The East State Village sign, which Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided some information to Alan Grinsfelder, local architect with Grinsfelder Associates for this archway sign across State Street! was shown in a December 12, 2017 post with the dedicated bricks in the archway in a December 18, 2017 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook.
East State Village ca. 1960 (with a photo)
By Randy Harter Fort Wayne Reader
2017-07-08
The roughly eight block long East State Village is made up of approximately 20 commercial properties largely developed during the city’s trolley era in the 1920’s. In this circa 1960 image (taken from the roof of today’s Colvin Kitchen & Bath building), two of the pictured businesses are still going strong, PIO Market and the Candlelight Café. Others not in the view, State Grill, the Acme Bar, and the Tecumseh Library (now in a new building) are also still with us.
In the view, just past the circa 1926 Spanish Eclectic style fire station (FW Engine Company #10) is Fort Wayne National Bank, which today houses The Rib Room and Nick’s Martini Bar. It’s interesting in that Nick’s Ribs was in business (since 1957) when this image was taken, but was then located in the first building east of the firehouse (you can just barely see the “N” in Nick’s on the front of the building), and then moved to the old Fort Wayne National Bank building after the bank moved out. Beyond the bank going west was Wayne Camera, Stately Women’s Wear, Roble Shoes, Pio Market, and then the parking lot, which from 1930 until the early 50’s was the site of the State Street Theater. Next, was Klemm’s Candlelight Café, Belmont dime store (now S & V Liquors) followed by a Texaco gas station. Still going west on the north side of the street, across Crescent was Clay Pharmacy on the NW corner, Trend Television & Appliances, Curtis Flowers (now the Acme parking lot), and the Acme Bar “Where Neighbors Meet - Since 1941”.
Jumping across the street south and coming back east, was Peerless Dry Cleaners on the SW corner of State and Kentucky, then across the intersection Noel’s Service Station on the SE corner , Rommel’s Body Shop, Klug Shoe store, Lantz Insurance, Karl’s Barber Shop and State Street Hardware on the SW corner of State and Crescent. Across Crescent going east was Dr. Franke/Phys , Weaver Barber Shop, Dr. Merkel/DDS, Roberts Hair Salon, State Grill, Dr. Rockey/DDS, Huntine Shell (where gas was 29.9 per gallon). Then across California Avenue a Sinclair Service Station, Meyer Bros drugstore and Schwartz Babyland (both were in today’s Colvin Kitchen & Bath building), Scott’s Bakery, Mix Jewelers and finally, State Street Shoe Repair before coming to Alabama Ave.
Crossing the street north to where Abby Brown’s Chocolate’s was most recently located was Millers’s Dairy Store, the Tecumseh Library, Kroger grocery store (now the parking lot east of the library), Buschbaum Drug, Bon Ton Bakery, the U. S. Post Office (now Simply Socks Yarn Company), then crossing California to the then 1960 Nick’s Rib Bar location and once again the fire station. (Image courtesy Bob Baker)
Thanks to Bob Baker for his remembrances of East State Village, and prior research by Creager Smith/City of Fort Wayne Historic Planner and Michael Galbraith/ARCH-Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership.
Randy Harter is a Fort Wayne historian, author and tour guide for Fort Wayne Food Tours.
This was supposed to go out yesterday, for "Out in the Field" Monday, but we had issues with Facebook/computer on the picture. This was taken last Monday, December 4th, the last day we enjoyed temps reaching the 60's! This is the East State Village sign, which Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided some information to Alan Grinsfelder, local architect with Grinsfelder Associates for this archway sign across State Street! Bundle up, cause it ain't 60 no more!
Last week our "Out in the Field" featured the archway for East State Village. Each of the bases have dedicated bricks to help make the archway possible.
Eckart Mansion
1915 West Main is a grand 1900 Free Classic home owned by Henry E. Eckart, general manager and secretary-treasurer of the Fred Eckart Packing Co., a mammoth meat-processing company deeply woven into the neighborhood’s history. Its plant and stockyards at 1825 W. Main St. – the remaining building lost in a fire in 1998 after changing hands – employed hundreds after the company was founded in 1877 by Henry Eckart’s father, Frederick Eckart, an immigrant from Bavaria, Germany. Copied from A house with a history Meatpacker’s mansion draws dad, daughter June 2, 2013 by Rosa Salter Rodriguez of The Journal Gazette newspaper. See June 13, 2013 photo for home tour by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage)on Facebook.
Eckrich, Peter & Sons Meats
Peter Eckrich, an immigrant from Waldsee, German arrived in America at the age of 17. He launched a meat market in 1894 Fort Wayne. He created and sold sausage varieties he enjoyed growing up in Germany. By 1907 he was wholesaling meat, then incorporated as Peter Eckrich & Sons in 1925. They ceased retail by 1932, operating exclusively as a wholesale meat vendor. By 1932, Eckrich meats were nationally recognized for their great taste and supreme quality. Peter died in 1942. In the 1960s-1970s, Peter Eckrich & Sons heavily advertised during local sporting events including high school basketball, baseball, and Komets hockey. Eckrich was sold to publicly owned Beatrice Foods of Chicago in 1972 merged into Swift and Sons in 1986 as Swift-Eckrich. The Fort Wayne plant closed in the mid-1980s. In 1990 they were sold to ConAgra, then October 2, 2006 sold to Smithfield Foods which in 2013 became privately owned by a Chinese company.
Wallace and Barr Streets circa 1902-1920. The photo at right of women workers outside the business was posted with the description: A 1902 edition of The American Hatter magazine reported that the business was about to open in Fort Wayne and would employ 50 people. By 1907, they employed 100 women and 5 men. The factory manufactured canvas work gloves, underwear, and mittens, and was in business at least through 1921. on The Indiana Album, Joan Hostetler Collection. The photo was posted and discussed January 26, 2019 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook. One comment said the factory at Barr & Wallace Streets was destroyed by fire February 4, 1920 from an article in the February 5, 1920
The News-Sentinel newspaper.
Built an electric motor buggy. There were several companies during the early 1900s that used the name 'Economy.' One of the earlier companies to use the name was the Economy Motor Buggy Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, which produced motor buggy's from 1908 through 1911. Their president was William R. Everett, an individual who had worked on developing an experimental electric roadster as well as a light delivery vehicle. Copied from 1908 Economy Model B at Conceptcarz.com. The Success Automobile Manufacturing Company was founded in 1906 by John C. Higdon, who had built his first car in 1896; back then for experimental purposes only. While Higdon was open to let people copy his construction back in 1896, and even publicly invited to do so, he became much more aware of patents and royalties when building cars on a commercial schedule. So, he took several competitors to court on this matter; among them the Economy Motor Buggy Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Copied from Success Automobile Manufacturing Company at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
As the century turned, the auto was arriving in Fort Wayne.
First were the "silent, gliding [p.10]" electrics of the city's leading merchants, according to "The Columbia Street Story," a history of Fort Wayne's first main street written by Roy M. Bates and Kenneth B. Keller for Fort Wayne's bicentennial in 1994. [did she mean the 1976 USA bicentennial? the book was published in 1975 - p. 6]
But the 20th century's first decade also saw the arrival of early cars on the city's mostly unpaved streets. Some of the local "horseless carriages" were purchased from Fort Wayne's first Ford dealer, or were made here, however briefly, by the Economy Motor Buggy Co.
Local historian Bob DeVinney found Economy Motor Buggy in the earliest city directories in his extensive collection. He has the company identified in 1908 and part of 1909 in a factory in what was called the Commercial Addition off Taylor Street, although he does not know an exact address.
J. Ferd and Kenneth H. Beuret were the owners.
DeVinney also has an old Cliff Richards column from The Journal Gazette that mentions Economy Motor Buggy, along with the two other makes of cars once built in Fort Wayne, the Wayne and the Huffman.
"But I couldn't find anything about them," he said.
Das Unternehmen wurde 1908 in Fort Wayne in Indiana gegründet. William R. Everett war Präsident. Er begann mit der Produktion von Automobilen unter dem Markennamen Economy. Die Success Auto-Buggy Manufacturing Company zog vor Gericht, weil Economy ihre Patente nutzte. Daraufhin zog Economy nach Kankakee in Illinois. Der Mangel an geeigneten Arbeitskräften in dieser Stadt sorgte dafür, dass der Sitz wenig später nach Joliet in Illinois verlegt wurde. Ende 1909 erfolgte die Umfirmierung. Ab 1910 lag der Schwerpunkt auf der Produktion auf Nutzfahrzeugen. 1911 endete die Pkw-Produktion. 1912 kam es zum Konkurs. Economy Motor Car Company on the German version of Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
A comment: GE manufactures the electrical components at their Fort Wayne Indiana factory. Was on the 1914 Timeline of Electric Cars at the Edison Tech Center.
A 1907 Holsman 10hp No. 3 Runabout Engine no. 170 sold at auction in the United Kingdom by Bonhams.com under Saleroom notices stated: We are pleased to inform bidders that this High Wheeler is actually a far rarer Economy Model E 22/24hp. The Economy Motor Buggy Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, produced motor buggy's from 1908 through to 1911.
An April 22, 2019 comment to Disappearing Indy Auto Landmarks posted by Dennis E. Horvath | Sep 24, 2012 at HistoricIndianapolis.com stated: Mr. Flowers. Our family owns the building that was the Economy Motor Buggy (later Economy Motor Car Co) of Joliet. I have a lot of information on both the “Economy Motorbuggy Co of Fort Wayne that later became the “Economy Motorcar Co.in Joliet. Mr Everett bought the company after the bankruptcy in order to built electric cars. I would like to exchange information with you and show you my collection of memorabilia. About 8 cars build in both Fort Wayne and Joliet still exist. One is in our local museum. http://story.illinoisstatemuseum.org/content/joliet-economy-motor-buggy.
William S. Edsall House (Circa 1975 - 2017) 305 West Main Street by Daniel Baker uploaded February 17, 2017 on flickr.
This brick Federal-Greek Revival home was built for William S. Edsall. Mr. Edsall came to Fort Wayne in the 1820s as a surveyor for the Wabash & Erie Canal. Like many of his notable local peers of the era, he was quite the entrepreneur with businesses in mercantile, fur trading and produce to name a few. He also served as councilman when Fort Wayne's city charter was approved in 1840 and later as County Clerk. It was at that time that he built his home on Main Street.
As business ventures go, Edsall fell hard and had to sell his home in 1865. Nine years later, he bought it back. He celebrated the homecoming by sending out 500 hundred invitations to the people who helped settle Fort Wayne with him. The Fort Wayne Daily Sentinel described the festivity, "Last evening was one of the largest and most brilliant social parties ever given in this city." Among the names of guests that now live on as streets: Bass, Ewing, Hanna, Suttenfield, Colerick and Brackenridge to name a few. His hope of "passing the closing years of his life within its walls surrounded his children and friends" was realized (1). He died of a paralytic stroke two years later (2).
Edsall's house was sold and became the Fort Wayne City Hospital for a very short time (3). It opened in 1878 advertising "see Edison and his phonograph" as well as "the Siamese Twins." On the menu was the "best oyster stew" (4). A couple weeks later, the hospital moved (5). Today we know the hospital as Parkview.
For a number of years the home was used as a warehouse, falling into disrepair and finally vacated by the 1970s. Around that time, housing for senior citizens was being planned for the block. ARCH, recognizing the historic and architectural importance, nominated the Edsall House for the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It still stands on West Main, the oldest structure in central downtown (6).
Sources: 1)Fort Wayne Daily Sentinel, 16 April 1874
2)Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, 12 December 1876
3)" ", 24 October 1878
4)" ", 29 October 1878
5)Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, 6 November 1878
6)National Register of Historic Places: secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/17b4e/N/Edsall_William_S_... August 1, 1975
Edsall Housethe oldest structure in downtown Fort Wayne and the city’s second oldest hospital, was built by William S. Edsall in 1839 on the West Central Trail 17 stops on the Heritage Trail by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage).
#2 - WILLIAM EDSALL HOUSE. YEAR CONSTRUCTED: 1839-40. The William Edsall House on W. Main St. is built in the Federal/Greek Rivial style. Its brick construction includes four interior end chimneys. It is the oldest structure in downtown Fort Wayne and hosted grand "Pioneer Balls" that saw the founders of Fort Wayne gather, reminisce and honor the creation of the city on the three rivers. It was converted into the city's second hospital in 1878, but it shuttered two days after it opened due to a clash with the mortgage company. It has housed the offices of the Home Builders Association of Fort Wayne since 1986. (Photo courtesy of The History Center). Copied from FORT WAYNE FIVE: Oldest city structures on the National Register of Historic Places published January 4, 2018
The News-Sentinel newspaper archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this article written for the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST through The Journal-Gazette by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988. Tracy later became Journal-Gazette writer and Editorial Editor, and now works for Indiana and Michigan Power (AEP). We shared pictures before on the McCulloch House on Superior Street, when Tom and Kris Bireley had restored it and we surveyed for them. This article is on the flip side, and mentions one of our long-time clients Bud Hall. It also talks about the City Light property before it became Science Central. BTW....Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided the survey when Science Central took over!
It shows an image of the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST a The Journal Gazette newspaper article by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988 discussing six old buildings he wrote about four years earlier in 1983, four were vital to Fort Wayne heritage, that were wasting away. Two were still empty in 1988. They were the McCulloch House, the Centlivre Brewery site still standing in 1988 but later demolished, The Edsall House, the Baker Street Train Depot, the Hanna School built in 1905, closed in 1977, city bought in 1979, sold in 1984, bought again in 1986 then demolished in 1987 saving only the arched doorways, a gable, the cornerstone and balustrade; and City Light now Science Central. At the end he mentioned car phones a new technology in 1988!
Historic Preservation Month: Tucked away and easily overlooked by its more popular neighbors, the Elektron Building stands as one of Fort Wayne's architectural gems. It was designed by popular local architectural firm Wing & Mahurin in the Romanesque Revival style and erected in 1895. Owned by Ranald T. McDonald, president of the Jenney Electric Light Company, it was the temporary home of the Allen County Courthouse while the current one was constructed (1898-1902). The Elektron Building later served as the city's library and, from 1912-1923, was the headquarters of Lincoln National Life Insurance Company. Today it is the home of law firm Barrett and McNagny.
A Romanesque Revival style fire house designed by the architectural firm of Wing & Mahurin. With arched doorways and stall openings in brick, and a stone belt course above a row of brick dentils on the main façade. In its day, it was the largest and best-equipped fire station in town, also served as a testing site for new equipment and firefighting methods. Last used as a fire station in 1972. It currently houses the Fort Wayne Firefighter’s Museum and the Old No. 3 Firehouse Café. See our Fort Wayne Fire Department page.
Eskay Dairy
Became a Meadow Gold dairy- Fairfield at 449 Baker Street in the 1960s, published baby photos in early to mid-20th century newspapers. Eskay’s Albumenized Food, Philadelphia, PA Posted on April 24, 2015 by Jessica Eskay’s Albumenized Food, Philadelphia, PA
April 24, 2015 Jessica on Old Main Artifacts
July 18, 1929 Babies Thrive on Eskay Milk posted July 26, 2024 on Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne Private Facebook Group. Wanda Jeanne Stillwell, daughter Mr. and Mrs. Louis C. Stillwell, 619 Kenwood; Edward Steger, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Steger, 802 1/2 Huffman St.; Lawrence Franklis Jr., son of Mr.s and Mrs. Lawrence and Beulah Franklis, 416 W. Masterson; Theodore Herold Carlson, so of ?W. Carlson, 1102 Burgess St.; Betty Jean R. Miller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. J. Miller, 913 Huffman Street; June Joan Adams, daughter of Leonard and Helen Esther Adams, 402 E. Lewis Street; Ralph Junior Woods, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Woods.
Bloomingdale residents in 1936 became accustomed to seeing this unusual trio - Kip, a dog owned by Hubert J. McComb, 1216 Orchard St.; Joe Underwood, 645 Archer Ave., a driver for the Essay Dairy Co.; and Mickey, his horse. Kip would wait for the wagon to arrive every morning and would run in front of it, barking happily and running back and forth. Sometimes the dog would even accompany Underwood to the door as he delivered milk.
Karen Lynn Holmes, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Byron Holmes, 2319 Kenwood; Jackie Tarr son of Mr. & Mrs. John Tarr, 528 E. Wayne, Danny Lee Ramsy, son of Mr. & Mrs. Earl Ramsey, Jr., 3133 Abbott, Thomas A. Schaab, Jr., son of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Schaab, 2051 Reidmiller.
William G. Ewing's house on the northwest corner of Berry and Ewing Streets was built in 1838. The three-story brick mansion was considered to be one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in Fort Wayne. In April 1948, the home was purchased for $57,000 by the Fort Wayne-Allen County chapter of the American Red Cross from then-owners Dr. and Mrs. Don F. Cameron. The building housed several commercial tenants, and the Red Cross planned to move all its operations and activities, including the community blood center, into the site about a year later. Copied from This Day in History April 12 in photos published April 12, 2018 by
The News-Sentinel newspaper. 1854 Initial Construction photos and some information at the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey.
William G. Ewing House, Berry & Ewing Streets, Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN 1933
[ Two comments by Creager Smith, Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Fort Wayne:
An added element to HAER has been developed in recent years. The Historic Vehicle Association has partnered with the National Park Service to create the National Historic Vehicle Register. In documentation of historic vehicles there is a blend of practices of the National Register of Historic Places and HAER documentation. Auburn Indiana is the only place in the country where two listed vehicles can be seen in one place. https://www.historicvehicle.org/national-historic.../
This link is to the HABS record of Fort Wayne's William G. Ewing House, documented in the mid 1930s. The house is long-gone (it was demolished for a car sales lot), but the Library of Congress holds the documentation and photos of an amazing Greek Revival house. William G. Ewing House, Berry & Ewing Streets, Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN Photos from Survey HABS IN-24-10]
#OnThisDay in HABS/HAER/HALS history, November 13, 1933, the idea of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) was originally proposed by Charles E. Peterson.
The Vision of Charles E. Peterson
Although generated in haste, Charles E. Peterson's proposal to create the Historic American Buildings Survey was a carefully conceived plan to document systematically the historic built environment of the United States. A number of features assured that the program would have lasting effect. The Survey would be conducted professionally, using standardized archival and reproducible record formats for the public domain. Peterson wrote:
The plan I propose is to enlist a qualified group of architects and draftsmen to study, measure and draw up the plans, elevations and details of the important antique buildings of the United States. Our architectural heritage of buildings from the last four centuries diminishes daily at an alarming rate. The ravages of fire and the natural elements together with the demolition and alterations caused by real estate 'improvements' form an inexorable tide of destruction destined to wipe out the great majority of the buildings which knew the beginning and first flourish of the nation. The comparatively few structures which can be saved by extraordinary effort and presented as exhibition houses and museums or altered and used for residences or minor commercial uses comprise only a minor percentage of the interesting and important architectural specimens which remain from the old days. It is the responsibility of the American people that if the great number of our antique buildings must disappear through economic causes, they should not pass into unrecorded oblivion.
The list of building types . . . should include public buildings, churches, residences, bridges, forts, barns, mills, shops, rural outbuildings, and any other kind of structure of which there are good specimens extant . . . . Other structures which would not engage the especial interest of an architectural connoisseur are the great number of plain structures which by fate or accident are identified with historic events.
Peterson, Charles E., to the Director, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations, Washington, D.C., November 13, 1933. Reprinted in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 16, no. 3 (October 1957): 29-31.
Where the Allen County government started in a log tavern of Alexander Ewing off Columbia Street at the muddy intersection of Columbia and Barr streets in 1824. No longer there, it would now be the backyard of the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre and Fort Wayne Museum of Art. The Ewing Tavern site is at stop #19 The Beginnings of Fort Wayne on the
ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) Central Downtown Trail.
