And I thought my house was messy?

17 Thoughts on “And I thought my house was messy?”

1. Beer Jew on March 30, 2011 at 4:43 am said:

   wtf is pettigrew heights?
   is that some fancy name the city gave to the “loop” area to make it sound more appealing?
2. Angry Guy on March 30, 2011 at 5:27 am said:

   Munson Slums has a nicer ring to it.
3. Poly43 on March 30, 2011 at 5:54 am said:

   Here are the boundries.

   http://www.siouxfalls.org/~/media/documents/planning/neighborhoods/pettigrew/Pettigrew_Heights_Boundary_Map.ashx

   I’m not sure of why the loop area is called what it is, because the Pettigrew home and museum doesn’t even fall within the boundary.

   The area has a lot history for me. Lotsa good memories from there as a kid. Locked doors and looking over your shoulder was not heard of back then. Progress I guess.
4. Beer Jew on March 30, 2011 at 6:23 am said:

   I grew up about three blocks north of the Pettigrew Museum. It was a decent neighborhood. Nice mix of renters and owners. Just a good old fashioned working person’s part of town. I remember walking around at night all the time and occasionally half-drunk up until I moved out in the early 90’s
   I spoke with my mom last night. She keeps commenting on how much the area has changed in the last 10 years. Everyone has moved out of the center of the city. White flight in Sioux Falls. I never woulda thunk it.
5. Tom H. on March 30, 2011 at 6:41 am said:

   Rising gas prices might make people think again about moving back into central Sioux Falls. I can tell you that increased transit service in the core neighborhoods would be a big deal to somebody like me who has spent some time living in bigger cities with good public transportation.

   Growing up in Sioux Falls, boarding a city bus would have been downright unthinkable. Marketing SAM as something for “normal people”, and increasing service so as to make it actually convenient could go a long ways to making the core desirable to the white-flighters, while all their McMansions go underwater.
6. Poly43 on March 30, 2011 at 7:12 am said:

   I grew up about three blocks north of the Pettigrew Museum.

   I grew up just a couple of blocks further north than you, just in an earlier time I suspect. I was drafted in ’68 and my folks moved to an area of town just south of Pettigrew Heights while I was in the service. The ol hood certainly has changed. I drive through it occasionally when on errands. Sad.
7. anominous on March 30, 2011 at 9:22 am said:

   Remove all walkable grocery stores in a neighborhood and it suffers. Even Munson should have known that.
8. Sy on March 30, 2011 at 9:33 am said:

   Those mom and pop groceries got shut down by Hy Vee and Wal Mart. Nothing Munson could’ve done to prevent that.
9. sheep herder on March 30, 2011 at 1:07 pm said:

   I bet your mom is glad she doesn’t have to clean up after you anymore!
10. Costner on March 30, 2011 at 1:10 pm said:

    Agree with Sy on that one… it is a matter of economics not politics.

    The amazing thing is you can put a liquor store next door to a grocery store and it will remain open even after the grocery store is long gone. People are willing to ride a bus to save some money on groceries… but they can pay a bit more if a few 40ozers or 8ball are within walking distance.

    As to Pettigrew Heights I’ll have to admit it is marginally better than it was a few years ago, but it has a long ways to go. It seems anytime an area goes from single family to multi-family property values plummet while crime heads the other direction. There are still some very nice homes in that area and it has a lot of potential, but aside from code enforcement and increased police presence I’m not sure what a city can do to force a neighborhood to undergo revitalization.

    More razing of homes? That hasn’t really worked thus far. Investment in new property? They tried some of that… nobody wanted to buy in so they went to rentals. Tax incentives? Bribes? Neighborhood revitalization via infrastructure updates (new roads, historically correct street lighting, new investment in parks etc)? Code changes to limit resident density based upon available parking (ie require 1.5 parking spaces per bedroom and a minimum of three parking spaces per dwelling etc)?

    Can you really force revitalization or will it just come with time as people take it upon themselves to invest in the community? I’m just always amazed that you can go a few blocks North and you find such amazing homes, while a few blocks south it is like a completely different city.
11. Tom H. on March 30, 2011 at 1:59 pm said:

    They need to embrace rentals in that neighborhood, not demonize them. Sioux Falls really doesn’t have any truly urban neighborhoods outside of downtown, and Pettigrew heights is trying to become one, but the city won’t let it.

    Minimum parking requirements, overly-wide streets, and minimum lot setbacks keep densities lower than they would be if people could build as they wanted. Restrictive use-based zoning keeps people separated from jobs and shops for no apparent reason other than “they shouldn’t mix”.

    Cities like Duluth, Sioux City, and Omaha all have embraced their urban districts and given them the freedom to develop. The movement called “New Urbanism” could really transform many of the inner neighborhoods of Sioux Falls, like Pettigrew Heights and Whittier. Here’s a really great resource if you’re interested: http://www.strongtowns.org
12. l3wis on March 30, 2011 at 8:56 pm said:

    My mom cleaned up after me? Hmmmmm.
13. Beer Jew on March 31, 2011 at 6:25 am said:

    It’s an honor to have my caricature on a fridge magnet next to Archie Bunker. Thanks!
14. shane on March 31, 2011 at 5:21 pm said:

    *hipster*
15. l3wis on April 3, 2011 at 11:23 pm said:

    BJ – BAHAHAHAHA!
16. Beer Jew on April 5, 2011 at 8:18 am said:

    Long live the Owl’s Nest!
    Whooooooooooo!
17. l3wis on April 5, 2011 at 11:17 am said:

    You should see that dump now. Donny would not be happy. “Goddammit Dean, pickup your beer cans and armbands!”