and bars, brew pubs, and a variety of funky gift shops. A little more than a decade ago this was Sioux City's equivalent of Skid Row, but a concentrated
Historic Fourth Street is the cultural soul of Sioux City, a concentration of late 19th Century commercial building in Sioux City that includes a variety of restaurants
MUSEUMS
The Sioux City Orpheum, 528 S. Pierce St. was built in 1927 and was one of the largest theatres in Iowa at its time, opulent vaudeville and moving picture house and the home to symphony performances, ballet and special attractions and entertainers such as Fred Astaire, Tallulah Bankhead, and Katherine Hepburn. The Orpheum underwent a massive restoration in 1999, a process that took two years and 2,000 man hours. When it reopened on September 15, 2001, it became an instant cultural hub, hosting one of the best concert line-ups in the state.
SITES
There are so many reasons the Green Gables (1800 Pierce Street, 712/258-4246) is a must-do for anyone who visits Sioux City. First, it’s an institution that’s been around since 1929, featuring a menu that, in its prime, must have seemed oh-so-exotic to diners there for the first time, with featured items like chicken chow mien and matzo ball soup. Second, the restaurant features a killer dessert menu that features its famous hot fudge, a dish of ice cream with its own pitcher of homemade chocolate sauce. Then there are the more recognizable dishes – chicken salad, walleye pike, steaks – that always seem to be prepared just right. The waitresses no longer seem as grumpy as they once did, but the food is still a bargain..
Nothing swanky about Miles Inn. (2622 Leech Avenue, 712/276-9825). Your first impression, once inside, is that it’s the kind of place your mother warned you to steer clear of when you were growing up. But it’s the kind of place you’d expect to prosper in Sioux City, which until recently was a hardworking blue collar town built on the success of meatpacking plants and the stockyards. The best reason to go is to sample the Charlie Boy, a cousin of Iowa’s Maid-Rite sandwich, seasoned ground beef served on a doughy bun with pickles, onions, cheese, ketchup and mustard. You’ll eat two or three of them with no problem and be trying to figure out when you can come back for another before you’re out the door.
The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center (900 Larsen Park Road, 712/224-5242) focuses on a day in the life of the explorers as they traveled through the area, story told through the use of dozens of interactive exhibits including animatronic mannequins.Central to the story is the death and burial of Sergeant Charles Floyd on August 20, 1804. A videotape presentation, produced exclusively for the interpretive center, is shown every 15 minutes on the quarter hour in the Keelboat Theater.
ArtCenter (225 Nebraska Street,
712/279-6272), the 2002 Iowa Tourist Attraction of the Year. The attrium in the building is a fabulous space and the intuitive nature of the building makes it easy to navigate. The Art Center has an impressive collection of masters' works, but it's worth a stop more so because of its devotion to the work of regional artists and its mission of encouraging living local and regional artists by displaying their work prominently.
Its architecture alone is reason enough to visit the Sioux City
public-private partnership has turned the area into a polished gem. We like the pizza at Buffalo Alice's and the bistro food at Rebos and Luciano's.
