The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument (also known as The Archway or Kearney Archway) is a monument on

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

located three miles (5 km) east of

Kearney, Nebraska Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 in the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave new birt ...

, United States. Opened in July 2000, it houses a historical experience that tells the story of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

and the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...

Valley in the development of America. The monument spans more than 300 feet above Interstate 80 and is accessible via two numbered exits (275 and 272).

History

A monument and tourist attraction highlighting the history of the Platte River Valley was a goal of former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Frank B. Morrison. In 1997, $60 million in bonds were issued and purchased by investors. On July 16, 2000, the Archway opened to the public, with 223,013 and 249,174 visitors in the attraction's first two years, respectively. First-year visitors included then-

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. These numbers were far short of projections. The monument had to reduce expenses and refinance its bond payments in 2002, reducing the amount owed to $22 million, repaid by 2013. While a shift in focus on educational and group tours briefly presented the monument with a more stable financial footing, attendance subsequently dwindled, counting only 49,960 visitors in 2012. The Archway filed for bankruptcy protection on March 7, 2013. In September 2013, U.S. federal bankruptcy judge Thomas Saladino approved a debt plan, ordering museum organizers to pay $100,000 as a settlement for more than $20 million it owed to bondholders, creditors and vendors.

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

Bank of Minneapolis was the trustee for the bondholders. As part of the resolution of the bankruptcy filing, The Archway is managed by the City of Kearney. I-80 Exit 275, adjacent to the Archway, was completed in August 2013 directly east of the museum at a cost of about $20 million. In December 2013, the museum announced a two-month closure to re-brand itself following its debt ruling, scheduling its grand re-opening for March 1, 2014. The Archway re-opened on March 1, 2014. Changes include a revamped gift shop and a new theater that shows short videos that pertain to subjects featured in the historical exhibit. Archie the Buffalo, a new mascot, was introduced. In January 2018, the Archway announced that the organization earned a profit for the first time in its history in 2017.

Exhibit overview

Since prehistoric times, the trail along the Platte River through Nebraska, which came to be known as the

Great Platte River Road The Great Platte River Road was a major overland travel corridor approximately following the course of the Platte River in present-day Nebraska and Wyoming that was shared by several popular emigrant trails during the 19th century, including the Tr ...

, has been a thoroughfare for travel across the continent. The Archway museum details the stories of the pioneers, adventurers, and innovators who have traveled the trail since the mid-1800s and helped to build America. The exhibit starts at Fort Kearny in 1848 and features sections on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

, and

Mormon Trail The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...

that converged at the nearby Fort Kearny before heading west. As visitors progress through the exhibit, the displays of different time periods feature a prairie schooner wagon on the Oregon Trail, a buffalo stampede, the Mormon Handcart Expedition, a 49er's campsite, the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

, the Transcontinental Telegraph, a stagecoach, the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

, the first transcontinental highway, the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

, and today's transcontinental highway, I-80. The exhibit ends with a replica drive-in and 1950s-style cafe with windows providing views over the interstate. The exhibits are featured in chronological order and reflect the historical developments that occurred on the Great Platte River Road. Archway (Kearney NE) - campers

In popular culture

*The Archway Monument was one of the locations used in the filming of ''

About Schmidt ''About Schmidt'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. The film also stars Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates. It is loosely based on the 1996 nov ...

'' (2002), starring

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

History

Exhibit overview

In popular culture

See also