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tr <br /> �_ ' Downtown South Bend continued to thrive well into the Urban Renewal <br /> ,^� `u, ' i ,t, early part of the 2oth century.By igoo,the population of The 1960s and ig7os saw a trend in urban renewal across the <br /> .i, <br /> t <br /> ; `_ 'lir Se `tW South Bend reached 35,ggg.Other industrial giants including country.In ig7o.the South Bend Redevelopment Commission <br /> N Bendix Corporation later,following mergers South Bend Toy was formed and called for removal of blighted areas and <br /> •-,u r-- -_;. - Company,South Bend Watch Company.O'Brien Paint Corp, buildings.Many of the building demolitions were carried out <br /> -.e"tlsoi,.,:: -- •t ' =1 1 and many more made South Bend their home.South Bend throughout Downtown South Bend,including the ioo block <br /> "°° 4 l -w was also connected to Chicago by the South Shore interurban of North Michigan Street that became known as"The Hole" <br /> �i_.- ;.'El.. - ,3`i;lig .,am established in 1925 and regional electric rail transportation. because it sat empty for almost a decade.First Source Center <br /> A track elevation program was completed in 1929,creating opened on this site in 1980. <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 <br /> . i _ center,sited between Downtown and the river,where the <br /> reach South Bend's Union Station which also opened that year. <br /> „ i ���' 3, Oliver Chilled Plow Company once stood.Internationally N <br /> ( — wr, recognized architect Philip Johnson was commissioned to <br /> a ` " r. ! design the facility,which opened in ig77 and is an example of N <br /> DEINDUSTRIALIZATION & DECLINE <br /> c ki 1, i lit late-postmodernist architecture. <br /> �` tY ,lf. , ! , ii Post War Downturn <br /> 4Ati Paired with the First Source Center and Century Center W <br /> �'I. -" y- r By 195o.more than half of all employment in South Bend was redevelopments was a street realignment project.Dr.Martin <br /> -- j y y'% in the manufacturing sector But this prosperity did not last. < <br /> II tt 4� Luther King Jr Boulevard(then St.Joseph Street)was m <br /> -- Thepost-WWII decline in manufacturingas well as the US c, <br /> ' �- '-jv "'""' constructed as a bypass of Michigan Street.from LaSalle ' <br /> .. .: Federal Reserves economic restructuring lowered the cost <br /> Avenue to Monroe Street.This bypass was intended to help <br /> .1, , ; � of imported manufactured goods,decimating industrial-and Michigan Street become a pedestrian mall lined with retail <br /> manufacturing-based economies across the country. <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 /> ' x` South Bend's population began to decline dramatically after without any incentive to stop,walk,and shop.Many retailers on <br /> ' - " _ peaking at 132.445 in 1960.The suburbs began to expand and Michigan Street closed in the following decades. <br /> - -- - many downtown buildings fell into disrepair. <br /> ....-...--a r- {:;I In IS II $ IN <br /> Historic photos of Downtown South Send.circa 192os <br /> Overview to <br />