Baker Street Station 1920 by Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and author, published June 5, 2017 in Fort Wayne Reader.
See photo and history posted June 5, 2017 by Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and author, and long discussion September 14, 2017 included this comment "Craig Leonard: The rendering of the Pennsy station is signed by Bert Griswold, the local historian who was also the cartoonist for the Sentinel. The building was designed by Will Price of Philadelphia and is notable as his largest surviving freestanding building(he also did the train shed addition to Union Station Indianapolis. His largest works were the Traymore, Blenheim, and Marlboro hotels in Atlantic City, NJ, which were demolished when casino gambling arrived there in the 1970's. He had so much Indiana work that he had a branch office in Indy, where he did the Allison Mansion, now on the Butler campus. See George Thomas, Arts and Crafts Into Modern, published by Princeton in 2000."
In 1837, Samuel Hanna donated land to the city for the express purpose of establishing a public market. The name of market was taken from the bordering street, which was itself named for John T. Barr, who co-purchased the original 118 lots of the town of Fort Wayne. By 1855, the market was a vital part of the local economy and a market house had been constructed. In 1910, celebrated local architects, Mahurin & Mahurin designed a new concrete market complex, replacing the half-century old market. Located on the east side of Barr Street, it extended two blocks south from the City Hall Building (today known as the History Center) to Washington Boulevard. Expansion of supermarkets into the suburbs brought an end to the Barr Street Market. The northern pavilion (City Hall to Wayne Street) was demolished in 1957, followed by the southern pavilion (Wayne Street to Washington Boulevard) in 1958. In 1988, the History Center acquired the Barr Street Market and for the past three decades the museum has faithfully stewarded this oldest public space in Fort Wayne. Since 2005, the History Center and the Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana have partnered to revitalize and energize this cherished piece of our community’s shared heritage. Copied from the May 16, 2018 post with several historic photos and postcards and May 7, 2022 post by The History Centeron Facebook.
A 1950 photo from THIS DAY IN HISTORY: May 31 in photos by Dan Vance posted May 31, 2018 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. Caption; 1950 - In the 1950s, the Barr Street Market was a place to buy plants and flowers as well as all kinds of homegrown fruits and vegetables. Here, on May 31, early-afternoon shoppers had their pick of merchandise. The market was open five days a week, and was at its busiest Friday afternoons and evenings and Saturday mornings.
Baseball’s first professional league game, 150 years ago posted Jul 6, 2022 This story originally aired: May. 4, 2021 FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - by Daniel Beals on YouTube. May 4 is a special day in baseball, especially here in 21Country. A monument marks a historic site at Camp Allen Park, alongside the St. Marys River.
“You could argue that Fort Wayne was part of the first professional sports league in America, which is kind of cool,” sports historian Blake Sebring told us.
Sebring has literally written the book on sports history in Fort Wayne. “The Kekiongas were a club team in Fort Wayne,” he said, “they had a little bit of a reputation in the midwest as being a good team.” In 1871, they were invited to join the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. A city in Ohio was slated to make history that day. But Mother Nature had other plans.
THE LAST WORD: Souder article details history of professional baseball in Fort Wayne by Kerry Hubartt published April 22, 2019 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. Former 3rd District congressman Mark Souder and local baseball historian wrote an in-depth article about Fort Wayne’s professional baseball history in the semi-annual Old Fort News (Volume 82, No. 1), which is a publication of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Historical Society. It’s called Hugh McCulloch & the Origins of Professional Baseball.
On May 20, 2017, with the help of City Councilman Geoff Paddock and the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department, Griggs and the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association unveiled a permanent monument on the spot of the game in Camp Allen Park where the first major league baseball game was played. After the Civil War, the Fort Wayne Kekiongas baseball team formed in 1866, and in 1869 the team played the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who were the first team in the country with paid professional players. The Red Stockings won easily 86-8 then won the rematch later that season 41-7. That may not sound like a very important beginning, but the Kekiongas and Fort Wayne were hugely important to the start of professional baseball and later became hosts of the first professional league game ever played. Copied from Fort Wayne Sports History First pitch of pro baseball thrown in city by Blake Sebring published March 25, 2020 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
At Columbia and Lafayette Streets, someone vandalized a valuable stone in the June 16, 1907 article in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
Battle of Kekionga
There is an historical marker Harmar's Defeat in the Lakeside neighborhood. See 2017 book The Bones of Kekionga by Jim Pickett, a retired teacher, that blends a historical and fictional depiction of what really happened during the 1790 Battle of Kekionga between American General Josiah Harmar and Miami Chief Little Turtle. Copied from Driven by city history Driver's education course includes tours of downtown by Austin Candor published August 22, 2017 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
B & B Loan
America's great pawn shop 67th anniversary on January 1, 2013
A most German town is an apt description of Fort Wayne during the late 19th century and along with that heritage came the demand for German beer. One German family to answer this demand was the Berghoff family. The Berghoff Brewery was established in April 1887 by the Berghoff brothers: Gustav, Henry, Hubert and Herman. They brewed German beers with the names, Dortmunder, Salvator and Bock, that reflected their Germanic homeland. Berghoff survived the era of Prohibition by making soft drinks, but by the time beer production resumed in 1933, the Berghoff family had sold most of their interests in the business. The Falstaff Brewing Corporation of St. Louis purchased the brewery in 1954; in December 1988 it was acquired by the S&P Company of California. In January 1990, the brewery closed its doors for the final time. The closure of the former Berghoff plant, Fort Wayne’s last major brewery, brought an end to the tradition of large-scale beer production in our city. Quote and one of 20 photos copied from an April 8, 2019 post by The History Centeron Facebook. See Berghoff Brewery history of the Berghoff's on FortWayneBeer.com and History on BerghoffBeer.com. See also A look into Fort Wayne beer history by Jaclyn Goldsborough published December 26, 2013 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. See Lafe Gunther driving the beer delivery wagon and Chauncey Relue with delivery wagon photo in Comments to photo posted April 20, 2017 onthe original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook. Photo of their billboard sign from the 1940s by John Vachon at The Library of Congressposted April 5, 2019 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Private group on Facebook
Besancon is a French settlement east of New Haven and Fort Wayne. Celebration at Besancon discussed in a newspaper article May 31, 1906 in the The Journal Gazette newspaper page 1 and page 3 reprinted on pages 82-84 in the March 2017 Allen County Lines quarterly publication of the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana Volume 41 Number 3. See Besancon in our Towns of Allen County.
Beside Still Waters Greenhouse and Log Cabin Retreat
A 30-by-50-foot log cabin, made of squared-off tulip tree logs dating from at least the 1850s and likely used by federal Indian agents engaged in removing native tribes from Indiana. It is a log cabin getaway spot run by Klare Stech that ended up on more than 40 acres of land in Cedar Creek Township at 18017 Devall Road outside Spencerville. It used to be on land that had been a turkey farm off Maysville Road near St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, which traces its founding to 1838. Information copied from website and Retreat into the past 1800s cabin rented out to lodgers after years of restoration work by Rosa Salter Rodriguez published March 17, 2013 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
The 200+ year old Bicentennial Tree has a 1797-1987 plaque on Baker Street in downtown Fort Wayne, just south of Parkview Field. It is 14 feet, 4 inches in circumference from Fort Wayne's Centennial Oak Tree published November 1, 2022 by TreeMasters, Inc. It was discussed May 22, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. Called John Hancock Oak by Waymarking.com is described as a 200+ year old bicentennial year tree with a marker just south of Parkview Field on Baker Street between Fairfield and Harrison Streets by the Baker Street train station parking lot. The marker states: 1787-1987 The National Arborists Association and The International Society of Arboriculture jointly recognize this significant tree in this bicentennial year as having lived here at the time of the signing of our constitution Presented by: Maxwell Tree Expert Company. Photo and discussion March 28, 2017 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Private group on Facebook. There is a former old Apple Tree with lots of local lore too! A May 22, 2022 Facebook post by ACRES Land Trust shows how ACRES staff learned how to use a borer tool that safely takes a section of wood from a tree that shows you can age the tree and observe how much it grew each year!
Bicentennial Woods Preserve
Bicentennial Woods Preserve is an ACRES Land Trust Nature Preserve in Perry Township. Their web page states: Purchase of these 80 acres was made possible by Mary Ellen Arnold in 1994. Over 2 miles of trails. ... The property was acquired to honor Fort Wayne's Bicentennial in 1994. Towering oaks, hickories and sycamore, some more than 200 years old, dominate the woods.
Birkmeier & Sons Monument Co., Inc.
Founded in 1880 by John G. Birkmeier, a Delphos, Ohio teacher who started the business as a way to increase his income while raising six children. In the first few decades after its founding, larger memorial monuments were set using a horse-drawn cart with an elaborate system of pulleys.
Originally located along the banks of the Miami-Erie Canal in Delphos, Ohio, John G. Birkmeier’s grandson, Alexander C. Birkmeier expanded the business to Fort Wayne, Indiana selling cemetary monuments and headstones from his bicycle and sending orders to the Delphos-based operation. In 1927 he built a home for the Fort Wayne business to simplify operations for the family. That same Spanish Eclectic-style building is still used today and is located at 2323 W. Main Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Located directly across the street from the city's largest cemetery, Lindenwood Cemetery, the building sat on the main highway leading west out of Fort Wayne. The route of U.S. 24 was later moved south of the building which sits on the old bed of the Wabash and Erie Canal. Read the rest of their history at www.birkmeier.com/?page=history
Blue Cast Mineral Water Sanitarium and Magic Springs
Woodburn, Indiana. 21412 Bluecast Road, Woodburn, IN 46797. Blue Cast Springs History by Tom Castaldi and more on ACRES Land Trust web site. Advertisement is shown at Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Blue Cast Nature Preserve an 87 acre property became the 5,000th acre of nature preserved by ACRES Land Trust December 27, 2012. It contains deep ravines, over 3,000 feet of frontage along the Maumee River, a heronry - a large group of active blue heron nests - and a mature forest. Several springs on the property have water with a blue cast that was so popular in 1902-1905 it was bottled and sold throughout the United States for "magnetic, invigorating and curative powers." A luxurous health spa located on the property in 1913 to capitalize on the water's popularity and scenic beauty. Information from a December 2012 ACRES Land Trust letter. Newest Nature Preserve Harbors Ghosts video by Eric Olson published January 3, 2014 on
ABC WPTA21.com TV station21Country video. See advertisement posted April 6, 2017 by Indiana Historical Bureauon Twitter.
ACRES trust adding 2 preserves in region 130 combined acres are near Woodburn and east of Angola March 13, 2013 by Vivian Sade of Journal Gazette - Two environmentally significant properties in northeast Indiana have been added to the state’s oldest and largest land trust, officials of a land trust company said. ... Blue Cast Springs includes 87 acres of upland forest, floodplain, ravines and 30-foot bluffs overlooking about 3,000 feet of Maumee River frontage, just north of Woodburn.
At the 1:40 minute mark this video claims the 1992 Amore book shown above says it was invented in Colorado. The History of the Kmart Blue Light Special - “Attention Kmart Shoppers” posted Feb 22, 2021 by Retail Rewindon YouTube Beginning in 1965, possibly an idea created by menswear department manager Bob Anderson, Kmart became known for their Blue Light Specials. A Blue Light Special was a random announcement of a sale highlighted by a rotating blue light and an announcement via the intercom system. The Blue Light Special was successful for a couple of decades but as Kmart began struggling by 2000, the Blue Light Special made a couple of comebacks in hopes of rekindling nostalgia and memories of what Kmart once was.
Blume, Martin, Jr., Farm
7311 Flutter Road, Martin Blume Sr. born in Germany, immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1835. In 1863 Martin Sr. moved to Allen County and acquired a large section of land, which he cleared and farmed until he retired. He sold 157 acres of land in 1878 to his son Martin, Jr.. Brief post May 6, 2017 on You know you've lived in Fort Wayne too long when... Private Facebook groupmentions this property has a National Register of Historic Places Registion Form including 8 photos and on page 8 mentions the large two story brick Italianate house of Henry Young on Trier Road that dates to 1885, the 1865 two story Italianate house of William Shordon on Maysville Road and 1880’s brick Victorian Jacob J. Vonderau farm house on Wheelock Road.
Who thought old bottles found in strange places could be interesting history?
Dewy’s Bottle Museum (antique bottles found) posted Jun 24, 2022 by Daniel Beals on YouTube. Dewy began researching county archives, connecting with other bottle hunters over the internet, to learn where forgotten dumping grounds once were. “All old dumps are located behind, or near water and cemeteries,” Dewy learned, “around railroads they’d also dump, because of old railroad stations, they’d throw their trash somewhere so they would just throw it on a hill or anywhere and just bury it.” His most interesting trip, was to an old privy. He tells us he has only been lucky enough to take part in one dig so far. “If you don’t know what a privy is… it’s a place where the outhouse was,” Dewy said, “you dig into these holes and find glass where they put their outhouses at, because that’s where they put their trash at.” “It tells a story of that family, or whoever was there,” he finished. Copied from the longer description also at 21Country: Dewy’s Bottle Museum on ABC WPTA21.com TV station.
1302 East Creighton Avenue, last used as headquarters for the Fort Wayne Police Deaprtment was orginally the headquarters of the S. F. Bowser & Company, founded in 1885 by the man who invented the world's first self-measuring pump. Sylvanus Freelove Bowser was one of the city's top three or four industrialists in the early 20th century.
RTV6 - WRTV Indianapolis TV August 8, 2017 posted a 30 second video of the Bowser Pump history on their Facebook page.
Bowser, Man and Building S. F. Bowser, inventor of the automobile gas pump, built his 1917 company headquarters in Fort Wayne with an eye for quality and workmanship. His legacy there, however, is a fading one. Published May 18, 2017 by Indiana Landmarks.
Broadway business association has completed improvement projects over the last several years. Local businesses, such as Mad Anthony Brewing and George's International Grocery, and attorney Steve Shine, whose law office is on the Broadway Plaza. www.broadwayfortwayne.com.1014-1016 Broadway row of c. 1890 commercial buildings were purchased in 2010 by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) .
Broadway State Bank --Fort Wayne, Indiana filmed August 11, 1976 when it was The Palace and The Scorpion dancing pool hall live music bar business posted November 11, 2016 by the Allen County Public Library on YouTube. This clip is a short piece that is part of a longer series of Fort Wayne landmarks documented on open reel video tape in the 1970s. The series was made possible by the Fort Wayne Public Library, now the Allen County Public Library. This segment was recorded August 11, 1976 at 1930 Broadway in Fort Wayne, IN.
Camera and Editing by Steve Fortriede.
2441 Broadway. June 11, 2022 photo posted on Facebook: This was the theater as it stood in 1926. Opened as the Broadway Theater on November 5, 1923. It was renamed Indiana Theater in 1934. From the 1970’s this theater last operated as Cinema Blue, an X-rated theater which closed in 1985. The building became home to a restaurant in 1998, called the Catablu Gourmet American Grill. In May 2009, it became a jazz club known as The Philmore on Broadway. By 2017 it was an entertainment & events venue. And coming in 2022 it will re-open as the newly renovated Chateau On Broadway! The Philmore on Broadway at CinemaTreasures.org has an October 9, 2009 comment with a decent amount of history such as: The newly built Broadway Theater was to develop a reputation for showing the best silent movies in a pleasing atmosphere. The building had a stage, an auditorium that had an arched ceiling which provided better ventilation and acoustic properties, contained an orchestra pit and three sets of balconies, it could seat 600 people, the ladies room provided space for parking baby buggies, and the screen was made of the best gold fiber. The film featured at the Grand Opening of the Broadway Theater was Back Home and Broke starring Thomas Meighan, a poplar leading actor of the time. Everyone attending on opening day was given a rose (New Broadway Theater). Referencing two newspaper articles: “New Broadway Theater.” The News-Sentinel 3 November 1923. Pond, Cindy. “Indiana Theater Closes Nov. 9.” Journal Gazetter 27 October 1969.
See more local Theaters such as the Broadway Theatre, Clyde Theatre, Embassy Theatre, Holiday Theater, Jefferson Theatre, Palace Theatre, Rialto Theatre, and Paramount Theatre.
Episode 166: Bass Mansion published December 20, 2021 by Granite Ridge Builderson YouTube One of Fort Wayne's hidden architectural gems: the Bass Mansion, located on the campus of the University of Saint Francis. Join the BTS crew as we explore the ornate styles of the mansion, plus a bit of football action with Johnny the Saint Francis Cougar!
Brookside wins prize for outstanding restoration an Indiana Landmarks YouTube video. Published on May 1, 2013. Their About statement: Rather than opt for modern updating, the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne completed an all-out $4.5 million restoration of historic Brookside, earning the 2013 Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration.
Brookside was finished in 1891. John Bass, a successful businessman, ran the Bass Foundry and Machine Works, which covered 20 acres of land on South Hanna Street. Brookside was considered the family's country getaway; their city home was at West Berry Street and Fairfield Avenue. In 1902, the original Brookside burned in a fire sparked by a gas explosion. By 1903, the home was completely rebuilt in stone, concrete and steel. It has six bedrooms for family and guests and three for servants; 13 fireplaces; three staircases; and a ballroom on the third floor with a mural in the skylight depicting the nine dancing Muses of Greek mythology. In 1944, the Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration bought the home for $60,000 to house St. Francis College, which had originally been in Lafayette. The house served as the college and living space for the sisters until 1948, when expansion began with construction of Trinity Hall. Throughout the restoration of the home, the school took care to preserve the historic integrity of the building while modernizing it. From Wearing its holiday finest, former Bass Mansion on USF campus open to public The Christmas in the Castle event takes place this weekend and next. By Cindy Larson of The News-Sentinel Wednesday, November 28, 2012.
Brookside the Bass Mansion - For All Time "The Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration bought the home and 65 acres south of Spring Street from the Bass family in 1944.
Tours of Brookside at University of Saint Francis. They moved what was then Saint Francis College from Lafayette, Indiana to Fort Wayne. The mansion served as the college library until the university opened the Lee and Jim Vann Library in August 2006."
Brookside - The Bass Mansion Renovation a WFWA TV39 Fort Wayne PBS Special | 57m 4s Brookside, also known as the Bass Mansion, was added to the National Register for Historic Places in 1982. Renovations on the former residence of industrialist John Henry Bass were completed in 2009-2010. The mansion is currently an administrative building on the University of Saint Francis. Aired: 10/01/10 Rating: NR. Description of Brookside the Bass Mansion Renovation highlights of the rennovation.
Vorderman Photography has a great shot on his Facebook page.
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company provides insurance for churches and related ministries. Founded in Grabill in 1917, Brotherhood Mutual is a provider of property, liability, workers compensation, commercial auto and foreign travel insurance for churches and related ministries. The company, which serves more than 40,000 churches and ministries in 43 states and the District of Columbia, has been recognized as one of the best places to work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce for five straight years.
Brown, W.B., Company
From ARCH Facebook March 30, 2013 EventWorld-class manufacturer of Arts and Crafts Mission style furniture, electric lighting fixtures, and store interiors from 1906 to 1923, the W.B. Brown Company, known locally as the "Chandelier Factory", was one of northern Indiana's most successful design-manufacture firms during the peak of the American Arts & Crafts movement of the early 20th Century.March 30, 2013 brochure on ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) on Facebook.
Byron Health Center has its roots as the Allen County Poor House, built in 1853 in the Waynedale area. In 1916, the facility was moved to its current location and Fort Recovery, an anti-tuberculosis tent hospital was established. This later became known as Irene Byron Hospital. The facility was named to honor Irene Byron, who died while serving her country in World War I and was an executive secretary of the Anti-Tuberculosis League. Copied from Our History page of the Byron Health website. Formerly at 12371 Lima Road there was an unmarked cemetery discussed on our cemetery page.. 1938 photos of the Main Building, Sunny-side, and the West Hall Girl's Building from the Joan Hostetler Collection at The Indiana Album were posted June 12, 2019 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Private group on Facebook. New facility at Lake Avenue and Beacon Street broke ground in 2018, was formerly at 12101 Lima Road. Named for Irene Byron, the land was a well known home to a large county-owned facility for tuberculosis patients between 1919 and 1976. One proposed move was to Wells Street. Byron Health Center move to old YWCA campus could boost sale of county land by Kevin Leininger published February 8, 2017 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. Byron Health breaks ground on Lake site Center won't just be 'another nursing home' by Rosa Salter Rodriquez published October 11, 2018 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. The original grounds on Lima Road had at least one graveyard. In 2020, the county hired American Locating Services of Indianapolis, to use ground-penetrating radar to look for caskets or bodies according to the newspaper article County to look for possible graves Commissioners hire surveyor to study Byron property by Rosa Salter Rodriguez published February 22, 2020 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. It also stated: The need for the study came a few months ago when a longtime area resident told county officials he remembered seeing a second graveyard on the site when he was a teenager in the 1960s to 1970s.
