Downtown Sioux Falls has made an incredible recovery from the state it was in in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The downtown pedestrian mall, which itself was an effort to breathe life back into the area, not only failed, but made an already-bad situation even worse.

Fortunately, there were a number of area residents who believed in the history and usefulness of the heart of the city, and their efforts, successful or not, contributed to the rebirth of this remarkable area. James D’Amato came to Sioux Falls with his family in 1981 and worked in special education for the school district. He and his first wife divorced in 1982, after which he met and fell in love with Sioux Falls native Margherita Warren.