Rockne’s first home could soon be relocated

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A house that currently sits on Saint Vincent Street was home to Knute Rockne, the legendary Fighting Irish football coach from 1920 to1929.

After a meeting of South Bend’s Board of Public Works on Tuesday morning, the issue was not approve or voted down, instead it was tabled for further discussion with an official vote to come in the future. 

If approved, the Rockne home will take wheels and move 0.6 miles to Foster Street, enabling the building of more condo units near Eddy Street Commons.

Some neighbors are happy about the potential move, feeling that preserving this historic house keeps Rockne’s legacy alive.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne currently lives right by the land where the home may potentially sit. Pyne stated, “Knute Rockne was an all-time, unbelievable coach, not only here, but in the history of college football, and really has, you know, enlivened the tradition of Notre Dame football, and so him being around South Bend and his memory being around South Bend is something that’s very important to the team, the university, and all of the students that go here, so I feel like it’s a really exciting deal.”

This relocation of the house, originally planned for last summer, was delayed after neighbors realized that trees and branches in Harter Heights were being removed without proper permitting from the City of South Bend.

One neighbor recalled the controversy, “I also live in the neighborhood, and I know a professor that also lives on my street, and they were pretty disappointed to wake up one morning and see that the trees were being cut down without their previous knowledge.”

Project planners have now consulted with arborists about all the tree work necessary for the moving of the home, and the approvals are now in place for the trimming of branches so the home can make its journey down the tree-lined street from 1006 Saint Vincent St. to 1105 N. Foster St.

Pyne added, "It’s absolutely incredible that I live right across the street from where Knute Rockne’s old house is now going to be, so I’ll be smiling waking up every day, going to graduation, seeing that and just the history of Notre Dame, and I’m happy again to be a part of it."

Notre Dame’s football stadium is often referred to as “the house that Rockne built,” and now, Rockne’s actual home will live on too.