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Location DB >
United States >
South Dakota >
Sioux Falls >
All Saints
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created by GreyKat
on 10/5/2004 5:12 PM
last modified by GreyKat
on 10/5/2004 5:16 PM
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Publically Viewable |
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This location has been labeled by its creator as Public, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
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Type: Building
Status: Abandoned now active
Accessibility: Difficult at the time of exploration
Recommendation: forget it now unless you want an old folks tour
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asbestos
rust
unsafe flooring
Alarms up the wazoo
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locked gates
welded doors
wooden boarding
motion alarms
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flashlight
rope
harness
gloves
long pants / sleeves
a good sprint time
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All Saints School also known as the Edward Coughran House
111 West 17th Street
I took these photos during the summer of 1992 while living across the street from All Saints. I have many fond memories of exploring this place and waking up each morning with a view of it. At that time it was abandoned and boarded up and falling into disrepair. The beauty of the place was incredible even in the state it was in. The original buildings were roughly from Main to 2nd Ave, from 14th to 23rd Streets, and 18th to 21st Streets to 5th Ave. At its largest point it was over 700 acres and contained 373 buildings. The main building was built by Edward Coughran in 1884 and now is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as #84003349.
During the times that I explored it the grounds had dwindled to about a four block area. The lawns were mowed by the city but nobody kept up the buildings themselves. There were many nights I took trips into the buildings and tried to defeat the motion sensor alarms that were all over the interiors. The response time of the city police averaged about five minutes since the location was near downtown. After several trips in through different means and plotting out the motion alarms I was able to explore a good sized portion of the buildings. Unfortunately I never took interior photos since the flash would have alarmed local residents. I was able to explore the main hall area one night during a power outage from a storm. That was the coolest and creepiest night of solo exploration I ever had.
I remember several night friends and I would climb up the fire escape stairs and drink beer and look out at the buildings and plan ways to explore further. More times than not though the motion alarms defeated us. I wonder what the police thought during that time when they had to respond to alarms going off several times a week. Looking back Im surprised that they didn’t board the place up tighter than it already was. There were attempts to board it up but I was always able to find a different way in. Sometimes getting in through the upper story windows, from the roofs, and tunnels.
About two years after I had been exploring it, the city sold one of the remaining wooden structures that was several stories tall and of Victorian build. They sold it for a pittance and it was moved across town near a popular strip club, which is where it remains today. A short time after that a development company purchased the buildings and land. They renovated, tore down, and built new structures on the land turning it into a elderly care center. Today anyone can go to Sioux Falls and see what remains of the buildings, and even take tours. It’s a village unto itself with a shopping mall and amenities for the elderly that live there now. I am glad that the buildings are now maintained, but sad for the loss of such a great exploring location.
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It is now an elderly care facility.
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The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.
| Category |
Rating |
| Photography |
7 / 10 |
| Coolness |
6 / 10 |
| Content Quality |
7 / 10 |
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This location's validation is current. It was last validated by
Mutt on 2/3/2006 8:59 PM.
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on Nov 30 05 at 3:55, GreyKat made this location public
on Nov 26 04 at 17:33, Detroit deleted some pictures
on Oct 5 04 at 17:35, GreyKat made this location available
on Oct 5 04 at 17:17, GreyKat created a new gallery
on Oct 5 04 at 17:16, GreyKat changed the main information
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