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Seth Hammond (1860-1939) and, especially, Leslie Whitcomb (1836-1927) were two of the city's most important real estate developers in the early twentieth century. Whitcomb was the developer of hundreds of homes in the area and platted numerous subdivisions on his own and with others, including (Mayor) Fred W. Keller. He also was involved in financing home sales as Secretary of the Workingmen's Building and Loan Association, an organization responsible for advancing millions of dollars in mortgage monies to local citizens.[6] Hammond was the son of area pioneers who made a living both as a farmer and a real estate speculator and developer.[7] In the early 1890's, a few house and businesses were located on Michigan Street just west of what is now the neighborhood. By the turn of the century residences were beginning to be built on Marion and Navarre streets east of Michigan; north St. Joseph street ending at Soen's Brick Yard, located between what are now Navarre and Marion Streets. In 1903, just previous to the neighborhood's lay -out, Bartlett Street ran from Michigan to the river but as yet had no houses; Navarre and Marion ended at St.' Joseph Street.[8] City directories for 1904 reveal that houses sprang up quickly on Navarre and the east side of St. Joseph streets soon after platting; five houses already appear on the new Hammond Court by this time. By 1906 Marion Boulevard (now Riverside Drive) was being rapidly developed with eight structures existing that year. By 1912 the neighborhood was nearly half full with thirty-nine houses having been constructed. in 1921 the neighborhood as it stands today was essentially in place; seventy-six houses of the eighty remaining in 1992 were occupying the landscape.[9] From the beginning the neighborhood was predominantly middle-class. By the teens almost 80% of the residents here that can be identified by occupation were either professionals, business owners or held white-collar positions of various kinds. The neighborhood was located within easy access to the street -car line on Michigan Street, providing transportation to work and shopping before automobiles came into common use.[10] This area continued as a middle-class enclave up to the Second World War, making the neighborhood a worthy representative example of both a time and a specific class of people. Conclusion #2 Standard criteria for historic districts suggest designating those groups of structures "that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association."[11] This group of buildings fit readily within this set of criteria. The neighborhood is made up primarily of vernacular Queen Annes, American Four -Squares and variations of these styles built of similar size and materials. The majority are constructed of wood and were constructed by and for a similar market -- the middle-class homeowner and renter. Despite the many alterations to the structures, as a group they have retained the "feeling" of an early twentieth-century neighborhood due to their insulation 3