Return to Skid Row | Full Documentary
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- Опубликовано: 27 май 2024
- Return to Skid Row walks along the pavement of bygone downtown Minneapolis, preserved in rare footage, memory and 21st Century reflection. A unique 16mm film brings back to life Minneapolis’ Gateway district in its’ twilight years. Guided by the first-person account from the 'King of Skid Row’, the film is an unnerving and illuminating gaze on midcentury poverty, people, place, and the past.
01:05 Skid Row's history in Minneapolis
03:33 1955-1961 John Bacich "King of Skid Row" documented life on skid row
07:20 Skid Row late 1950's film narrated by John Bacich describing people, life on street
16:38 Mpls. police were a constant presence on Skid Row
19:17 John Bacich's documentation of crime and police activity on Skid Row
22:55 Skid Row bars that served gay and bi-sexual men and women
26:45 John Bacich's documentation of life on Skid row continues
29:22 Late 1950's, Federal Government policy to withdraw funding for Native American services promoted relocation to cities
32:00 John Bacich's documentation of Native American people on Skid Row
34:25 Issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women from Skid Row and other marginal urban spaces
36:56 John Bacich's documentation - stories of people on Skid Row
42:48 City proposed ambitious redevelopment of Skid Row, removal of Gateway area buildings
44:36 Jerome Liebeling, UMN, meets John Bacich, stitched together movies to create film
45:36 Some Skid Row/Gateway older buildings are still there
46:46 John Bacich's documentation of people under 3rd Ave bridge near river,
50:04 Demolition of buildings, the end of Skid Row
51:35 Twin Cities Pride parade route starts from old Skid Row area
52:40 Homeless and drug abuse problem continues
55:10 John Bacich's documentation, loss of Gateway, Skid Row era
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Развлечения
I find it funny that the professor in the beginning called Bukowski's narration as not trustworthy. Bukowski was alive then, he worked Skid row, he took hours of video over many years and actually knew these people yet the lady said you can't believe him. She is delusional to believe that people will believe her, a person who wasn't there, didn't live through it or know any of the people in the videos. Yep, I'm going to believe what she thinks over someone who lived it everyday.
I thought the same thing because I had just watched the complete original video before delving into this “update”. Too many historians rewrite history to suit their interpretation. I also did not understand how this evolved into a discussion of the Gay Pride movement. 🤷🏻♀️
It's called an unreliable narrator and it's a thing with all historical narratives
@@bill4514 which is stupid.
@@hint0122 taking anything anybody says at face value is stupid
@bill45 so, someone who is narrating a video he took of people he knew is unreliable? But, if a historian, who wasn't there, makes a comment, it has to be believed?
The two guys pulling each other's noses! 😅😅 I loved it!
wild stuff... was homless and addicted to heroin many years ago and to this day some of the kindest most interesting people ive ever met were on the streets... also some of the worst. but the worst of the worst ive come across has been the rich.
the part about them not wanting responsibility and car and house payments really resonates with today i think. theres a lot of pressure involved in being "American"
Ive hitchhiked a lot, since I was 17. Not once did one of those big RVs ever stop.
Somewhere in all of those storefronts, is my great grandfathers pool hall. His nickname was Red. He and his brother owned a pool hall and bar. My grandfather worked there as a young man and he has some interesting stories.
A bygone ere to be sure.
Que legal !!!
I worked at a pool hall for five years and all sorts of interesting stuff happened. I imagine your gramps saw some stuff back then that was just plain nuts
If you feel he would be okay with these stories being shared and kept alive, all of you who have heard these stories first hand, should absolutely share them! Keep them alive! I'm dying to hear them and I know millions of others, also, would love to hear every minute of them! You have so many options in the avenue you can share these stories, no matter the format you prefer using - video, text, or just audio (podcast)... theirs millions of listeners waiting for these stories! Not that a financial increase would be your main motivator... (or maybe it would be) either way there's so much opportunity involved in this vertical and opportunity pays! I'm actually very passionate about all this (leveraging online avenues to earn an income - while doing what you're already doing or just sharing your experience or knowledge you've obtained... (within your hobby, profession, or current career) or doing what you would enjoy to do as a side project to shed your soul-draining 9-5)
But, I'd be happy to be of any help you would need getting started or planning your project... just leave a comment and I'll share my contact information with you. This is possible and I know I'd be crazy pumped to hear these incredible stories you have to share!
Adam M
Most of the old Skid Row apartment buildings have been demolished or gentrified. And then we wonder why there are so many people these days sleeping in tents and RVs.
No joke.
Or on the sidewalk.
A lot of the problems have to do with single use commercial buildings meaning there's only 1 floor and not a building with a store & apartments on top of the store.
For sure California reflects that but also Reagan closing all the mental institutions made LA the dystopian nightmare it's become.
This is one hell of a film 🎥 and narration ❤🇬🇧
You don't have to search out "Skid Row" it's located inside all of us.
Most are just lucky enough to have not ended up there .
Very, very true
Yet.
This comment is absurd
your lack of understanding disturbs me.
What do you mean .?
It is so unbelievably sad when they are destroying old beautiful buildings, and replacing them with soulless, unimportant buildings.
Same scenario played out in every major city.
Interesting. And "Rex's" footage is fabulous. Imagine of that area made it to the late 70s-early 80s, all the punks, post-punks, hipsters etc would have likely jumped all over it.
These old storefronts are beautiful
Very good film
Look skid row looks better then the skid rows of today.
Skid Row seemed to have some humanity back then. Now skid row is tents and absolute hopelessness. Sad to think the world has actually gotten worse in the last 70 years when it comes to those who are struggling.
This documentary makes me sad to think of the loved ones of the men portrayed. Addiction destroys lives and families. Heartbreaking.
How could it be worse? Did you watch the video?
as a teen in the mid 60s, I worked at the Forum Cafeteria downtown. The last of these guys came in at 6am daily for coffee, toast and/or stewed prunes.
So...... all the men that went out for a pack of smokes and never came back....... apparently this is where they went.
Yep, they ALL abandoned their children
I grew up in Grand Rapids Michigan near the area that was our skid row. I saw a lot of people who looked sick and pathetic and broken. They were the refuse of society. It was sad. Most of them were nice enough though, but sometimes they could be a bit annoying. Now instead of winos we got addicts. I miss the winos. They were easier to deal with
i wonder how many of them were kids or young men the Depression had broken? many, many more were veterans that had their minds twisted by what they had seen in war. they just couldn't fit in.
@@Scriptorsilentum that's why I try not to judge too harshly
Brenda Child -- listen to this woman talk about he must be unreliable (John Bascich). She's a trained historian who goes into archives, reads & filters through documents by missionaries, the director of Indian affairs, head of government boarding schools, she's trained to detect unreliable narratives.
The bottom line Brenda is that you never experienced any of it.
Didn't live the life. Didn't live in a flop house. Wasn't an alcoholic. Homeless. Lived in a shelter. John is more of an accurate documentarian than you or anyone else mentioned. He took the pictures. It's difficult to watch because it's true, no cosmetics, no sugar coating. Were some things embellished? Even the Bible is embellished.
These skid row pictures are the same as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, or any big city. Same faces. Same lingo. Same desperation.
I do agree with Ms. Child about the treatment of the Native Americans. But, it was a different era. Different mindset.
Amazing how they went from SRO hotels to tent cities. Yeah, we're improving the situation. Many of those people in the film are probably gone now. Pictures by Johnny Rex were excellent for an amateur who had the insight to understand how important taking those pictures would be. Nobody else did it.
She is a liberal, they think they are smarter than everyone else. Arrogant, condescending, puffed up arses.
I found her comment and her attitude very condescending.
As soon as I heard what she had to say i came straight to the comment section. And knew someone would of already hit the nail on the head. And here it is @lastrada52
A woke Democrat.....no question about it. The smug tone, the "Im smarter than you" attitude. Of course she is a university "professor" haha how comical this moron called a man, that not only documented the whole thing, but was there!! She basically said I take all the information i gather then twist it into have i want it to be.........and these are the people responsible for kids education wow we are fucked!
Did she go to the people did she speak to the natives? No! I am so taken aback by what she said! I always believed if you have a drinking problem you go to a recovering alcoholic! if you had trauma in your life you go to a therapist that has had trauma in their life! Unless you didn't go through what I went through I'm not taking any advice from you! I feel as though I want to pinch her!
I can hear Tom Waits singing in the background.
Thank you Johnny Rex for this amazing Documentary!!
This isn't his complete documentary but it is available if you search skid row minneapolis here, this was excerpts with commentary of his footage
Why do people want to rewrite history or use it for their own agenda. Intellectuals live in a safe space and then try to tell everyone else their own delusional reality.
Wow this is Great. This is a story about my old life. I know this life very very well Thank You for posting this ... any way back to the show
I saw the uncut film before PBS got a hold of it. It's SOOOO much better as a stand-alone presentation. I can't find it anymore. If PBS buried it, it's a real shame.
It's on RUclips just watched it these pbs splainers are horrible😂
@@PixelRacer64 Probably doesn't fit the Liberal PBS narrative.
Yes I saw the writing on the wall and almost dropped the video and left, but the film itself is mesmorizing.
The commentary by PBS is not at all informative or provide any additional insight. They tend to destroy everything they touch.
it got so bad that i just started fast forwarding through the woke parts.
i wish pbs would show the film, like the filmmaker wanted wanted it to be viewed. shameful stuff pbs
The two guys grabing each other's nose was funny
Incredible documentary- thank you for sharing!!!
The modern commentary interspersed is stupid. I hate these people. They ruined it.
Thankyou Johnny. Great picture. Wonderful story
Great documentary
Amazing to see what used to be here. Wish I could see more of it.
Very good! I could not stop watching👍🏼
I've been in the detox van with six others in little cages like dogs. my detox file was thicker than a telephone book. This video was made for me. I am Freaking Out watching this.
Really important footage. Thank you for sharing
The original “Skid Row” was in Seattle. It was actually “Skid Road” because they slid logs down the hill to the docks. But it came to mean other things, here and elsewhere.
The neighborhood was called "Skid Row" in Seattle. The name COMES FROM the fact that it was at the bottom of the Skid Road.
See my comment below. You are correct, it's "Road"; but came to mean any dilapidated area that housed and entertained the consumers of large quantities of alcohol. Not just Seattle; but Tacoma, Portland, and Aberdeen, anywhere one could exploit old growth timber and the down trodden.
Hey buddy, learn the history of Minneapolis and what our downtown was founded on: Milling of lumber floated down river from the north and flour from the fields. Many of the lumber mills just blocks from the gateway operated under the same exact premise you're describing and were so before Seattle ever existed.
Guys that grabbed each others nose watched too much of the three stooges 😂
Haha, my thoughts exactly 😂😂
Hell Yea when that morning drink stops working, you're going to have a bad day 😩
Don't let anyone judge that barkeep or any single patron.
I think you can goto school and work really hard and still end up this way. You have to be rich to live comfortably these days.
Depends on your perspective
It never occurred to me that Indian- foreign negotiations were so levereaged with the “provisions” of alcohol.
well if youre trying to work out a deal, and they request whiskey, its smart business to give them what they ask for.
And all of a sudden these flop houses and skidrow don't look too bad at all compared to what minn has got going on now ! Unbelievable
Ugh, give it a fucking rest.
I think the narrator who lived and worked the life and knew the people by name to be very qualified to be the narrator and does not deserve an academic censoring his thoughts on his life. It seems crazy and fascist. Like wiping his life away like the city he LOVED. And documented. So wrong. It's obvious what's going on. We need to be able to express our thoughts in a documentary. It is important. Let us live. Freedom is cool.
Anyone else think there was only one skid row and that’s in LA crazy that’s a general term for that part of town
Ah, no
I thought this was about LA also
Thanks!
I love this thank you for sharing
I miss that area
So this has been going on for a long time
Yes. And Waay before this HERE
Pretty cool step back in History, Thanks
Thanks u for everything my friend
Oh my gosh, did anyone see the Gay 90's old tavern front at 14:21? I had no idea it was that old!!
I can't believe what that woman said about the guy that made the film. I guess he's just too honest for now a day's. The only thing i found a little strange was putting a case of liquor on the ground and watching them fight for it
It is not strange . He was a narcissist .
Wonderful/well done.
that MN professor lol totally irrelevant to this subject but it has to be about her lol
The gay guy too. He actually reminisces about "the good ol days" when homosexuals "had to" cruise public toilets to find out "where to go." How romantic to dream of alcoholic tricks on skid row. But he also tells us (proudly) that most rented a room for a quickie and returned to their suburban wives and families. Good times!
Oh, the good old days. when you could pull a man's nose and no one would think twice about it.
❤ I love you Johnny Bachich Jr.
It was intteresting to see how the homeless problem developed in another city and what they tried to do about it. Sadly, the problem is still there abd is just as hard to deal with it,
For many it is a life choice. It's less of a homeless issue and more of an affordable spot to lay your head, those flop houses were cheap af to the equivalent of being more affordable than shelters for the nightly cost today, we just don't accept flop houses today under our societal norms
The woke PBS "sociologists" and bowtied homosexual commentator really interrupt the flow of this video.
We don't need their silly commentary.
Don't need your ignorant opinion either but here you are.
Exactky. Another lurid example of how intrusive, self serving, and annoying wokeism, and PC, can be.
Johnny Rex had a great eye; many shots reminded me of photographer Robert Frank's amazing book The Americans, from pretty much the same time period.
Now, instead of wine, it's synthetic opioids. Of the two, it's certainly NOT liquor which kills ya quicker...
Amazing and raw documentary (though I think some footage from the original are missing).I really do not like the “splaining” that PBS felt they needed to add to the footage. Let the film and original narration speak for itself and let your audience decipher how to interpret it. I don’t need a smug looking guy in a bow tie to explain the modern day social implications of being down and out on skid row.
Especially as he wasn't even born when this was filmed
@@sarahmiller4734Its his life to find gay in everything.
@@anthonythomas1504 Yes absolutely but the fact that "bowtie man" wasn't born when the film was shot makes it even more ridiculous.
100%
Why can't you just admit that you hate gay people? Are you scared to say that? Maybe it is because YOU are gay, and feel very repressed. Probably something like that, because you seem very "triggered" right now.
Why surprised?... Every society has those that are downtrodden.
5:10 what on earth would she know? He spent over 20 years on skid row and some pompous middle class professor who was never there gets to call him an unreliable narrator? Femsplaining
Please don't associate her with us. She's just a historian snob.
Precisely. By her take, she dismissed documentation as unreliable, solely on the basis that they were missionaries, or worked for the BIA. In other words her bias and prejudice, informs her views wnd outlooks.
Park Avenue leads to..... SKID ROW!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Youth gone wild! Hahaha
Well done video 😊 I remember Skidrow from the 70, 80. In Minneapolis. Moved to Skidrow in Portland Oregon. I answered the call from Jesus 😊 peace and love people 😊
Leave it to PBS to make everything about being gay and oppressed. The way the one guy muses about public toilets and bathhouses is nuts. The core film is fine on it's own without the forced "historical" context.
Feeling good
is good enough.
so interesting I always wondered about these men. Now I bet its the most beautiful part of the city
Downtown is dead, now because it has no character anymore..
It really isn't the most beautiful part of our city: The abatement and demolished areas as shown are majority commercial, some gentrified housing well upside of middle-class income affordability, but mostly commercial sprinkled with a bit of humanities. The area just north of the gateway is most thriving and lively districts within the greater downtown (though now considered outside downtown by blocks despite being connected and once as many maps shown in this documentary was a part of downtown proper), North Loop or NoLo. Central Business District and Warehouse District are still struggling with some of the largest businesses like Target with thousands of employees daily no longer patronizing local businesses after work for happy hour and such, it is about 45% traffic based on mobile phone cell tower connectivity the last year compared to pre-pandemic, but while those areas are still back and trying NoLo has become the latest popular area very much residential and entertainment/service mixed and thriving for the greater downtown area. That said, as a city Downtown is only one area and many of the parts of the city are doing well and beautiful such as Saint Anthony Main just over the river.
@@j.ballsdeep420 love learning about all these places tahnks I feel U.S.A people are so lucky to live in a beautiful place so much to see
Naw, it's mostly acres and acres of parking lots. That's what urban renual was in the 60s. Make room for cars!
I Live In South Minneapolis..Dam..this makes me Feel lil Better about my Myself..They Had Fun Back Then ..R.i.p to all these OGs Pour out ah Little Liquor 🙏✌️
Ah mental health and alcoholism
Times bygone. If this was the worst place back then,nowadays any place in a big city is sketchy at night or even any time of the day. I can't help but admire the camaraderie amongst these people. Homeless drunks,business owners and the police.
Alcohol was the street drug back then apparently. I cracked up when he mentioned "the pattywagon."
In nz we still use this word. Paddy wagon. Technically racist term of course.
Paddy Wagon. Because the cops were Irish then.
Hard drugs changed everything.
lol the patty wagon coin from the British Ireland Scotland
@@spinrash6000 Paddy wagon.
Watching this video 8 years later...Skid Row is even worse. In another 8 years, it'll be interesting to see what happens.
I know right. Erik’s doing ok but it’s only a matter of time before he leaves them and they have to find another singer
So sad that these dear men never got the assistance they needed for mental health! They fought, killed, died and suffered for us all! Generations of them! Across the world!
Self medication was it!
Bless them all!
Yes my grandfather was a terrible alcoholic damaging generations under him!
😢
what a ridiculous take.
@@chasejones8302oh yeah? What’s your hot take?
Most didn't need help, it's a life choice: You need a perspective change and less judgement casting your own expectations or choices upon others and mind your own business they same they do not telling you how you need to loosen up and bide by their way of life. To each their own and live your own life, quit telling people what they need to do from *_YOUR_* perspective lest you find yourself being told how you need to act and behave the same and expected to just fall in line
@@j.ballsdeep420great idea . Though it is not working .
but for the grace of god go i when i work on the bowery and e 4 st in nyc in the 70s you had two step over all the bodies to get to the shop it is a bar mcgurk suicide hall was down the block it is now condos can you beat that
We're you drunk when you wrote that
41:59, Tookey? Never ever have i head that one
Where I came from they were called hobos, they lived by the river and rail lines. The only thing that’s changed is hard drugs have been introduced to the scene. We’ve always had homelessness.
Celebrating 50+ years!
11:33 Ya we in Australia had or maybe still do have Brown Musket n all the old fella's who you could say were alcoholics in them says drank the stuff n not to mention many teenagers just starting to experiment wit Grog bc it was cheep but i will say it was as nasty as f n supposedly the hang over the next day was quite vad, ya i think it was a fortified wine but i would say it was the same n if not quite similar.
Anyway great doco cheers from nsw.
Too bad PBS again felt compelled to put an Agenda spin on great historical footage. No matter how "reliable" the filmmakers commentary was, it should just be a stand alone document, for better or worse.
Agreed, I'd really like to see the film in its original form before modern agendas got spewed all over it. The core content is extremely interesting but all these clutching at straw attempts to relate the footage to today's 'issues' is a massive reach, and feels like it detracts from the story that's supposed to be being told here. What a shame.
Great work though Johnny Rex
The original, without the condescension of PBS, was so much more interesting.
You better look that word up, gramps. It doesn't mean "people are smarter than you". (Even though most people are.)
@@vipermad358 Tell us what it means boy.
@@vipermad358 Don't worry squirt, you'll get old, wrinkled up and die just like everyone else! 😆
So don’t believe the guy that was there and knew these men, we should believe the Indian lady because she says she’s a historian? Yea I won’t be doing that.
Right. Let's rewrite history to fit our PC narrative.
Distance from a subject by a historian can provide prospective where a single person- even one who was there, only has one viewpoint. A historian has access to many, many more documents and viewpoints in order to get a clearer picture.
@@swesttttt she has her own agenda all the same and its no doubt far more twisted than anything this man ever portrayed.
@@reverendjimjones9061 I’ll trust the accuracy of an academic that has devoted a *significant* portion of their life to studying and researching a subject vs a single person who has not.
What would an “agenda” possibly be? Why the distrust regarding expert analysis?
You think every single historian, when compiling accounts, documents, and statistics, attending lectures, writing peer reviewed papers, articles and books… ALL have the same agenda? That consensus among academic’s is meaningless because they all got together and created a false narrative? It’s illogical and absurd to think that way. But maybe someone who has a Jim Jones user name tends to a paranoid mindset… 🤷♂️
@@swesttttt no paranoia here , what you state could ring true without a doubt, if i state she "may" be the current crop of indoctrinated humanties studies victims it could ring true as well, she claims he had an agenda making the film without context, she may have one as well, i never said all, you did, have you seen whats coming out of ryerson university and many others of late, according to them i am a white enslaver and need to be decolonized, lol
🔥❤️🔥💯
"What we don't want is responsibility."
The rat race is for rats only
Not boozehounds
And people projecting their expectations or social norms without consideration for the people themselves and their own wishes is the problem. Cycle continues today
@@j.ballsdeep420 just support yourself is not a big expectation .
This was amazing! I can't help but think of, ' Rear Window's without Hollywood, Gary Cooper, or Princess Grace! This is invaluable! I agree with the historian, but the truth is that the author of these films (motives and motivations aside) recorded enough, more than enough... A surplus. The truth can be gleaned if one is careful. Please tell me this is in the Library of Congress!
You mean Jimmy Stewart in "Rear Window"?
What's Rear Window got to do with it?🤔
This time documentary is really impressing, because it showes reality back in the 50 and after at Skid Row. Very shocking as well, how all these men went down on alcohol. But it is for sure rare and brutal! Skid Row also today, it is all getting worse. Hopefully people stick together and fix this, finally! In Germany homelessness also is raising, we need human care, like Finnland found solutions to end homelessness. Every human needs a home, it is a human right!
Finland has a small population, so it's easier for housing solutions. I agree with your comment though, and that everyone should have a home.
I think Brenda Child at 4:57 is a little dismissive of the narrator because him explaining thru his own eyes and experiences has just as much value as anything researched in a broader academic sense, tho both are valuable and informative.
But she does have a point.
Ugh, the talking heads added to this rare footage are insufferable
Ms. Child instead of talking badly about them and putting them now why don't you get your hiney out there and try to help! You really do speak as though you seem you are better then anyone else! Watch what Spurs from your mouth you never know one day you could be in the same position as these people!
So what the "historian" is really saying is that she comes to her own conclusions on how history happened and then pushes her personal belief. Sounds about right for an academic.
What a rude and arrogant woman that historian is
She said she is just used to viewing things thru that lens so why not apply that to this doc. Ridiculous.
Shout out to King Of Skid Row
I would love to see the documentary without the commentary.
I bet that narrator sunk some sausage at least once in his life
An "ear-beating" from the church missions to be eligible for any services; great expression. In my times on the streets, I really detested Salvation Army and other missions that made listening to religious garbage a requirement for a meal or a bed. It still goes on today.
Sad .. I wish I could go Downtown and Hang Out Down There ! SKOL!
I could have done without the modern "explanations" lol.
I love the fact that the gay guy with the bow tie just goes off in a bunch of things that clearly have no basis in fact yet we are supposed to believe him
It's as if you're pretending to have never heard of AA. Tot red flag for Twin Cities PBS not to be taken serious.
Opinions from the historical perspective blow
Never knew my home town minnesota had a skid row
Most towns have had one. It's historically a cycle that humans foget about. We are fickle individuals.
So, what happened to Johnny Rex?
WTF 57 minutes and not one mention of Sabastian Bach?
Funny. We are listening to skid row at work. And I'm listening to this. 😆
Skid Row is wrongly named. It was actually called Skid Road. Portland, Oregon in the 1880's the loggers called it that because Burnside street was muddy and they would skid the big logs downhill to the nearby Willamette River. It was a rough road with brothels, gambling and prostitution. The wild west. So now you know.
I think that was awesome how he would giv the men that "Mornin WakeUp drink" to Kinda Curb the "Willie's & Shakes".27:20 The average Person( Quote UnQuote "Non Drinker") would NEVER understand & Know in a Million Yrs how that is lookin from the Outside IN. smh
People can actually die from DTs, giving them the morning eye-openers saved much suffering and perhaps lives.
Not much different from the "samples " given out in Kensington
Kensington Lite