The Pruitt-Igoe Myth - Region 1

It began as a housing marvel. Built in 1956, Pruitt-Igoe was heralded as the model public housing project of the future, "the poor man's penthouse."

Two decades later, it ended in rubble - its razing an iconic event that the architectural theorist Charles Jencks famously called "the death of modernism." The footage and images of its implosion have helped to perpetuate a myth of failure, a failure that has been used to critique Modernist architecture, attack public assistance programs, and stigmatize public housing residents.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth seeks to set the historical record straight. To examine the interests involved in Pruitt-Igoe's creation. To re-evaluate the rumors and the stigma. To implode the myth.

Special Features:
Bonus Film: "More Than One Thing" (Dir. Steve Carver; 30 min; 1969) Director's Commentary by Chad Freidrichs
Additional Interviews
Pruitt-Igoe Site Tour