Ivy Court Inn & Suites

Notre Dame is Football!

by Marisola

Notre Dame is one of the most prestigious college football teams in history! Their fans are everywhere, and everyone wants to go to the games! Their stadium holds over 80,000 fans, and is always sold out! If you're planning on going to South Bend, try to get some tickets -- They're hard to get! Football is a tough sport and is played in any weather! Be sure to bring a blanket, wear a hat, gloves and warm socks, too! The best idea is to wear lots of layered clothing! I wore 3 long-sleeved shirts, a sweatshirt and a warm jacket, and it still started to get cold by the second half of the game!

You can take the South Shore train from Chicago to South Bend where you can catch a bus to the game.

La Salle Expedition (1679)

by Toughluck

Indiana Historical Bureau: ID#: 71.19??.1
County: St. Joseph
Title: La Salle's Camp 1 Mile West

Marker Text: Site of La Salle's camp, 1679, on portage between St. Joseph and Kankakee rivers. La Salle was the first white man to enter Indiana, passing here again in 1681.

Credit Line: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Indiana
Directions: SR 933/Dixie Highway & Darden Road, South Bend.

Studebaker National Museum

by Ischyros

If there's something that South Bend is known for other than Notre Dame, it's the Studebaker car company. Studebaker at one point was one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the United States until it eventually couldn't compete with manufacturers in Detroit. The infamous Studebaker Corridor still exists today, although it mainly consists of old abandoned warehouses south of downtown South Bend. The museum houses a huge collection of Studebakers. The Studebaker presence is still felt today. The Studebaker Mansion is now the home of Tippicanoe Place, an elegant restaurant in the fabulous old Studebaker mansion located just 2 blocks east of the museum. The old Studebaker proving grounds are still around and just outside Bendix Wood County Park west of South Bend. The museum is located at the corner of Thomas & Chapin Streets in downtown South Bend, now part of the museum campus that includes the Northern Indiana Center for History. The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10-5 and Sundays 12-5. Adults are $8, seniors 60 and over are $6.50, Students 6 and older are $5 and children under 5 are free. You can also get combined admission into the Northern Indiana Center For History for $12 for Adults, $10 for Seniors, and $7 for students.

Notre Dame

by KARLPORTER56

Usually when you visit a major University in the off season.. you can at least find a way to peak in... This place is sealed tight.. At State College,Gainesville, Duke we actually walked right onto the Turf . The stadiums were wide open...Not here.. Sealed tight.. Couldn't even peak inside..

Golden Domers and Silver Hawks

by sambarnett

   South Bend is about 2 hours east of Chicago and was once home to the famous Studebaker car company, who's abandoned factory is picture here. That company closed down in 1963, but South Bend's national reputation is still solid thanks to to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame University.

   Named for its position on the St. Joseph River, South Bend owes much of its existence to the river. As early as 1679 Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, passed through and portaged in the area. By the early 1820s Euro-Americans began founding permanent trading posts. The coming of the railroad and the Civil War helped fuel the South Bend (as well as that of neighboring Mishawaka) economy. One local company, a horseshoeing and wagon repair shop founded by brothers Henry and Clement Studebaker, saw their business expand so much that a decade after the war they could consider themselves the largest wagon works company in the entire world, turning out over 11,000 wagons a year.
   At the turn of the twentieth century, the Studebaker company was smart to anticipate the growth in popularity of the automobile. They began marketing cars in 1908. Eight years later ground was broken to an automobile production facility that could produce up to 700 cars daily. Other major South Bend industries during the mid 19th and early 20th centuries include Singer, Oliver Plow and the Bendix company, whose innovations include the electric self-starter and a four-wheel braking system, originally developed by French engineer Henri Perrot.
   Like many manufacturing firms, Studebaker cut domestic production during World War I, turning their efforts to supporting the military. But during this time company president Albert Erskine had some company engineers concentrate on the development of a new line of automobiles, intended for the anticipated post-war market boom. Again, the decision proved wise for Studebaker (and a few other South Bend industries) but the boom was short lived, peaking years before the coming of the Great Depression.
   The rough years of the 1930s brought poverty and labor unrest. On November 17, 1936, one thousand workers at the Bendix company staged the first "sit down strike" in automotive industry history. These tactics provided a model later followed by the United Auto Workers and their historic sit down strike in Flint, Michigan the following year.

   Studebaker, who enjoyed good labor-management relations, remained largely strike-free through this harsh decade. World War II provided an economic boost, but again the company faltered in the post war years. In fact, according to Indiana: A New Historical Guide, the company began laying off workers just "one day after the Japanese surrender." Still, during the "anxious years" of post WWII Studebaker managed to turn out some sweet, classic cars. Visit the Studebaker National Museum south of downtown for a good look.
   Unable to compete with Detroit's "Big Three" Studebaker saw more lagging sales and laid off more employees over the next decade, finally closing up shop on December 8, 1963. The community, prepared for the closing, weathered events rather well. Business and civic leaders worked to attract new industries. Like many other communities in the US the city did experience urban decay, white flight and racial tension, but the biggest hit to the community was a late 1960s decision to demolish a number of empty downtown buildings, creating what is today a very meager skyline and a mismatched collection of buildings along with a few still-present vacant lots downtown.
   Today things seem pretty steady for this community of about 108,000 people. The number one tourist draw is, of course, the University of Notre Dame and while most of the downtown area is safe and clean it also feels a bit dead, the majority of retail business is located on a horrific stretch of consumerism known as Grape Road in Mishawaka. The Studebaker Corridor will be of interest to gear-heads as well as fans of the industrial landscape.