South Bend and Urban Renewal...
Oh... Now they wax nostalgic
Jeff
(Copy: See link for complete article)
By MARGARET FOSMOE South Bend Tribune Staff Writer 6:26 p.m. EDT, August 6, 2011
SOUTH BEND - If a South Bend resident of 1961 climbed aboard a time machine and zipped forward 50 years, there is little he or she might recognize today in the city’s downtown.
Here and there, the time traveler would glimpse a familiar sight: the 1855 County Courthouse and its 1898 successor, the former Palace Theater, some restored storefronts on Michigan Street, the State Theater, the white terra-cotta JMS Building and the gothic Tower Building.
But downtown South Bend changed in dramatic ways in the 1960s and 1970s as urban renewal swept through the city.
Many long-standing downtown buildings, some dating from the 19th century, were demolished in the city’s urban hub. In some cases, entire blocks were swept away.
Old factory buildings along the St. Joseph River were cleared, making way for Century Center. Victorian-era storefronts were demolished, supplanted by the 1st Source Center bank/hotel complex. In some areas, new growth never came, leaving today’s downtown with a mix of old and new buildings, punctuated by parking lots and vacant tracts.
“You can’t understand what South Bend looks like today without understanding the drastic impact of urban renewal,” Todd Zeiger, director of the northern office of Indiana Landmarks Inc., said.
Local residents have two opportunities this month to participate in free architectural walking tours of downtown South Bend.
South Bend in its industrial heyday - the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s - had a substantial collection of downtown architecture. “There was a lot of money in this town. Because there was a lot of money, they built well and they built a lot,” Zeiger said.
A turning point came in 1963, when Studebaker Corp. closed and left more than 7,000 people out of work.
Federal funds were available in that era for urban renewal projects, and there was demand from the public for major change in the wake of the automaker’s demise, Zeiger said.
In 1965, the city commissioned a design for remodeling downtown. The resulting plan was unveiled on March 6, 1968, and it ushered in major changes.
The post-World War II building boom had spurred the growth of suburbs and the first large-scale shopping malls. Locally, Town & Country Shopping Mall opened in 1961 and Scottsdale Mall in 1973.
In 1973, the city demolished the storefronts along the east side of the 100 block of North Michigan Street - containing The Philadelphia restaurant and other longtime businesses - with plans to create a Super Block. The massive retail/mall/office complex never occurred, and most of those businesses vanished from downtown forever.
A large excavation in the ground - known to locals as The Hole - marked that spot until the 1981 opening of the Marriott hotel (now Doubletree by Hilton).
“The all-American dream was not an urban dream,” Zeiger said. A shopping mall surrounded by a huge parking lot “was the view of what shopping was supposed to be,” he said.
The federal government provided funds to reinvest in downtowns, which usually meant tearing down the old so something new could be built.
Each generation tends to discount the architecture of the generation or two before it, Zeiger said.
Just as many people today view 1960s and 1970s architecture as unattractive and not worthy of protecting, people in the 1960s tended to view much of the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s as outdated and not worth saving, he said.
Downtown South Bend would be a gem today if the city had kept more of its ornate old buildings, David Bainbridge, senior curator at the Center for History, said. He recalls the city’s crowded downtown sidewalks when he was a child.
Jeff
(Copy: See link for complete article)
By MARGARET FOSMOE South Bend Tribune Staff Writer 6:26 p.m. EDT, August 6, 2011
SOUTH BEND - If a South Bend resident of 1961 climbed aboard a time machine and zipped forward 50 years, there is little he or she might recognize today in the city’s downtown.
Here and there, the time traveler would glimpse a familiar sight: the 1855 County Courthouse and its 1898 successor, the former Palace Theater, some restored storefronts on Michigan Street, the State Theater, the white terra-cotta JMS Building and the gothic Tower Building.
But downtown South Bend changed in dramatic ways in the 1960s and 1970s as urban renewal swept through the city.
Many long-standing downtown buildings, some dating from the 19th century, were demolished in the city’s urban hub. In some cases, entire blocks were swept away.
Old factory buildings along the St. Joseph River were cleared, making way for Century Center. Victorian-era storefronts were demolished, supplanted by the 1st Source Center bank/hotel complex. In some areas, new growth never came, leaving today’s downtown with a mix of old and new buildings, punctuated by parking lots and vacant tracts.
“You can’t understand what South Bend looks like today without understanding the drastic impact of urban renewal,” Todd Zeiger, director of the northern office of Indiana Landmarks Inc., said.
Local residents have two opportunities this month to participate in free architectural walking tours of downtown South Bend.
South Bend in its industrial heyday - the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s - had a substantial collection of downtown architecture. “There was a lot of money in this town. Because there was a lot of money, they built well and they built a lot,” Zeiger said.
A turning point came in 1963, when Studebaker Corp. closed and left more than 7,000 people out of work.
Federal funds were available in that era for urban renewal projects, and there was demand from the public for major change in the wake of the automaker’s demise, Zeiger said.
In 1965, the city commissioned a design for remodeling downtown. The resulting plan was unveiled on March 6, 1968, and it ushered in major changes.
The post-World War II building boom had spurred the growth of suburbs and the first large-scale shopping malls. Locally, Town & Country Shopping Mall opened in 1961 and Scottsdale Mall in 1973.
In 1973, the city demolished the storefronts along the east side of the 100 block of North Michigan Street - containing The Philadelphia restaurant and other longtime businesses - with plans to create a Super Block. The massive retail/mall/office complex never occurred, and most of those businesses vanished from downtown forever.
A large excavation in the ground - known to locals as The Hole - marked that spot until the 1981 opening of the Marriott hotel (now Doubletree by Hilton).
“The all-American dream was not an urban dream,” Zeiger said. A shopping mall surrounded by a huge parking lot “was the view of what shopping was supposed to be,” he said.
The federal government provided funds to reinvest in downtowns, which usually meant tearing down the old so something new could be built.
Each generation tends to discount the architecture of the generation or two before it, Zeiger said.
Just as many people today view 1960s and 1970s architecture as unattractive and not worthy of protecting, people in the 1960s tended to view much of the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s as outdated and not worth saving, he said.
Downtown South Bend would be a gem today if the city had kept more of its ornate old buildings, David Bainbridge, senior curator at the Center for History, said. He recalls the city’s crowded downtown sidewalks when he was a child.
Comment