In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Südstadt emerged as a workers' residential area and the first urban expansion south of the first train station on Kriegsstrasse. The population rose to 15,000 within 20 years after the building ban was lifted in 1847. In 1900, as today, Werderplatz offered a center with shops. An above-average number of railway and post office employees lived in the southern part of the city until 1950. In 1970, parts of the old train station served as a market hall. Next to it was the senior post office. With services, hotels and authorities, the southern city became a link between the center and the main train station. A central green area was planned during the reconstruction after the Second World War, in which over 54% of the district was destroyed. The Mona and Parkhotel buildings (today: Queens) were then built. The new Baden State Theater was built in place of the market hall, and open spaces remained limited to the green corridor.