a large quarry in the area. Urbanization in the area developed along original lines that were the result of the creation of a new culture in the colonial region that incorporated the cultural heritage of the immigrants and revealed their adaptation to the specific resources and uses of the Luso-Brazilian tradition. In general, the settlers were skilled at building in stone, but did not know the national woods, whose properties took some decades to learn, master, and apply this knowledge to a vernacular style typified by the single-family house of one or two floors, often used as a business on the first floor and residence on the second floor. Overall, these spacious and comfortable buildings, although quite rustic, could have ornamental details in balconies, wainscoting, and window frames. Consolidation and growth Despite its precarious urban planning, in the beginning of the 20th century the center had 3 thousand residents, with 426 single-story houses and 76 two-story houses, including those with commercial use. The center, more than a housing area, became the main economic, political and religious center of the colony, with its main public events and festivities taking place around the Dante Square. By 1900 the old Mother Church had been replaced by an imposing new masonry building, and there were a number of commercial houses, workshops, manufactures, and 36 industries in activity. In a few years industrial buildings would multiply their presence in the central region. A leap in growth was made between 1909 and 1910 with the consolidation of the passage to Campos de Cima da Serra through the construction of the Korff Bridge and with the arrival of the railroad in the city, which linked Caxias directly to Porto Alegre and bypassed the neighboring municipalities of São Sebastião do Caí. The opening of these roads gave a great boost to commercial development. On the same day the train arrived, the village was elevated to the status of city. At this time Caxias already had an expressive agricultural and wine production, the industry was diversifying fast, and the city was getting ready to increase even more its old role of dynamic commercial warehouse, becoming one of the main economies of the state. Therefore, the expectations of the former administrators of the state, who saw in colonization a salvation for the decline of the charque culture, that made Rio Grande do Sul rich in the 19th century, were fulfilled.