Reviewed in the united states on february 17, 2012. Enter the pruittigoe myth, a documentary which seeks to set the historical record straight. Here you can download file the pruittigoe myth 2012. Louis, an urban renewal experiment gone bad director chad freidrichs traces the history and experiences of residents of st. By the late 1960s, the complex had become internationally infamous for its poverty, crime and racial segregation. The myth referenced in the films title is that pruittigoes fatal flaw was its architectural design, a longheld belief that friedrichs film handily debunks. As one speaker in the film states, the bigger story is in fact the decline of. Built in 1956, pruittigoe was heralded as the model public housing project of the future, the.
Although i have a keen interest in this project, due to its mythological status, the best answers to this question can be found in an academic paper the pruittigoe myth by katharine bristol page on. Shapiro, march 2012 business group dreaded the going hand in hand with decrease in property estimations might debilitate the budgetary since the trial. Destroyed in a dramatic and highlypublicized implosion, the pruittigoe public housing complex has become a widespread symbol of failure amongst architects, politicians and policy makers. Chad freidrichs is the director of the new documentary the pruittigoe myth and in the film. Built in 1956, pruitt igoe was heralded as the model public housing project of the future, the poor mans penthouse. By the end of the show, the pruittigoe myth left every viewer knowledgable about the citys past, as well as invested in st. It was nominated for a satellite award in 2012 in the category of best documentary film.
The pruittigoe myth tells the story of the transformation of the american city in the decades after world war ii, through the lens of the infamous pruittigoe housing development and the st. The pruittigoe myth, an album by benjamin balcom on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. The pruittigoe myth is a 2011 documentary film detailing the history of the pruitt igoe public. The pruittigoe myth seeks to set the historical record straight. The pruittigoe myth friday, january 20 thursday, february 9, 2012 the pruittigoe myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in america, and the city centers in which they resided, while tracing the personal and poignant narratives of several of the projects residents. Destroyed in a dramatic and highlypublicized implosion, the pruittigoe public housing complex has become a widespread symbol of failure. The pruittigoe myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in america, and the city centers in which they resided, while tracing the personal and poignant narratives of several of the projects residents. The producers have compiled an additional fifty minutes of resident stories, a valuable oral history of life in pruitt igoe that continues the emotional dialogue begun in the film. Built in 1956, pruittigoe was heralded as the model public housing project of the future, the poor mans penthouse. To examine the interests involved in pruittigoes creation.
Pruittigoe was among the largest projects of urban revitalization during its time. The pruittigoe architect, minoru yamasaki, has the great misfortune of having. The pruittigoe myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public. This innocent but complex question is the point of departure for the documentary film the pruittigoe myth 2011 directed by chad freidrichs. Designed by minoru yamasaki the architect who would later design the world trade. Louis, missouri, and the eventual decision to raze the entire complex in 1976 the documentary argues that the violent social collapse within the pruittigoe complex was not due to the demographic composition of its residents, but was a result of wider, external social. Filmmaker chad freidrichs attempts to dispel the myths surrounding st. The pruittigoe myth by chad friedrichs, director journal. Louis public housing project by detroit architect minoru yamasaki that was completed in 1956 and failed sixteen years later. The footage and images of its implosion have helped to perpetuate a myth of failure.
The pruittigoe myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in america, and the city centers in which they resided, while tracing the. You dont have to have ever been near the titular st. Ferguson and others published michael brown, ferguson, and the ghosts of pruittigoe find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. A powerful documentary film on the fate of a wellknown st. Louis, public welfare policies, racial segregation, and flawed assumptions made by the projects planners better explain what happened. The pruittigoe myth 2012 directed by chad freidrichs. Join our community just now to flow with the file the pruittigoe myth 2012. Louis became most famous at the moment of its demise. Louis infamous pruittigoe housing projects, the subject of this bleak, cleareyed documentary. The pruittigoe myth docudrama tells about the narrative of the pruittigoe public lodging composite in st. Save marinwoodlucas valley our community, our future.
Living conditions in pruittigoe began to decline soon after completion in 1956. The pruittigoe myth is distributed by first run features and is screening at the ifc center in new york city starting january 20, 2012, and will roll out across the country to coincide with the 40 year anniversary of the implosion in march 2012 aerial view of the massive thirtythree building project. The pruittigoe myth is surely one of the best and most moving documentaries in recent years. Destroyed in a dramatic and highlypublicized implosion, the pruitt igoe public housing complex has become a widespread symbol of failure amongst architects, politicians and policy makers.
The pruittigoe myth documentary does an outstanding job of painting a vivid picture for one to visualize, the many hardships the residents faced. The pruittigoe myth soundtrack from 2012, composed by benjamin balcom. Watch the pruittigoe myth online vimeo on demand on vimeo. Few buildings in history can claim as infamous a legacy as that of the pruittigoe housing project of. State historical society of missouri modern architecture died in st. Instead, the pruittigoe myth argues that factors such as structural changes occurring in st. The pruittigoe myth contextualizes the story of public. The pruittigoe myth tells the story of the transformation of the american city in the decades after world war ii, through the lens of the infamous pruitt. With slyvester brown, irvin dagen, elmer fiedler, robert fishman. The pruittigoe myth is a documentary film about the ways in which the american city changed in the 20th century. The pruitt igoe architect, minoru yamasaki, has the great misfortune of having. Pruitt homes and william igoe apartments, known together as pruittigoe, were joint urban housing projects first occupied in 1954 in the us city of st.
Death of the city of the future, reads one 1974 headline about the demolition of st. The pruittigoe myth is a 2011 documentary film detailing the history of the pruittigoe public housing complex in st. The testimony of former residents forms the heart of the pruitt igoe myth, but many great hours of resident interviews were left on the cutting room floor. Louis in 1950, five years before the construction of the pruitt portion of the.
Destroyed in a dramatic and highlypublicized implosion, the pruittigoe public housing complex has. Challenging the myth of pruittigoe posted on april 18, 2012 by timothy the pruittigoe myth, a documentary by chad freidrichs, comprises yet another attempt to interpret the history of pruittigoe, a vast and ambitious st. Two decades later, it ended in rubble its razing an iconic event. The true myth of pruittigoe is the idea that housing conditions were so deplorable that mass demolition and relocation were good ideas. The film sets out to defy conventional wisdom, to refute longheld beliefs, the myths built to define, and absolve us of, the public housing projects demise. The myths of the pruittigoe myth city journal project. It was designed to be a cure for the disease of poverty and slums, in which the city and community alike would thrive. Released in 2012 containing music from the pruittigoe myth 2012. Consider the federal census bureaus data from its selected population and housing characteristics report on st. Director chad freidrichs takes a long and necessary look at the modernist housing project designed to take residents out of ratinfested tenements and put them in clean, modern high rises designed to provide shelter, succor and dignity to the poverty stricken residents of st. Michael brown, ferguson, and the ghosts of pruittigoe.
Challenging the axiom that pruittigoe was a place doomed from within, the films narrator says, little was said about the laws that built and maintained it, the economy that deserted it, the segregation that stripped away opportunity, the radically. A unicorn stencil presentation in association with the missouri history museum. Louis housing project, the pruittigoe myth, raises crucial questions about the history of public housing in the united states, as well. Analysis of the pruittigoe myth documentary essay example. Performing spatial inequality in the pruittigoe myth abstract. Louis pruittigoe housing project by examining the rise and fall of the oncepromising development within a historical. Pruitt igoe myth public housing project business insider. Were sorry but jwapp doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. And it crystallised the pruitt igoe myth blaming the st louis housing complexs demise on its architecture, and indicting modern architecture and urbanism and its social aspirations more globally. Louis commissioned a public housing project unlike any in history.
It doesnt answer a single question about the failure of pruittigoe. The pruittigoe myth explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of. The pruittigoe myth and others have already delved into the issues surrounding the doomed public housing project and its destruction, but i find myself intrigued and saddened at what that vacant expanse of volunteer trees represents as well. Louis that opened in the mid1950s, part of the postwar dream of replacing slum apartments with modern. Louis, missouri, that was opened in the mid1950s was portion of the postwardream of replacing the. Journal of the society of architectural historians 2012 71 1.
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