Cochran Gardens Explained
Cochran Gardens was a public housing complex on the near north side of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Construction was completed in 1953.[1] The complex was occupied until 2006. It was famous for its residents' innovative form of tenant-led management. In 1976, Cochran Gardens became one of the first U.S. housing projects to have tenant management.
Built by the same firm, Leinweber, Yamasaki & Hellmuth,[2] [3] as the infamous Pruitt–Igoe complex, Cochran Gardens was more successful than its ill-fated sister project. In the mid 1970s, Bertha Gilkey and a group of friends successfully led a community driven rehabilitation effort; in 1976 she won a property management contract from the city.[4] Independent management improved Cochran Gardens and created small business jobs in the neighborhood.[5] President George H. W. Bush visited the site in 1991, commending tenant management and Bertha Gilkey. However, in 1998 city authorities took over Cochran Gardens, citing tax mismanagement by the tenant association. The buildings rapidly deteriorated. By 1999 vacancy rate increased from under 10% to one-third.Cochran Gardens, which survived into the 21st century, was demolished in 2008.[6]
See also
- Cabrini–Green Homes, in Chicago, Illinois
- Robert Taylor Homes, in Chicago, Illinois
- St. James Town, in Toronto, Canada
- Ballymun Flats, in Dublin, Ireland
- Red Road (flats), in Glasgow, United Kingdom
- Hulme Crescents, in Manchester, United Kingdom
- Panel house, in various communist countries
Further reading
- Checkoway, Barry . Revitalizing an Urban Neighborhood: A St. Louis Case Study' . The Metropolitan Midwest . Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press . 1985 . 978-0-252-01114-6 .
- Book: Hall, Peter Geoffrey Hall . Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the Twentieth Century . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated . 2004 . 978-0-631-23252-0 .
- Book: Jencks, Charles . The Language of Post-Modern Architecture . New York: Rizzoli . 1984 . 978-0-8478-0571-6 .
- Book: Larsen, Lawrence Harold . Kirkendall, Richard Stewart . A History of Missouri: 1953 to 2003 . University of Missouri Press . 2004 . 978-0-8262-1546-8 .
- Mendelssohn, Robert E. . Quinn, Michael A. . Residential Patterns in a Midwestern City: The Saint Louis Experience . The Metropolitan Midwest . Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press . 1985 . 978-0-252-01114-6.
- Montgomery, Roger . Pruitt–Igoe: Policy Failure or Societal Symptom . The Metropolitan Midwest . Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press . 1985 . 978-0-252-01114-6.
- Book: Patterson, James T. . Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 . registration . Oxford University Press US . 1997 . 978-0-19-511797-4.
- Book: Rainwater, Lee . Behind Ghetto Walls: Black Families in a Federal Slum . Chicago: Aldine Transaction . 2006 . 978-0-202-30907-1 .
- Book: Weisman, Leslie K. . Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment . University of Illinois Press . 1994 . 978-0-252-06399-2 .
External links
Photos of Cochran Gardens http://www.builtstlouis.net/cochrangardens01.html
Notes and References
- Book: Wright, John Aaron. Discovering African American St. Louis: A Guide to Historic Sites. Missouri History Museum. 2002. St. Louis, Missouri.
- Web site: Built St. Louis | Vanished Buildings | Cochran Gardens. builtstlouis.net. 2015-05-17.
- Web site: Cochran Gardens, St. Louis . 2008-12-27 . 2007-02-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070227052001/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=100775 . dead .
- Web site: A Public Housing Success Story [Mackinac Center]. mackinac.org. 2015-05-17.
- Book: Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment. Weisman, L.K.. 1994. University of Illinois Press. 9780252063992. 2015-05-17.
- Web site: Ecology of Absence: Cochran Gardens Demolition Nearing Completion. ecoabsence.blogspot.com. 2015-05-17.
