Whatever Happened to Pruitt-Igoe?

Pruitt-Igoe was an enormous, modernist public-housing complex erected in St. Louis in the mid-1950s.  Almost immediately after construction finished, the complex began to deteriorate.  By the end of the 1960s, most experts agree that Pruitt–Igoe had devolved into a dangerous and crime-infested wasteland.  Even its architect lamented: "I never thought people were that destructive."

In 1972, the complex was famously dynamited.  Sam Jacobs recently took a field trip to see what remains of the area.  Here's his report.

Steve Clowney