A symbol of the City of North Bay doth bestride the far end of a municipal parking lot but passage under the Gateway Arch by vehicle is no longer permitted.
According to the City of North Bay, "The sign on the Gateway Arch was damaged by a vehicle in 2022 and was later refurbished. But it was hit again in spring 2023 due to its low clearance of 11 feet. Recognizing its importance as a heritage monument and aiming to protect it from further damage, an alternate entrance to the parking lot was created, and bollards were installed last week."
See related: City: No foul play involved in missing Gateway Arch sign
And: Iconic Gateway Arch is back in place
The new entrance to the Lee Park parking lot was added during recent sidewalk improvements on nearby Memorial Drive.
First constructed in 1928, the Gateway Arch spanned Highway 11B — now Lakeshore Drive — and served as a welcome to North Bay while marking the boundary to West Ferris. In 2010, the Municipal Heritage Committee deemed the Gateway Arch an "important symbol of North Bay, the 'Gateway City,'” and the arch was designated as a local heritage site.
The term and concept of “Gateway to the North” first appeared around the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries," according to the municipal website. "This term came about due to the realization that North Bay, because of its geographical location, was an inter-connecting link for both north-south and east-west traffic."
