River Bend
Local Historic District, 1992
The River Bend Historic District, founded in 1992, is part of the much larger Near Northwest Neighborhood Association and is located next to the North St. Joseph Street Local Historic District, founded in 1998. It occupies an area that was just outside the original plat of South Bend and reflects the city's architectural development from the turn of the century until just after World War 1.
In 1903, as South Bend began to grow, developers Hammond & Whitcomb platted the neighborhood. Most of the houses in this area were built by 1921, predominantly for white-collar middle-class families. The location, conveniently near the Michigan Street streetcar line, provided transportation to work and shopping. The neighborhood remained a middle-class area until World War II.
The River Bend district features a mix of architectural styles; predominantly American Foursquare and Queen Anne along Riverside Drive, with various Revival styles, vernacular, Craftsman and Bungalow in other areas. The neighborhood today closely resembles the way it looked in 1921.