VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Desoto Carr Neighborhood (above and right top and bottom) and Saint Louis Obselete & Map of Public Housing Projects in Desoto Carr (below)
URBAN PROBLEMS Effects of urbanization and industrialization: the creation of slums At the beginning of the 20th century, Saint Louis City was facing intense overcrowding following the return of soldiers from WWI and WWII, the influx of African Americans brought by the Great Migration, and the increased population due to industrialization and urbanization. Residents of slums faced health problems and lack of sanitation. They were forced to illegally subdivide rooms for affordability and space. One of the major areas just north of downtown, the DesotoCarr neighborhood, was infamous for ts poorly built tenements lacking light, air and open space. Boarding house fires were a regular occurrence. Slumlords and landlords exploited those living in these tightly spaced tenements, rarely helping with maintenance and overcharging rent. Private real estate companies lobbied government officials to create depressed property values and to formalize racial segregation (Heathcott 2008).
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Desoto-Carr Figure Ground 1909 (top) compared to Street Grid 1909 (bottom) before Vaughn Towers was built
Before Vaughn Towers The figure ground of Desoto Carr in 1909 epitimized the word “slum.� The buildings were small one to three story tenements or stores densly packed up against each other. They were normally oriented towards the streets, leaving small empty spaces in the middle of blocks. The street grid was compact and varied with many alleyways. The boundaries of Desoto Carr were from Cass Avenue to Cole Street and from Jefferson Avenue to North Tucker Boulevard/13th Street.
URBAN MORPHOLOGY
Desoto-Carr Figure Ground 1968 (top) compared to Street Grid 1968 (bottom) before Vaughn Towers was built
After Vaughn Towers The figure ground of Desoto Carr 1968 was completely different from before public housing was built in the area. The street grid no longer lined up with the streets in the rest of the city, with only one street, North 20th Street, running through the site.The newly built public housing did not match the scale of the surrounding area. The Vaughn Towers (highlighted in yellow) were x-shaped high rises oriented in no obvious connection to the street grid with lots of open space.
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
1940 Census Tract 21C, St Louis City, Missouri Total Population: 14,874 - Black Population: 12, 196 (81.995%)
1970 Census Tract 1213, St Louis City, Missouri Total Population: 11,124 - Black Population: 11,008 (98.957%)
White Flight / “Negro Invasion� Saint Louis was going through huge changes demographically for the first half of the 20th century. As shown in the population graphs on the right, Saint Louis Metropolitan area increased by almost a third from 1900 to 1910. Over the course of seventy years, Saint Louis lost a large percentage of its residents to the county. The city went from having three quarters of the total population to having only one half of the combined population. As the white population left the city, the black popuation greatly increased. The above census data maps show that the Desoto-Carr neighborhood changed from 82% black in 1940 to 99% black in 1970 even though the actual total population was decreasing. The maps show the surrounding areas also becoming more populated by blacks. This occured over the course of the creation and destruction of public housing. The city shrank intensely. The map of St Louis City Density of Population shows a scattered, sparse landscape in 1940, with a huge expected growth of density by 1970. Unfortunately, these predictions were incorrect. The government invisioned the city to grow, but the opposite happened.
DEMOGRAPHICS
St Louis City 1940 Density of Population Versus 1970 Estimated Density of Population (above) and population graphs
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Changing Saint Louis There were many reformers at the time, including the National Planning Association, the League of Women Voters, the Citizens Council of Housing and Community Planning, the Anti-Slum Commussion, the Saint Louis Housing Authority, Washington University, Saint Louis University, the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Central Labor Council. These councils attempted to create better housing and more jobs. The clergy and religious leaders attempted to bring order and morality to the area. The Downtown Business Executives tried to spur business and development for their own gain. People criticized these policies for being patronizing, idealistic, ineffective, discriminatory, and exploitative. The black community and the white working class attempted to fight these changes for fear of being displaced and poorly treated. Private real estate groups were not in favor because the policies took power from them. Some government officials were also against the changes because of its large budget and long list of possible problems (Heathcott ).
PROGRESSIVE ERA POLITICS
Map of Obsolete & Blighted Districts in St Louis (left top), Neighborhoods and Industrial Districts (left bottom), and Desirable Ultimate Land Use Plan of 1947 for St Louis (above)
Timeline of Social programs and reforms 1933 Housing Division of Public Works Administration National Industrial Recovery Act 1934 Public Words Administration Housing Federal Program for Housing construction National Housing Act 1937 Housing Act, provided funding to local agencies to improve housing for poor 1940 1940 Latham Act, defense housing 1944 State Legislature, gave governement right to form urban redevelopment corporations 1945 MO cities gain Right of eminent domain on “blighted land� 1946 St. Louis City Ordinance, relaxing restrictions on building subdivisions 1949 1949 Housing Act (known as Wagner-Steagall Act) focused on slum clearance
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Desoto Carr Neighborhood Rehabilitation Project
“Urban Renewal” The idea of redevloping St. Louis first came into popularty in the 1920s. Their main goal was to wall off the poor people from major commercial areas. The exact same reasoning was applied in the DeSoto-Carr Urban Renewal Area in the 1940s and 1950s. When the area was declared blighted in 1959, government officials began multiple projects for poor people building 4200 units in total spread around the area (Monti 1990). Government officials wanted to redefine the future of the city. Heathcott writes, “slum clearance was not so much a technological or economic imperative, but a carefully assembled political agenda to remake the urban landscape.” With lack of funding and little movement in the projects, the St. Louis Post Dispatch proposed the question shown below.
PROPOSALS AND POLICIES The Public Housing Act of 1949 After the Public Housing Act of 1949 was passed, local governments pushed to create more largescale developments. The bill enforced that it had a national goal development of “a devent home and suitable living environment fo every American.� Even though negative signals were seen in previous projects and decline was already evident, local housing authorities promoted quick construction of a second generation of high-rise buildings. The George L. Vaughn public housing project was first proposed in the 1950s North Side Urban Renewal Plan. The project consisted of four nine-story buildings containing 656 units, at a density of 40 units per acre. This intense density caused problems with tenants because there were many large families and not a lot of recreation space. (Meehan 1979) Desoto-Carr Redevelopment Area (Monti)
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Image of a model of Vaughn Towers (above), Figure Ground of Vaughn Towers (below), Figure Ground of 1 Pruitt-Igoe Tower (bottom right)
Pruitt-Igoe vs. Vaughn Towers
The figure ground of Vaughn Towers and the above photograph of a model show the irreglar shape of the buildings. This same design was applied to the DarsteWebbe Towers in the south of St Louis. In comparison Vaughn Towers, one building of the Pruitt Igoe project walls off and separates the area moreso than Vaughn. The arrangement of Vaughn creates an semi-private interior space off from the street grid.
SITE DRAWINGS Site Design The 660-unit Vaughn public housing project was built in 1957. The project sat between Cass Avenue and Carr, Eighteenth, and Twentieth streets. This new site plan erased the street and alley street grid with a new superblock pattern. Because of their unconventional shape, the buildings had no clear orientation to the street. The site plan consisted of five buildings, four x-shaped buildings and one rectangular building for the elderly. There was mainly pedestrian traffic with limited vehicle access for parking. The landscaping included a large parking area and a large open play area. The walkways were winding pathways with no real connection to the street. The plan was directly southeast from Pruitt Igoe in walking distance. Directly to the east of Vaughn Towers, a low rise town house design public housing project, Carr Square Village, sat. Compared to Pruitt Igoe, the project was rather small in size, since it only had high rise five buildings, while Pruitt Igoe had thirty three high rise buildings at about the same scale. The fact that the site plan of Vaughn Towers was at a much greater scale than Carr Square Village, it had an inherent stigma of public housing attached to it. The layout set it apart from the surrounding neighborhood, rather than attempting to fit the area’s typology and scale. Vaughn Towers Site Plan, Highlighted areas are entrances
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Vaughn Towers Buildings B3 and B4 Elevations (Highlighted areas are shared balconies)
Building Design Its X-like shape definitely made the Vaughn Towers unconventional. Instead of the traditional double loaded rectagular corridor, the rectangular and square modules were broken up by less dense hallways so each family felt more ownership over their shared area. On each Elevator Stop Floor there were four laundry and drying areas for shared use. Instead of a whole floor sharing one laundry area, each module, which housed 2-4 families, shared these areas. There were twenty units on the Elevator Stop Floors. Apartment size ranged from two bedroom to three bedroom. Each dwelling included the bedrooms, a bathroom, a storage room, a living-dining-kitchenette, a personal balcony and two closets. There was a stairwell at the end of each square module and two at the center rectangular area. The elevator ran in the left part of the center rectangular area. The elevation gives off a sense of monotony because the windows and ceiling height are the same on every floor. The building facade was made of brick and the shared balconies had metal railing, allowing access to fresh air at every level. The style of the building is reminiscent of the International Style and Modernism, similar to Pruitt-Igoe. This building typology is lacking in any sense of idenity or individuality.
BUILDING DRAWINGS
Balcony Balcony
Hallway Laundry area
elevator
Laundry area
Vaughn Towers Elevator Stop Floor and Typical Floor Plan Buildings B3 and B4 (Highlighted areas are shared spaces)
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Three young men sitting in front of one of the Vaughn Towers, the open balconies are visible
Bound to Fail The site location for Vaughn Towers was flawed in that it was stuck between Carr Squarre and Pruitt Igoe, clustering it on a 98-acre region among vacant and decaying buildings. Recreational facilities were substandard. The location fell victim to crime and vandalism and became a magnet for criminal activity. One major issue was that too much public housing was built at a horrible time. Another issue was the size of apartments. Most apartments were only one or two bedroom, when families needed larger units. Only 8 percent of St Louis public housing was four bedrooms and a very small amount was five bedrooms. Construction of the buildings was shoddy and cheap. Playgrounds and recreational spaces were let go as funding was cut short. The elevators were skip-stop to save money, which caused lots of frustration. The elevators also could not handle large families, or constant use and they needed constant repairs. The cost of the apartments skyrocketed even while quality forgotten. The elderly tower required 60 dollars per square foot was twice as high it was supposed to be. Vaughn could only produce 3.5 percent of its original investment. Vaughn’s occupation reached its height below 94 percent, averaging between 88 and 93 percent through the 1960s. It was obvious that the St. Louis Housing Authority would have to increase their profit by either reducing costs or increasing revenue, either by improving occupancy or increasing rents. The SLHA began to feel the Eisenhower recession. It was becoming more difficult to attract tenants and offer services. At the same time, vandals were seriously damaging buildings. The Authority fought to improve conditions but they were handicapped by a lack of resources or funding. (Meehan 1979)
NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE Rent Strike of 1969 A big turning point for public housing was the St Louis Rent Strike that began in February 1969 and lasted until October. The strike was sparked by the rent increase carried out in November 1968. The tenants demanded lower rents, better services, restoration of buildings, and more security. Even though the demands of the tenants was relatively moderate, the Housing Authority had no money and could barely meet their needs. After the strike was over, three major shifts occured. First, local tenants began to have more influence. Second, the Housing Authority lost power. Third, the cost of operations increased greatly. The Housing and Urban Developent Act of 1968 also helped better the lives of tennants. Local housing authorities were now required to provide better social serves. Tenant organizations formed, like the A Tenant Affairs Board (TAB), gaining most of the authority (Meehan 1979). Tenants during the 1969 Rent Strike (above and below)
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Photos taken outside and inside Pruitt Igoe showing damage
Vandalism in Vaughn The Vaughn Towers were second to Pruitt-Igoe in the amount of damage they suffered. Flashing from the roof was ripped off, leaving huge leaks and created sizable water damage. All electrical fixtures were stolen from vacant units. Common spaces were destroyed and the grounds were utter chaos. Garbage and broken glass filled the hallways and stairways. The majority of windows in the buildings were no longer there. All appliances, fridges, ovens, doors and windows, needed to be replaced. Electricity and heating was no longer functional. The building was only fifteen years old. An engineering report was made that “urged very strongly against any effort to restore or habilitate the developments until order and security had been established...without this protection and enforcement, any thought of adequately maintaining and rehabilitating this project is meaningless� (Meehan 1979).
PROJECT DECLINE & RETROFITS Particpants in Carr Square’s two-year Youth Community Conservation Improvement Program (YCCIP) rehabilitate an apartment at Vaughn, April 1980
Lamar Smith, manager of the Vaughn Apartments, displays one of the new cabinets installed at the development, April 1980
Re-Redevelopment The Housing Act of 1970 made it possible for full tenant participation in operations of the building. Vaughn Towers was the first project to experiment with full tenant management. In the late 1970s and 1980s, with more control, tennants began training in maintenance work so that they could volunteer in fixing up the apartments. They helped with janitorial services, day care and meals for the elderly and young. Residents even began starting their own businesses with help from the Tenant Affairs Board. (Monti). The images above and to the side show residents taking charge to help rehabilitate the dilapidating Vaughn Towers. By 1976, Vaughn was back to about 85 percent occupancy. The elderly building was completely full (Meehan 1979).
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
DEMOLITION Constructive Demolition In 1990, Vaughn residents sued the St Louis Housing Authority for purposely allowing their buildings to decay that demolition was the only way out, what they caled “constructive demolition.� The case was successful in that it forced SLHA to provide 222 units of replacement public housing at the same location. By 1994, only 61 families were living in Vaughn, from the original 2,500 people. 73 percent of the families at Vaughn were below the poverty line by 1990. The area was a food desert and lacked in basic institutions. Even though the Jefferson school was in walking distance from Vaughn Towers, only 80 students from the neighborhood went to the school. Demolition was inevitable (Turbov 2005). George L. Vaughn Homes, 1995 (above), Demolition of last Vaughn Tower (Michael Allen, below), Various News Articles about demolition (Left)
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
REDEVELOPMENT Murphy Park Vaughn Towers was replaced by 411-unit Murphy Park market rate housing development with units set aside for public housing. The new units were designed as low-rise town houses by McCormack Baron for mixed income. The new layout and was integrated into the surrounding neighborhood. The development would include a bigger effort that would have public services and institutions. Private companies, the main one being McCormack Baron, constructed and will continue to manage it. The footprint of the new homes is larger than the highrises of Vaughn Towers. From 1990 to 2000, the househld median income increased 32.5 percent. During that same time frame, the poverty rate decreased 17.3 percent (Turbov 2005). Plans for Vaughn (left), Snapshot of a neighborhood (left page), and a photo of one of the Town houses in the new development (bellow, Michael Allen)
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
A Better Place to Grow Up McCormack Baron tried to sell the idea of a whole community, but other than the building the units and working with the Jefferson Schooling system, the company has done little to help create ammenities needed. They designed a day care, pool, club house and park, but within a few years, those community staples were vacated and unmanaged. So did Richard Baron, the CEO of McCormack Baron, really have community intentions behind his vision? Or was it just another real estate development that had some public interraction?
COMMUNITY A better place to grow up was an article in the St Louis Post Dispatch interviewing members of the community about the new development. Selling a vision is an article interviewing Richard D. Baron, the CEO of McCormick Baron (bottom left) “We’re One Big Community” was an article interviewing one of the community leaders, Marlene Hodges, 2000 (below) Image of one of the units at Murphy Park (top left)
VAUGHN TOWERS Rebecca Erde
Has anything changed? Is St Louis better off? The most recent GIS data shows that St Louis is about one third vacant. The majority of the vacancy can be found in the North Side, particularly around the site of Pruitt Igoe and Vaughn Towers. In the course of 100 years, St Louis has transformed its slums into poor vacant neighborhood, which leaves me wondering if anything has really changed or if we have learned anything. The “A better place to grow” article gave me a lot of hope about the reigion, but that was in 2000, now 14 years ago. The Murphy Park apartments are still in a food desert and are lacking ammenities. They are blocked off from downtown and the stigma still feels as if it exists. The new development feels placeless and lacks a real St Louis identity. So how different is the Blighted and Obsolete Map made in 1947 different than the Vacancy map of today? Planners always have to create some grand solution. First it was slums, they had to clear those and put up new shiny international style buildings. Then, it was high rises, they needed to be removed and be replaced by lowrise row housing. Now, it’s vacancy and poverty. What new architectural style will be accepted as fitting to put a bandaid on this area? And that is the real problem. We cover up problems with bandaids. The mindset of planners should not be what the new development will look like when it’s built, but what it will be like in forty, in fifty years. Maintenance has to be just as important as planning and for the past century, it has barely been part of the conversation.
CONCLUSION
Vacancy in St Louis 2013
VAUGHN TOWERS Sources
SOURCES Rebecca Erde
Heathcott, Joseph. “In the Nature of a Clinic”: The Design of Early Pulic Housing in St Louis. Journal of Sciety of Architectural Historians, Vol 70. No. 1, March 2011. Heathcott, Joseph. The City Quietly Remade: National Programs and Local Agendas in the Movement to Clear the Slums, 1942-1952. Journal of Urban History. Heathcott, Joseph. Modelling the urban future: planning, slums, and the seduction of growth in St Louis, 1940-1950. Planning Perspectives, October 2005. Meehan, Eugene J. The Quality of Federal Policymaking Programmed Failure in Public Housing. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1979. Monti, Daniel J. Race, Redevelopment, and the New Company Town. New York: State University of New York Press, 1990. Turbov, Mindy. Hope VI and Mixed-Finance Redevelopments: A Catalyst for Neighborhood Renewal, St Louis Case Study: Murphy Park. A Case Study Prepared for the The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Septemper 2005.
Photos Thank you to Michael Allen for use of his flikr photos. Thank you to Bob Hansman for sharing news articles and information. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w1NsGqniNUA/TsXqqaRmCBI/AAAAAAAAEas/fm8Buaxpkwk/ s1600/1947+City+Plan+-+blighted.gif https://stlouis-mo.gov/archive/1947-comprehensive-plan/images/plate4.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3516/3963107491_601f848432.jpg http://podcast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pruitt_igoe_99_podcast.jpg http://stlouis-mo.gov/archive/1947-comprehensive-plan/images/plate15.jpg http://www.umsl.edu/~whmc/guides/photos/41/732_581.jpg http://stlouis-mo.gov/archive/1947-comprehensive-plan/metrop.shtml http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GrTfePpJSI0/TsXpLNAZu-I/AAAAAAAAEac/Bwmdpqu6t1k/ s1600/1947+City+Plan+-+desired+uses.gif https://stlouis-mo.gov/archive/1947-comprehensive-plan/images/plate14.GIF http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/stlouiscasestudy.pdf http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3581/5822900930_4e2748a616_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2366/5822900410_1b91de0579_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2361/5822337377_29205023b7_b.jpg http://www.mccormackbaron.com/component/sobi2/?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=2&sobi2 Id=71 http://www.murphyparkapts.com/ http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2012/03/the-last-public-housing-complex-tower-in-st-louis/ http://static.businessinsider.com/image/519cf3b5ecad041910000002/image.jpg