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HPI Foran 104064 (646) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet (" AA--VVW Ha 1614-M fit E 20 East Bank Multiple Property Listing Section number Page St. Joseph County, Indiana example of the builders' art. Other local builders who worked in the East Bank area include Louis A. Hickey Co. who built the Mabel Holden House on North Notre Dame Avenue, Thomas L. Hickey, the contractor for the St. Joseph School and the H. G. Christman Company who were responsible for the twentieth century construction of the I & M Electric Company buildings. 42 The Later Years In general, the East Bank followed the same trends that effected all of South Bend during the middle years of the new century. Between the World Wars, South Bend found itself meeting new challenges. After World War I, prosperity seemed to return to the country, and many businesses, like the Stephenson Underwear Mills, for example, thought it a good time to expand. But within a year of the 1929 crash, effects were felt in the river town and by 1933 South Bend was in serious economic straits with thousands of factory workers unemployed. Many businesses and industries suffered. During the 1930s several W.P.A. projects were operating in the area, providing relief and public improvements, including work along the banks of the river, street repairs and park construction, such as the amphitheater and seawall along the river west of Northside Drive and just south of the East Bank area. 43 World War II and the post-war boom once again brought production and prosperity to the community. During this era as many as 195 factories were operating and almost one out of every three.persons in South Bend earned their living through local industries. The city was one of the best paid labor markets in the country. But the growth could not be sustained. By the mid-to-late 1960s, local industrial giants began to close down. The cessation of work at the famed Studebaker plant marked the decline of the industrial era in South Bend and the East Bank. 44 As related earlier, South Bend continued to be known as one of the most active industrial cities for its size in the midwest, until the late part of this century. Like so many towns in the midwestern "Rust Belt", the transition from heavy industry to service and other 42 Howard, pp. 370, 511; Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory Survey Forms for various buildings in the East Bank. . 43 City of South Bend Summary Report, pp. 43-45; Survey Form, WPA Project. " City of South Bend Summary Report, p. 45.