In the late 1950s, Japan entered a period of rapid economic growth. At that time, Hiroshima was redeveloping the area in front of Hiroshima Station. It had just completed Peace Memorial Park and related facilities, had constructed a baseball stadium and key government buildings, and tall buildings were going up in the downtown area known as Hatchobori. In 1958, the population returned to its pre-war level of 410,000. The people were actually feeling in the course of their daily lives that the city had finally recovered from the bombing.