Neighborhoods of Sioux City, Iowa

The following is a list of neighborhoods and commercial districts in Sioux City, Iowa.

Neighborhoods

West Side

• The West Side is the blanket term for the areas west of Wesley Parkway, where the numbered streets are named West 4th Street, West 14th Street, etc. It is a mix of low-income and middle-class residential neighborhoods. Liberty, Emerson, Riverside, and Crescent Park Elementary schools as well as West Middle School and West High School serve this area of Sioux City.
• Riverside is a flat, blue collar residential area on the west side of Sioux City, along the banks and floodplain of the Big Sioux River. Riverside is historically significant as the site of original land holdings of the first white settler in the territory-- Theophile Bruguier-- whose farm included hundreds of acres running from the mouth of the Big Sioux River northwest toward the South Dakota state line—much of that area which today comprises suburb of Riverside.
• Smith-Villa is a neighborhood on the upper west side of Sioux City generally bounded by West 20th Street on the north, Villa Avenue on the south, Center Street and Perry Creek on the east and West Street on the west. Smith Elementary School has served this area since 1899, and was built as a mansion in 1892. A new school is being built around the mansion, and it is planned to be torn down after the new school opens. The new school, Liberty Elementary School, opened its doors in 2011. It also replaced Everett Elementary School.
• Prospect Hill, located on the lower west side of Sioux City is one of the city's oldest residential neighborhoods, situated within walking distance of downtown. It is bordered on the west by Cook Street, on the north by West 3rd Street, and on the east and south by the hill's edge. A monument erected by Christian missionaries is situated at the top of the hill, which also provides a panoramic view of the city as well as South Sioux City, Nebraska, Union County, South Dakota, and the Missouri River.
• Woodbury Heights, a newer development located in the hills on the western side of Sioux City. This area is bordered by W. 4th and Burton Streets, with Fieldcrest Drive being the main entrance to the neighborhood.

Former neighborhoods

• The South Bottoms was a working-class neighborhood located west of the stockyards that was later destroyed to make way for Interstate 29 and a channelization project on the Floyd River. A South Bottoms Memorial was created in 1997 to honor the immigrants and families who made this area of town their home.

Commercial districts

• Downtown is the main business district. It extends from the Riverfront up to about 8th Street, and is flanked by the West Side and by Floyd Boulevard. Many buildings of architectural and historical interest are located here, including the Woodbury County Courthouse. The Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark. It was designed in the Prairie School style by Sioux City architect William L. Steele in collaboration with Minneapolis architects William Purcell and George Elmslie. Steele, a protégé of Louis Sullivan, was active in Sioux City during the early twentieth century and has a large body of work represented there.

Also located downtown is the Orpheum Theater, originally designed by the Chicago architects Rapp and Rapp, and built in 1927. The Orpheum was renovated in 2001 and has since hosted Broadway shows, international musical performers, and on special occasions, the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. The Tyson Events Center is located near the riverfront, and is a 10,000-seat venue for conventions, entertainment, and sports events; it is the home of the Sioux City Musketeers, a team affiliated with the United States Hockey League - an amateur hockey league.

Historic Fourth Street

• Historic Fourth Street (also called "Lower Fourth Street") is a district on the east side of the main downtown area that is enjoying a renaissance. It is home to many of the older commercial buildings in the city, many of them designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, and of considerable architectural importance. From the 1880s to the early 20th century, this was a high-property-value district, containing magnificent buildings such as the Peavey Grand Opera House, the New Oxford Hotel, the Plymouth Block, the Chicago House Hotel & Convention Center, and many other grand and architecturally unique structures.
• The Stockyards is an historically important district located along the original lower Floyd River channel. Formerly one of the largest livestock trading facilities in the world, the Sioux City Stockyards was also home to large meatpacking plants (or "packing houses"), including Armour and Company and Swift and Company, who employed a significant number of residents. In its heyday, the Stockyards commercial corridor included the historic Livestock Exchange Bank as well as the offices of cattle companies, tack-and-saddleries, boot and western wear stores, lumber yards and hardware stores, restaurants and saloons. Following the closure of most of the meatpacking plants, and of the livestock yards themselves, the area became inactive, with only a few small businesses remaining. However, recently a very large retail lumber and home improvement center opened here, possibly a harbinger of economic revitalization for the district.
• Southern Hills is a large, newer commercial area of shopping malls and self-standing restaurants, shops, banks, medical and dental clinics, and other service industries. Sioux City's largest shopping mall, Southern Hills Mall, and several additional smaller strip malls anchor a commercial district. It is located on the southern fringe of Morningside in the Loess Hills. This area began development in the late 1970s and is still actively growing in the recent decade with two new shopping centers, both named Sunnybrook Place, and the more recent Lakeport Commons.