I guess.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:01 pm

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall there was funding for this in the latest pork laden transportation bill.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:52 am

Convention Center is to Archway as Hotel Rooms are to Exit Ramps.

Morons. ;)

-Big E

ItsAllAboutMe · Post by **ItsAllAboutMe** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:31 am

DRIVING; A Nowhere Striving to Be a Somewhere

Situated on the outskirts of Kearney, a town of 28,000 that flaunts its claim to be Nebraska's third-busiest convention city, the Archway Monument has been open since 2000. Although President Bill Clinton visited in December 2000, its greatest national exposure so far was in the movie ''About Schmidt,'' in which Jack Nicholson's character stops in on his way back to Omaha from his daughter's wedding in Denver. He pulls his mammoth R.V. into the parking lot and wanders inside, ruminating on the alarming notion that in the context of the history of the pioneers, his life and journey have made little difference.

And, indeed, there is something overwhelming about this place. ''The architecture stops people in their tracks,'' said Ron Tillery, the director of the Great Platte River Road Memorial Foundation, which owns the arch. ''They go inside and say, 'I had no idea.' '' But even Mr. Tillery concedes that the arch's charms are somewhat limited. ''For a great number of people,'' he said, ''it is an impulse stop on their way to somewhere else.''

Tepees line the access road to the archway, which rises near the spot where the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails -- busy covered-wagon routes to the West -- converged. Inside the archway, greeters dressed as gold prospectors or butter churners welcome visitors. The $8.25 fee is paid, headphones are issued and a camera's flash captures road-weary faces in front of a United States map, painted on a faux animal hide, in which Iowa butts up against the Unorganized Territory. (This piece of personal photographic history can be purchased for $10 at the end of the journey.)

An escalator rises above mannequins depicting Indian guides, bonneted pioneer women and wily 49'ers, and takes visitors directly through a movie screen on which images of a wagon train are projected. On the other side of the screen a strobe light flashes, ushering in thunderstorm sounds coming through the earphones. The impulse to get out of the nonexistent rain is succeeded quickly by a jolt of alarm as buffalo stampede across a wall. The thunder moves from overhead to underfoot.

Edited by Admin, Please include more than just a link.

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:30 am

''I can't wait to bring the buses here,'' Ms. Cole said as she browsed through the gift shop full of products made or grown in Nebraska. ''I think their only problem is publicity. They've got a gold mine here.''

This story, from 2003, points out some of the flaws in the Arch's road to success. the obvious one, is the lack of an exit ramp. That will be fixed within the next 5 years it appears. The biggest flaw, to me, is that the arch and it's exhibits have remained static. I visited at a special Pre-view before it opened... again in 2002 to take my mother in law through it and again about a year ago to take other out of state relatives through it. The innards haven't changed a lick. There is no reason to go back and visit it again, other than accompanying out of town guests. Therefore, they're relying on onesie twosie ticket sales, with little or no season membership base that pays the bills.

The Archway can be fully explored in 45 minutes. That's if you take your time. I can honestly say I've spent more time exploring the excellent gift shop.

Not to put the Archway down for the concept. It's a great and delicious concept. It just needs to be used to more of its potential. Perhaps if it's operators made it a point to take the tour themselves, making themselves view it through the eyes of a tourist, and again as a semi-local, to get an understanding of what is "ok" now, could be that "goldmine" with some flexibility.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:37 pm

Good points, Candleshoe. Worth a look at least once, but if nothing changes, no real reason to go back.

As for the article, my eyes glazed over from the first the sentence describing the "flat, monochromatic landscape". Ironic that some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest lies just 30 miles to the north of the arch. The author's remarks were needlessly flippant, imo.

(By the way, ANNA BAHNEY, I hope you google your name and find my remarks.

)

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:40 pm

My youngest son and I actually slept there one night during a cub scouting visit. It's a pretty cool attraction... but the floors are really hard.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:24 pm

I was out at the Arch in the beginning of June, here is what I saw:

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:34 pm

edsas wrote:As for the article, my eyes glazed over from the first the sentence describing the "flat, monochromatic landscape". Ironic that some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest lies just 30 miles to the north of the arch.

Exactly.

At least the author made some distinction by saying "middle Nebraska," which may seem minor, but it indicates that she potentially acknowledges that much of the rest of the state is quite beautiful, if not, as you say, some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest. She could have just said "Nebraska" and left it at that.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:28 pm

I just drove under the Arch this morning about 2:30 am, there is NO lighting. People don't even see this huge structure at night.

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:22 pm

The feds may not have allowed it... I know it was quite a feat to just get approval to build this thing.

nebport5 · Post by **nebport5** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:59 am

the archway reminds me of the Oasis stops on the tollway in Chicago near O'hare. A Big d*mn Mcdonald's and gas station stretched over the interstate and boy is it lit up at night.

murfj · Post by **murfj** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:18 am

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:
edsas wrote:As for the article, my eyes glazed over from the first the sentence describing the "flat, monochromatic landscape". Ironic that some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest lies just 30 miles to the north of the arch.
Exactly.

At least the author made some distinction by saying "middle Nebraska," which may seem minor, but it indicates that she potentially acknowledges that much of the rest of the state is quite beautiful, if not, as you say, some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest. She could have just said "Nebraska" and left it at that.

I guess beautiful is a relative term, because there are some areas of Nebraska that can be beautiful compared to other areas of the state or other areas of the Midwest, but in reality- I've been across the state a few times- there is not much in Nebraska as far as landscape that I'd call beautiful... the fact is that the plains are a very dull landscape that anyone who is used to seeing the Rocky Mountains or any coastal area would find to be very noneventful.

When I think of the word beautiful I think of driving down the interstate through the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, driving down HWY 101 along the coasts of Oregon and northern California, or the view along I-25 just south of Loveland, Colorado with the lush green fields there at the edge of the Plains with the snow-capped Rocky Mountains towering behind them. So it's understandable when press from other areas make comments about the scenery around here being dull- because in comparison to what people in those other areas do get to see it is dull.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:01 pm

I don't think I should have to qualify my statement, murfj, but I did say that the Sandhills provide "some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest." Meaning if you're going to rank the beauty of the Black Hills, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Ohio River Valley and the Ozarks, I find the Sandhills right up there. Nobody's talking about coastal Oregon.

BTW, it was after eight years of living in the mountains of California that I was first struck by the magnificence of driving Highway 2. Even after practically growing up in in the Sandhills (12 years in North Platte, 8 years in Grand Island). In the summer, when the grass is green and the wildflowers are in bloom, I would gladly compare it to some of the most beautiful settings in California. Not saying it's better. Just comparable.

Incidentally, living in California, I've had the pleasure of meeting a handful of non-Nebraskans who, for whatever reason, once found themselves in the Sandhills. They had all, for the most part, been awestruck by what they saw. One of them even participated in BRAN and joked that he wished someone had told him Nebraska is not flat.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:08 pm

murfj wrote:So it's understandable when press from other areas make comments about the scenery around here being dull- because in comparison to what people in those other areas do get to see it is dull.

But she wasn't talking about the Sandhills. She was talking about the Platte Valley stretch of I-80, which I happen to think is the worst thing that ever happened to Nebraska.

I googled the author. Turns out she lives in Omaha, but writes for the New York Times as a freelancer. She has some other articles about Nebraska published in the times. Ironically, one of those is about the beauty of Western Nebraska.

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:17 pm

Nebraska is certainly a state with a very diverse amount of terrain. From the Missour River valley... to the flat plains... to butte country... to the Sand Hills... it's all very different. Unfortunately, travelers see very little of it from I-80.

Of course I'm sure that it doesn't help psychologically either... that Nebraska has the longest stretch of I-80 in the nation.

murfj · Post by **murfj** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:32 pm

edsas wrote:I don't think I should have to qualify my statement, murfj, but I did say that the Sandhills provide "some of the most beautiful topography in the Midwest." Meaning if you're going to rank the beauty of the Black Hills, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Ohio River Valley and the Ozarks, I find the Sandhills right up there. Nobody's talking about coastal Oregon.

BTW, it was after eight years of living in the mountains of California that I was first struck by the magnificence of driving Highway 2. Even after practically growing up in in the Sandhills (12 years in North Platte, 8 years in Grand Island). In the summer, when the grass is green and the wildflowers are in bloom, I would gladly compare it to some of the most beautiful settings in California. Not saying it's better. Just comparable.

Incidentally, living in California, I've had the pleasure of meeting a handful of non-Nebraskans who, for whatever reason, once found themselves in the Sandhills. They had all, for the most part, been awestruck by what they saw. One of them even participated in BRAN and joked that he wished someone had told him Nebraska is not flat.

Yeah, regarding your comment about being the most beautiful topography in the Midwest- that's what I meant by beautiful being relative, it just depends on what you're comparing it to. :D

And I should clarify what I said, that of course I don't think there is no beauty in Nebraska, there is plenty of it in many parts of the state, but it just depends what you're comparing it to, which is why many people who come here from other areas will say it's plain or even ugly when those of us who live here would be inclined to disagree.