Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sioux City History & Culture by Bicycle Part 14: South Bottoms Memorial

During the meat packing & stockyards boom in Sioux City the area known as the South Bottoms was home to many immigrants from different ethnic backgrounds. They put aside their differences & worked together at the stockyards & meat processing plants located very close to where they lived. Many did not have their own transportation & either took public transportation or walked to work every day. This area of Sioux City was very close by where they worked.

The city officials of Sioux City eventually forced these migrant workers to move when they re-constructed the Floyd Flood Control Channel & this part of Sioux City. I-29 & other parts of Sioux City now occupy where these hard workers once resided & struggled to make a living. There are still many descendants of these people today still in Sioux City & the surrounding area.

As part of the memorial there is a time capsule that is not to be opened until 2025. I'd love to see what is in it when the city opens it.

The memorial is located at the east end of Chris Larsen Rd, near where it intersects with Floyd Blvd. It is constructed out of the stone that made up the support piers for the old Pacific Short Line Bridge that I posted about earlier. This area is the beginning or one of the ends of the SIoux City Riverfront.

Here is more info. on the South Bottoms & the pics.:
South Bottoms Memorial




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