ROUND UP
"Top Ten Reasons to Visit Downtown South Bend"
On a sunny but cool November afternoon, we followed the red brick walks through six limited-access blocks at the heart of Michigan Avenue. The main drag in South Bend, Ind., takes its name from a neighboring state, not its home state. Of course, the Michigan state line lies just ten miles north of downtown South Bend, and residents call the area "Michiana."
Incorporated in 1865, the city occupies the south bend of the Saint Joseph
River, which flows north and empties into Lake Michigan 26 miles away. Its
industrial base deteriorated with the closing of major manufacturing plants:
Studebaker, maker of the now-defunct car, and Singer Manufacturing in 1951
after "a century of sewing service." The remaining air polluter
is an ethanol plant on the city's periphery, and its emissions are said only
to be aesthetic problems.
Educational institutions now employ the majority of the area's residents, with 4,174 employed by the University of Notre Dame and 3,400 by the South Bend Community School Corp. To keep the educators healthy, Memorial Health System employs 3,094 and Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center employs 3,030.
Nevertheless, the Convention and Visitors Bureau promotes South Bend as a
business center. The best-known downtown landmark to outsiders would be Century
Center, an 11-acre meeting, tradeshow and convention center that "anchors"
the downtown area. A skywalk connects it to the Marriott Hotel, and a themed
concourse connects it to the College Football Hall of Fame across the street.
Although Century Center may be taglined "The excitement of the century," we suggest other reasons to visit downtown South Bend.
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Top
TEN Reasons to Visit South Bend
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5. Football
Hall of Fame
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