We’re very happy to announce the release of our Educational DVD. Please see our Educational DVD/Screenings page for more info, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have.
We’d love for you to share with your students this pivotal and important chapter in history. To those ends, we’re looking forward to working with you on making this happen.
To the home-DVD crowd: please know that we’re toiling hard to put together a fantastic DVD for you. There will be one at some point, I can guarantee. But as to when? Well it’s complicated. Just know that we’re working to put it all together, that we want to give you the best DVD possible, and that we’ll keep you abreast of the developments. Thanks much for your patience; your support means a lot to us.
After a very fun screening of "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth" for Stranger Than Fiction, Chad Freidrichs had a chance to Q&A with the terrific IFC Center crowd.
Here's an excerpt:
FREIDRICHS:A few weeks ago at the Los Angeles Film Festival there were a couple people from Pruitt-Igoe, and they just came up to us afterward and said, thank you for making this. When you have a historical subject like this that is so iconic, the meaning of it tends to get flattened often. People forget that the people who lived there often lived very normal lives. It’s often discussed as something with deviant residents, or that all the residents there were criminals. That’s something that I think a lot of the people who lived there responded to—we just showed normality. When you have a population that big, you have people living normal lives, and that’s often forgotten.
Head over to the STF site to read the whole Q&A, transcribed by some kind soul who has our gratitude.
Great interview by Don Marsh with Chad, Sylvester Brown, and Jody Sowell this morning over on St. Louis Public Radio. If you missed it, you can listen here.
We couldn’t be more happy with critic Robert Koehler’s review of “the Pruitt-Igoe Myth” for Variety. I’ve not had the chance to meet Mr. Koehler, who saw the film at last weekends True/False Film Festival, but he certainly seems like a person with whom you could have a good conversation regarding film or urbanism. An excerpt:
Detailing the birth, life and death of America’s first major urban housing project in St. Louis, Chad Freidrichs’ “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” combines concise but thoroughgoing sociological-historical analysis and elegant cinematic resources in service of an uncommonly artful example of film journalism. Designed to counter certain untruths that arose from the widely publicized detonation of the Pruitt-Igoe project, pic digs into the heart of the country’s postwar city-to-suburb development…
Make sure to check out the whole thing, if you’re interested; Mr. Koehler’s analysis is a thoughtful one. (You can read Mr. Koehler’s other reviews for Variety here.)
“The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” HD trailers now available as a free download at iTunes’ Move Trailers site. Head over and check it out, if you’d like:
The Pruitt-lgoe Myth – HD Movie Trailers – iTunes
It clocks-in at around 105mb for the full 720p, and looks very nice. They did a great job with it.
It’s always been our plan — and we see it as our responsibility — to turn over as many of the resources we’ve uncovered in our research as possible. I will say that we’ve been lucky enough to tap into some rich veins of imagery, scholarship, and personal accounts. It might take a while, but in due time, once we’ve been able to prepare and sort these materials, it will be our great pleasure to disperse them. For a small taste in the short-term, you can head over to our Flickr page.
I came across this on an old hard-drive, and I think that to the right person it might be interesting… perhaps even useful. Early in the process of researching public housing, I made, for my own use, this Google Earth layer of public housing in New York City (download: 55kB KMZ, or from Google Earth Community). In order to view the file, you’ll need to download and install Google Earth if you have not already done so. It’s a free program, and quite worth the download, if you ask me.
I’m sure the information is, at best, out-of-date, and may very well be completely factually inaccurate in many areas. I welcome your corrections and insight. The layer is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license, meaning you are free to share, alter, and amend the information for any non-commercial use.
NYC Public Housing Google Maps Layer by The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Implosion of Roosevelt House. Photo Courtesy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution
The destruction of high-rise public housing remains a popular proposition, as Atlanta’s Roosevelt House projects’ implosion yesterday can attest. I don’t know much about Atlanta’s public housing, so I’ll defer entirely to experts and residents for analysis of this as a policy decision, but troubling to me was how the handful of news reports seemed to smear this project — which had few similarities to Pruitt-Igoe — with the same brush; drawing the same conclusions and pointing to the same root causes. The effect is one of shoehorning and contorting past libels in ways that can only muddy the waters further.
The impulse to understand more completely the reasons behind the decline of high-rise public housing should not be confused with an effort to whitewash or sanitize public perception of what must, in Pruitt-Igoe’s case, be regarded as manifest failure. It is simply an allowance that an ethical historian’s goal should be to gather the most truthful, thoughtful, and useful lessons. As Prof. Robert Fishman states in “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth”:
“It’s important to really try to understand what failed and why. I think we have a responsibility to understand those failures… to learn from them and to do better”.
By the end of its short life, Pruitt-Igoe was beset with problems. I’m sure Roosevelt House had its problems too, but news reports seem to frequently mention that it “didn’t have the same problems with drugs and violence as the other public housing.” Part of this, no doubt, had to do with the fact that it was a single building being used to house seniors and the disabled. Pruitt-Igoe, for comparison, was comprised of 33 buildings, only one of which housed seniors, specifically.
According to the Atlanta Housing Authority, Roosevelt House was also located “…in vibrant midtown Atlanta, near the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and the heart of City’s cultural life.” This couldn’t contrast more sharply with Pruitt-Igoe’s situation on St. Louis’s near north side. Food desertification, declining access to city services, and remoteness from industrial jobs had created for Pruitt-Igoe hardscrabble conditions. The only vibrancy in these environs was that which the residents themselves created in their own buildings and homes.
Roosevelt House, constructed two years after the first Pruitt-Igoe building was imploded, belonged to a different era of high-rise public housing, was of grossly different size, housed different people, and was situated at an entirely dissimilar site; how, then, is this Atlanta’s “Pruitt-Igoe Moment”, as one news source offered? And what does it say that in our public discourse about these two projects — almost completely dissimilar in their specifics — we deem them qualitatively identical: big housing projects that went bad because big housing projects go bad.
The ways we have framed and told the Pruitt-Igoe story for the past forty years have paved the way for, and made ubiquitous, these reductive fictions. It’s our hope that “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” can open that dialogue once again. There’s more we can learn.
Our thoughts, today, are with the residents of Atlanta Public Housing. If you’d like to teach me about Roosevelt House, or the AHA, I’d love to know more. Feel free to email me, or discuss, below.
Resource: Google Earth layer of Atlanta Public Housing sites (KMZ file) compiled 2009.
1950s St. Louis Population sign. Still image from the documentary film "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth"
While today’s Post-Dispatch headline interprets the most recent U.S. Census figures as an indication that the city is “hollowing out”, a more historically inclusive reading would allow that they show that a 60 year pattern of urban population loss — St. Louis’ case being among the most dramatic — has continued.
Mayor Slay, to his great credit in my opinion, did not mince words in his reply. Quoted here in its entirety:
This is absolutely bad news. We had thought, given many of the other positive trends, that fifty years of population losses had finally reversed direction. Instead, by the measure of Census to Census, they continue, though at a slower pace. Combined with the news from St. Louis County, I believe that this will require an urgent and thorough rethinking of how we do almost everything.
If this doesn’t jump-start regional thinking, nothing will.
Graphic indicating population loss in the 1970s. Still image from the documentary film "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth"
The NYT piece released today echoes the surprise felt by many locals who had hoped that the trend had reversed.
Though recent estimates had given city officials reason to believe the downward trend had finally stalled, those hopes were dashed Thursday when the Census Bureau released new data showing that the city’s population had shrunk by 29,000 over the last decade — an 8.3 percent decline that brings the population to 319,000, its lowest level since 1870.
St. Louis, once the 4th largest city in the United States, now has as many people as it had shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War. Let that sink in for a second.
“The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” directly addresses suburbanization, urban flight, and emptying of America’s cities. Included in this post are two stills from the film that I hope provide food for thought as we start the process of discussing the implications of this bad news.
More analysis of the topic, and some brisk discussion, can be found over at NextSTL.
Here’s a site-plan for the Wendell O. Pruitt Apartments, and William Igoe Homes. We had it scanned it from a copy at the St. Louis Housing Authority.
If you want to get the full effect, you’ll have to head over to its Flickr page, where you can view it at its original size.
I’ve always had a fascination with maps, and my academic training is as a cartographer, but despite their similarities, I’ll have to own up to not knowing my way around blueprints or architectural/surveying documents in any meaningful way. I’m sure that several people who read this are quite familiar with the idiom. If you’d like to point out any interesting features you find, I’d love for you to drop me an email.
Chad Freidrichs accepts award for Best Documentary Feature at Oxford Film Festival. Photo courtesy of: Danny Klimetz
We had a very pleasant surprise at the conclusion of the Oxford Film Festival this past weekend. With a packed and attentive awards-night crowd, and amidst a strong lineup in several categories, the judges selected “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” as best documentary feature, with an Honorable Mention for cinematography going to “Beijing Taxi“. We’re honored that they thought so highly of the film, and appreciative of their award — a handsome statuette that they call the “Hoka”, which was designed by a local sculptor.
Our thanks go out to the Oxford Film Festival, and especially their staff and volunteers. We’d also like to express our appreciation for the people who attended our screenings and contributed to what were some very thoughtful and illuminating Q&As. We saw a handful of St. Louis folks who made the long drive to Oxford — that was special for us; I hope you enjoyed the film.
The people of the Oxford Film Festival were fantastic, Melanie and the staff deserve praise for being so helpful and accommodating. The people of Oxford, Mississippi, were pretty amazing as well. We’d like to thank three new friends we spent significant time with — all strangers met by random chance, and each suggesting that there just might be something to the whole “Southern Hospitality” idea. To Asst. Provost Dr. Donald Cole, for a fascinating tour of Ole Miss’ historic Lyceum; to Jane, the English composition teacher and bartender at Taylor Pub for taking us in and showing us around town; and to Dave, an Ole Miss Engineering student who taught us the Hotty Toddy, and ordered a St. Louis beer before he even knew where we were from.
Great festival; and thanks, we’re honored.
Update:Here’s some video of Chad shortly after receiving the award. Video courtesy of Oxford Film Festival‘s YouTube Channel.
Very pleased to announce our acceptance to the True/False film festival in Columbia, Missouri. Our screenings are as follows:
Saturday, March 5 – 10:00AM (Little Ragtag)
Saturday, March 5 – 7:30PM (Globe Theater)
Sunday, March 6 – 3:00PM (Forrest Theater)
Even if you’ve not yet been to T/F, if you’re a doc fan there’s a good chance you’ve heard of what a fun time it is. They’ve built — in eight years of strong programming and community and filmmaker involvement — a reputation as a can’t-miss documentary festival. It’s always a good time; and if you have the opportunity to go, I’d advise taking it. You’ll see some great films if you do.
While “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” addresses nationwide changes in the 20th century urban experience, it draws its subject and its spirit from only one of these cities. One city that felt these changes intimately and continues to struggle with the fallout. The Gateway City, Mound City, HuSTLe City — our beautiful city of St. Louis. We can’t wait to share the film with you.
A St. Louis screening of “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” has long been a top priority of ours. We’re pleased to announce, along with our partners, the Missouri History Museum, the local premiere of the film on Saturday, April 9th at MHM.
Check back with us for more details as they develop.
-Paul Fehler
Shaw Neighborhood, St. Louis City
Producer, “the Pruitt-Igoe Myth”
Big Sky: What kind of challenges did you face with doing a documentary with a subject so racially charged?
Chad Freidrichs:Poverty and crime, the two markers most attributed to Pruitt-Igoe’s residents, often unfairly, are extraordinarily sensitive subjects, especially when race gets involved. Those were certainly conditions that existed in Pruitt-Igoe and deeply affected many of its residents; we don’t shy away from them, but we also wanted to tell another story.
If you want to tell a truthful story about Pruitt-Igoe, a story that presents life as it was truly lived, you have to show the relative normality that prevailed. Most people in Pruitt-Igoe lived lives free of crime. And yet, that’s not often pointed out. Many were poor, but the focus often stops there. It usually doesn’t extend to the ingenuity and brave struggle that the poverty engendered.
BSD:What kind of challenges did you face with a) doing a documentary with a subject so racially charged?
CF: Poverty and crime, the two markers most attributed to Pruitt-Igoe’s residents, often unfairly, are extraordinarily sensitive subjects, especially when race gets involved. Those were certainly conditions that existed in Pruitt-Igoe and deeply affected many of its residents; we don’t shy away from them, but we also wanted to tell another story.
If you want to tell a truthful story about Pruitt-Igoe, a story that presents life as it was
truly lived, you have to show the relative normality that prevailed. Most people in Pruitt-
Igoe lived lives free of crime. And yet, that’s not often pointed out. Many were poor, but
the focus often stops there. It usually doesn’t extend to the ingenuity and brave struggle
that the poverty engendered.
Q. 2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?
A: The biggest lesson I’ve taken from the making of the film is that difficult or complicated events resist simplification; but that we as humans have have a very real and understandable desire to see things simplified.
In this way, the person who does the simplifying for us is doing us a kind of favor; but in so doing, he or she is also controlling — in small or large ways — how we remember the event, the importance of the event, and the conclusions we take from the event. For events that are the most important, or events that are most heavily simplified, the distortions and errors introduced can be quite large.
The best part in getting this film — or any other film I’ve worked on — made was the opportunity to interact with and learn from dozens of people with specialized knowledge and experience. It’s edifying and humbling and fascinating and I thank my good fortune for having had the chances I’ve had to share time with these people.
Q. 2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?A: The biggest lesson I’ve taken from the making of the film is that difficult or complicated events resist simplification; but that we as humans have have a very real and understandable desire to see things simplified.
In this way, the person who does the simplifying for us is doing us a kind of favor; but in so doing, he or she is also controlling — in small or large ways — how we remember the event, the importance of the event, and the conclusions we take from the event. For events that are the most important, or events that are most heavily simplified, the distortions and errors introduced can be quite large.
The best part in getting this film — or any other film I’ve worked on — made was the opportunity to interact with and learn from dozens of people with specialized knowledge and experience. It’s edifying and humbling and fascinating and I thank my good fortune for having had the chances I’ve had to share time with these people.
A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to stumble across the blog of a Virginia architecture graduate student. Her research is focusing on vegetation on the current Pruitt-Igoe site.
Lots of good Pruitt-Igoe and STL content on there. Here’s her most recent post. I’m a big fan of her maps (esp. her treatments of the Compton & Dry maps). I look forward to seeing more of her research. Here’s her blog:
Framing a Modern Mess
The New York Times has created some very useful interactive maps, using recently released U.S. census data. The maps allow for comparison of median income, median home values, median rents, high school graduation rates, race/ethnicity, and various other demographic categorizations by neighborhood. Although the specified links are for St. Louis, you can use the New York Times web site to study other cities around the United States. For those interested, Pruitt-Igoe was located in the still-struggling neighborhood located in census track 1213.
St. Louis themes:Median Income — Income ChangeMedian Home Value — Home Value ChangeMedian Rent — Rent ChangeHigh School GradsRace
Pruitt-Igoe was only one of many high rise public housing developments built during and after World War II. And like Pruitt-Igoe, many have long since vanished. Just recently, Chicago officially closed down the Cabrini-Green housing development. Similar to Pruitt-Igoe, Chicago hoped that Cabrini-Green would solve their low-income housing needs, but also like Pruitt-Igoe, Cabrini-Green became infamous for its dilapidated buildings and reputation for rampant crime. Having survived many decades longer than Pruitt-Igoe, the last of the residents of Cabrini Green have moved out, and the final building will soon be razed. How will history look back on the days of Cabrini-Green?
We’re very happy to announce the release of our Educational DVD. Please see our Educational DVD/Screenings page for more info, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have.
After a very fun screening of "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth" for Stranger Than Fiction, Chad Freidrichs had a chance to Q&A with the terrific IFC Center crowd.
The great folks over at True/False have posted a conversation between our own Chad Freidrichs and a favorite filmmaker of ours, Sam Green (The Weather Underground, Utopia in Four Movements).
NYC Public Housing Google Maps Layer by The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
