MODERN RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SOUTH DAKOTA, 1950-1975 A THEMATIC CONTEXT STUDY AUGUST 2017 MODERN RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE IN SOUTH DAKOTA, 1950-1975 A THEMATIC CONTEXT STUDY Prepared for South Dakota Department of Education South Dakota State Historical Society State Historic Preservation Office 900 Governors Drive Pierre, South Dakota 57501 History.sd.gov/Preservation Prepared by Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc. 151 Walton Avenue Lexington, Kentucky 40508 www.crai-ky.com _________________ S. Alan Higgins, M.S. Principal Investigator This activity has been financed with federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior through the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior. This program receives federal financial assistance from the National Park Service. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, or handicap in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 210 I Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. CONTENTS 1 | BACKGROUND INFORMATION 01 I. INTRODUCTION 03 A. Purpose and Need 04 B. Objectives 05 C. Regulatory Framework 07 D. Geographic Limits 07 E. Temporal Limits 07 II. PROJECT METHODOLOGY 09 A. Research Methodology 09 B. Field Methodology 10 C. Public Participation 10 D. Limitations 11 E. Document Organization 11 2 | DEVELOPMENTAL CONTEXT 13 III. PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE, 1950-1965 15 A. The Lasting Impact of the FHA 15 B. The Emergency of Modern Community Planning 23 C. Rural Electrification and Water Infrastructure 29 IV. A CHANGING SOCIETY, 1950-1965 35 A. Population Magnitude and Change 35 B. Economic Conditions and Effects on Settlement and Development 42 C. Demographic Trends and Homeownership 53 D. Automobile Age 57 V. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT, 1950-1970 63 A. General Trends in Regional Growth and Development 63 B. Region-Specific Growth and Development 73 VI. CONFRONTING CHANGE, 1965-1975 81 A. Balancing Needs 81 B. Fair Housing 84 C. Low-income Housing and Urban Renewal 88 i 3 | ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXT 97 VII. BUILDING AND SELLING HOUSING 99 A. The Homebuilding Industry 99 B. Selling Houses in the Modern Era 106 VIII. THE MODERN HOME 109 A. Mass Production, Prefabrication, and Technology 109 B. Material Treatments 118 C. General Construction Trends 125 D. Space Planning and the Modern House 133 E. Popularization of Home Designs and Trends 143 IX. THE MODERN DEVELOPMENT 155 A. General Trends in Land Development 155 B. Development Characteristics 159 4 | IDENTIFICATION & EVALUATION 165 X. SURVEYING RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE 167 A. General Considerations 167 B. Proposed Methodology 168 XI. HOUSING FORMS AND ARHITECTURAL STYLES 177 A. Minimal Traditional 179 B. Ranch House 180 C. Split-level 182 D. Bi-level 183 E. Massed Two-story 184 F. Mobile Home 185 G. Contemporary 186 H. Builder Modern 187 I. Shed Style 188 J. Neo-Eclectic 189 K. Other Forms 190 ii XII. EVALUATING SIGNIFICANCE 191 A. Evaluating Individual Properties 192 B. Evaluating Historic Districts 196 C. Criteria Considerations 202 XIII. INTEGRITY & REGISTRATION THRESHOLDS 205 A. Individual Properties 205 B. Historic Districts 209 5 | RECOMMENDATIONS 213 XIV. TOPICS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 215 XV. PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS 217 6 | BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 XVI. COLLECTIONS 221 XVII. PUBLISHED SOURCES 223 iii ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Lustron District, Mitchell, South Dakota 05 Figure 2 “Save Money—Repair Now” Advertisement 17 Figure 3 Dean, Donna, and Scott Sumner, University Park, University of South Dakota, 1954 20 Figure 4 Representation on South Dakota’s County Planning Boards, 1930s 24 Figure 5 South Dakota State College Research Bulletin, 1953 27 Figure 6 Pactola Dam, n.d. 32 Figure 7 Population Loss in South Dakota, 1950-1960 37 Figure 8 Population Loss in South Dakota, 1960-1970 37 Figure 9 Ardmore, South Dakota, c. 1910 41 Figure 10 Economic Regions of South Dakota 43 Figure 11 Grain Truck, Hughes County, 1950s 45 Figure 12 City and Area Development Corporations in South Dakota, 1970 50 Figure 13 Population Distribution, 1970 53 Figure 14 “Huron Residential Construction Progresses at Phenomenal Rate” 55 Figure 15 South Dakota’s Rail Network, Major Motor Routes, and Vanished Trade Centers, 1950 58 Figure 16 Interstate 29 Dedication at Beresford, 1962 60 Figure 17 Road Construction along the Countryside, 1962 61 Figure 18 Residential Construction in Rapid City, South Dakota, 1950-1975 65 Figure 19 Annexations by the City of Sioux Falls, 1950-1975 69 Figure 20 Aberdeen Land Use Study, 1966 71 Figure 21 “Bellview” Subdivision Plan, 1949 79 Figure 22 “Planning and Zoning in South Dakota” 82 Figure 23 “Modern Rural Development Provides Hope” 84 Figure 24 Account from Negro Airmen in a Northern Community 87 Figure 25 Boarded-up mid-twentieth century house, 1972 94 Figure 26 Mid-twentieth century house on flooded Rapid Creek, 1972 93 Figure 27 Section 235 Housing in Sioux Falls 95 Figure 28 Meadowland Apartments, Sioux Falls 95 Figure 29 Advertisement for Robert Peterson & Sons, 1954 100 Figure 30 Faculty Housing Company, Inc. Designs and Groundbreaking, 1950s 102 Figure 31 Ward Whitwam Residence, Sioux Falls 105 v Figure 32 William B. Lee Co. Model Home Advertisement 107 Figure 33 Advertisement for the 1956 Model National Home 111 Figure 34 Lustron House, Sioux Falls 112 Figure 35 Advertisement for the 1953 Model Gunnison Home 113 Figure 36 Construction of a Transa-House at Pierre, c. 1955 115 Figure 37 Geodesic Dome in Hughes County, c. 1980 116 Figure 38 Northern Heights Mobile Park, c. 1963 118 Figure 39 Alside Aluminum Siding Advertisement, 1949 119 Figure 40 Advertisement for Gage Bros. Concrete Block 121 Figure 41 House in Palo Verde Estates, Rapid City, c. 1955 122 Figure 42 House in University Addition, Mitchell, c. 1951 124 Figure 43 Sketches from the FHA’S Principles of Planning Small Houses, 1940 127 Figure 44 Millard Subdivision Housing, Rapid City, c. 1950 128 Figure 45 Brookfield Estates, Sioux Falls, c. 1950s 130 Figure 46 “Unusual Sioux Falls Homes” Series 132 Figure 47 Gaylord White Home, Sioux Falls, 1952 135 Figure 48 Residence in Knollwood Heights, Rapid City, 1972 139 Figure 49 Residence in Sioux Park, Rapid City, 1958 139 Figure 50 Residence in Sioux Park, Rapid City, 1955 139 Figure 51 Model Floor Plan Based on the Women’s Congress, 1956 142 Figure 52 Architects’ Small House Service Bureau Model 144 Figure 53 Residence in Leisure Acres, Rapid City, c. 1960 147 Figure 54 1955 Better Homes & Gardens Idea Home, Sioux Falls 149 Figure 55 1961 Parade of Homes Advertisement 152 Figure 56 1962 Parade of Homes Advertisement 152 Figure 57 Subdivision Plan for Vance Van Hall Addition, Huron, 1964 158 Figure 58 Nisick Heights, Lead, 1963 159 Figure 59 Leisure Acres, Rapid City, 1950s 160 Figure 60 Marcoe Heights, Rapid City, 1950s-1960s 162 Figure 61 Canyon Lake Heights, Rapid City, 1950s-1960s 162 Figure 62 South Boulevard Addition, Rapid City, 1953-1956 164 Figure 63 Rapid City, 1971 165 vi TABLES Table 1 Net Insured FHA Mortgages in South Dakota, 1936-1940 18 Table 2 Net Insured FHA Mortgages in South Dakota, 1946-1959 22 Table 3 Percent of South Dakota Farms Served by Electricity, 1930-1960 30 Table 4 Population Change in South Dakota, 1940-1970 36 Table 5 Population Change in Small Towns, 1940-1970 40 Table 6 Population Change in Economic Regions, 1950-1970 43 Table 7 Farm Characteristics in South Dakota, 1970 47 Table 8 Employment in South Dakota Industries, 1950-1960 51 Table 9 Regional Employment Distribution by Industry, 1970 51 Table 10 Families by Economic Region, 1970 54 Table 11 Housing Units Constructed, 1940-1980 56 Table 12 Owner-occupied Housing Units Constructed, 1940-1980 56 Table 13 Home Ownership in South Dakota by 1980 57 Table 14 State Highway Construction Expenditures, 1955-1964 60 Table 15 Permit Valuations for Selected Population Centers, 1965-1970 64 Table 16 City of Sioux Falls Annexations, 1950-1975 68 Table 17 Region I Growth and Development, 1940-1975 74 Table 18 Region II Growth and Development, 1940-1975 75 Table 19 Region III Growth and Development, 1940-1975 76 Table 20 Region IV Growth and Development, 1940-1975 77 Table 21 Region V Growth and Development, 1940-1975 78 Table 22 Region VI Growth and Development, 1940-1975 80 Table 23 Rural Farm Poverty Levels, 1970 90 Table 24 Rural Nonfarm Poverty Levels, 1970 91 Table 25 Urban Poverty Levels, 1970 91 Table 26 Residential Builders in Rapid City, 1950-1964 101 Table 27 Single-family Construction Trends in Rapid City, 1950-1975 131 Table 28 Recommended Clustered Living Zones for Modern Homes 134 Table 29 Dwellings with Attached Garages, Rapid City, 1950-1975 137 vii ACRONYMS AFB Air Force Base APE Area of Potential Effects APT Association for Preservation Technology BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs BTHL Building Technical Heritage Library CLG Certified Local Government CRA Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc. CRGRID Cultural Resource Geographic Research Information Database