Laserfiche WebLink
' , Downtown South Bend continued to thrive well into the Urban Renewal <br /> , 9 _�" ' + ,'-4 early part of the loth century.By 1goo,the population of The ig6os and 1g7os saw a trend in urban renewal across the <br /> 4 ,_ft South Bend reached 35,ggg.Other industrial giants including country.In Iwo,the South Bend Redevelopment Commission <br /> --, Bendix Corporation later,following mergers South Bend Toy was formed and called for removal of blighted areas and <br /> Company,South Bend Watch Company,O'Brien Paint Corp, buildings.Many of the building demolitions were carried out <br /> /d 'i <br /> •3 and many more made South Bend their home.South Bend throughout Downtown South Bend,including the 10o block <br /> i ..., A ;, - was also connected to Chicago by the South Shore interurban of North Michigan Street that became known as The Hole" <br /> 1 ;i - • „, ..ilia_� I i established in 1g25 and regional,electric rail transportation. because it sat empty for almost a decade.First Source Center <br /> ,� r ., A track elevation program was completed in ig2g,creating opened on this site in 1g80. <br /> bridges over Michigan,Bronson.Main,Lafayette.Prairie,Scott, The Century Center was conceptualized as a convention <br /> and Chapin Streets for the New York Central railroad tracks to center,sited between Downtown and the river,where the <br /> ' d! reach South Bend's Union Station which also opened that year. <br /> Oliver Chilled Plow Company once stood.Intemationally- <br /> �I 1 �_ S A✓ recognized architect Philip Johnson was commissioned to <br /> ' design the facility which opened in 1g77 and is an example of o <br /> DEINDUSTRIALIZATION & DECLINE <br /> (r, _ I•1 e_} !Pt <br /> late-postmodernist architecture. <br /> "- ., tt ' ;, I Post-War Downturn <br /> v r ,n,�M _ Paired with the First Source Center and Century Center N <br /> -ss „ �" By ig5o.more than half of all employment in South Bend was <br /> r k ><�� 1 redevelopments was a street realignment project.Dr.Martin o <br /> rit �' ,1, �. ,•� ''- )i .0 1# ' . in the manufacturing sector.But this prosperity did not last. Luther King Jr.Boulevard(then St.Joseph Street)was <br /> + � r, I-._ The post-WWII decline in manufacturing as well as the US <br /> r -ir ^� b constructed as a bypass of Michigan Street.from LaSalle <br /> �.�, ?�`� 1:, _ - - Federal Reserves economic restructuring lowered the cost <br /> ,.. �- Avenue to Monroe Street.This bypass was intended to help <br /> ; A w� A of imported manufactured goods,decimating industrial-and <br /> j� , _•i -� <br /> manufacturing-based economies across the country. Michigan Street become a pedestrian mall lined with retail <br /> r-,� shops.Although a trendy concept at the time,this traffic <br /> As factories closed,residents abandoned the Downtown- shift allowed vehicles to easily pass through the downtown <br /> South Bend's population began to decline dramatically after without any incentive to stop,walk,and shop.Many retailers on <br /> 1 3 - peaking at 132.445 in 1.960.The suburbs began to expand and Michigan Street closed in the following decades. <br /> _ many downtown buildings fell into disrepair. <br /> -.-- r ' C b IP wi ■ --11 <br /> Historic photos of Downtown South Bend.circa t9zos <br /> .. ... .. .i_..... -. Overview io <br />