The Golden Spike Monument (S 21st Street & 9th Avenue) sits on Milepost 0.0 the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1877, a transfer station and passenger station was built on the grounds at Milepost 0.0 where the Monument sits now. For the 70th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike in Promontory Point, Utah, movie producer Cecil B. DeMille and Paramount Pictures produced the story of building the railroad in the movie "Union Pacific".
Union Pacific, the Cities of Omaha and Council Bluffs and Paramount Studios held Golden Spike Days in the area to celebrate the premier opening of the movie and an end of the depression. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt opened the celebration by using a telegraph key set up in the White House for him to send the message to start the celebration.
At the March 1939 Council Bluffs City Council Meeting, City engineer Jack Boyne suggested the monument and design. The Monument was constructed by 14 men in 10 days and completed on April 26, 1939 at a cost of $3,500. It took 5 days to build the base and 5 days to build the spike. The monument reaches 59 feet into the air and weighs 243,200 pounds.