River Towers Condominiums

THE RIVER TOWERS CONDOMINIUMS 15 S. 1st Street Up into the 1950s, the pioneer, bridgehead district of Downtown was the kind of teeming area that gave a Midwestern Chamber of Commerce fits. As soon as federal slum-clearance programs were available, the city razed dozens of blocks of booze halls and cheap hotels (and more than a few architectural monuments), replacing them with tall, modern buildings, in the process utterly transforming the district, as desired. While this bridgehead, "Gateway" area was definitely cleaned up to respectable standards, it was at the same time deadened due to a sharp reduction in everyday human presence—loitering bums, in the parlance of the time. The planners' cure was new housing, albeit for a better class of residents. This explains the Towers, lately rechristened as the River Towers Condominiums. Now, since the residents of quality apartments like these were not exactly the kind of people who would linger on the sidewalk in order to provide local color, the Towers did not replace the previous streetscape activity. But these were very well built, and have maintained their appearance and condition for nearly a half century. The recent conversion has revitalized the units, which remain as well-scaled and livable as they were when opened. The landscaped deck offering tennis courts and a pool testify to the earnestness of the renewal undertaken seemingly so long ago.