Long before highways and airports connected America, Baker Street Station was Fort Wayne’s bustling front door to the world.
Originally known as the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, this striking American Craftsman-style building opened its doors in 1914, becoming a hub of movement, memory, and monumental moments for over seven decades.
During World War II, the station pulsed with patriotic energy — with up to 3,000 travelers passing through daily. From soldiers shipping out to communities uniting for the war effort, it all happened under Baker Street’s distinctive roof.
Baker Street was also a whistle-stop hotspot, welcoming some of America’s most influential leaders. Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower all made appearances here, delivering speeches and shaking hands from the back of their trains while connecting with Fort Wayne citizens.
In its later years, Baker Street Station served Amtrak’s iconic Broadway Limited (Chicago–Pittsburgh–New York) and Capitol Limited (Chicago–Pittsburgh–Washington) lines, until service ceased in November 1990. Even as passenger rail declined nationwide, this station remained a proud symbol of Fort Wayne’s place on the national map.
Though no longer an active station, Baker Street Station remains one of Fort Wayne’s most cherished architectural and historical landmarks as a restored community space and a timeless reminder of how we move, connect, and grow together.
Former January 4, 2018 post by HoferDavisSurveyor:
Yesterday, for Wall of Fame Wednesday, we shared our beads and medallion from a 2006 Martin Riley party. For "Throwback Thursday" we share this Journal Gazette photo from 1996 when we attended the open house of the refurbished historic train station! If one looks really close, and follows the arrow you can see Hofer and Davis enjoying this celebration!
When the Pennsylvania Lines railroad tracks were elevated through downtown Fort Wayne during 1911-1913, the old Pennsy railroad station that sat about at the location of today’s Mikes Carwash on Calhoun was removed. A new station designed by the Philadelphia firm of Price and McLanahan was built two blocks west and finished in March of 1914. Constructed of semi-glazed buff brick, the beautiful two-story building featured terrazzo floors, marble borders, bronze light fixtures, and over the main concourse, stained-glass skylights. The final cost was $550,000, which adjusted for inflation would be about $13M in 2017 dollars.
Through the years, this station serviced passengers for the Pennsylvania RR, Penn Central RR, Conrail and finally, Amtrak’s Broadway Limited (Chicago to New York City), which made its last stop at the station on November 11, 1990 (now rerouted through Waterloo). The building, now known as the Baker Street Station, saw more than its share of luminaries and politicians, many of whom used it as a whistle stop opportunity to reach out to voters. Some of those that gave speeches on Baker Street included U.S. Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower. Likely the station’s highest usage was during World War II, when an estimated 3,000 passengers passed through the station each day.
During the 1990’s the station nearly became a twisted pile of rubble as the city had issued permits to demolish the once beautiful structure, which by that time featured broken windows and had been stripped of anything salvageable. Fortunately, local architect Vic Martin came to the rescue, gaining ownership of the property in May of 1996. With the help of other passionate citizens and volunteers over the ensuing years, the property was returned to its former grandeur, as well as being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Now, in addition to being the home of Martin Riley Architects & Engineers, the wonderfully restored main concourse is rented for banquets, receptions and community events. (Image courtesy ACPL)
Randy Harter is a Fort Wayne historian, author, and tour guide for Fort Wayne Food Tours.
ForThrowback 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!
Today, we continue our list of the top endangered properties in the Historic 07 District. The purpose of this list is to...
Today, we continue our list of the top endangered properties in the Historic 07 District. The purpose of this list is to raise awareness of these incredible properties.
This home is not only of architectural importance but the builder/owner of the home served as the stationmaster for one of Fort Wayne's most iconic historical landmarks, the Baker Street Station. Charles played a critical role in running one of Fort Wayne's busiest stations in the early 1900s.
"When the Pennsylvania Station, now known as the Baker Street Station, threw open its doors on March 23, 1914, it was an event which culminated 55 years of rail travel in Fort Wayne and ushered in a new era of rail service. The new $550,000 station was the gateway to the city for thousands who used this invaluable mode of transportation, and as such had a strong impact on commerce and architecture.
Though the City was also served by three other rail lines during this period, each of which had its own station, no other railroad had the impact on local development as did the Pennsylvania Railroad, The Pennsylvania Car Shops, open since 1837, employed more than 1,000 men at one time, making it one of the City's major employers well into the twentieth century. Pennsylvania Station was visited by 10,000 people on opening day and was announced as being the largest and grandest of the City's four stations.
Through most of the twentieth century, Pennsylvania Station was the principal gateway used by travelers arriving in Fort Wayne. During World War II, the station saw its greatest use an estimated 3,000 people passed through the depot on a daily basis.
The Station was the scene of many social and political events that were special to Fort Wayne residents. Major political candidates, including every U.S. President from Harding to Eisenhower, made whistle-stops at the depot to deliver campaign speeches. But perhaps the most common source of recent memories associated with the station was the annual arrival of Santa Claus at the depot on the day after Thanksgiving. This annual event was sponsored by the largest known department store, Wolf and Dessauer, from 1945 through the 1950's.
William L. Price, an architect with Price and McLanahan in Philadelphia, designed the Baker Street Station as well as all Pennsy Stations between Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Station attests to Price's national recognition as a premier Arts and Crafts style architect and stands as a unique representative of Craftsman-style architecture in the City. The cruciform structure blends a mixture of classical and medieval elements including large arched windows, barrel-vaulted concourse, elaborately buttressed corners, parapeted gables, terrazzo and green-veined marble flooring, oak woodwork and bronze electrolier lamps
The Baker Street Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (Building - #98001056 listed as Pennsylvania Railroad Station)."
We all have a role in preserving our history. Hopefully, this post is a reminder of that.
May is Historic Preservation Month so throughout the month we'll be sharing photos of the Baker Street Train Station through the years. Take a look and see what 30 years difference can make, going from a boarded up ready to be torn down shell after passenger rail left to a iconic DTFW landmark after it went through an award winning renovation from the MR crew.
By the 60's, rail use at the train station was already in it's decline but that didn't stop Fort Wayne's newly formed Wildcat Baseball League from punching a ticket. Below, league members are being shown which car they need to board for their trip to Chicago to see a MLB game.
To continue with our Wildcat theme, here the teams are standing in line to get into the station for their big trip to the Windy City.
In 1995, after years of neglect, Vic Martin and John Riley took on the task of restoring the station to its original glory. By this time the station had no electrical or mechanical service, 20 years of water damage, vandals had stripped the building of valuables and caused extensive damage to its historical features. By 1997 and several thousand man-hours later the office wings of the station had been renovated and were fully occupied. The concourse was a different matter but that will be a story for another time...
Circa 1971, passengers await for their trains to arrive via the newly formed AMTRAK. Today, in the same space you can find elegant wedding receptions and other events being held throughout the year.
On September 15, 1952 General Dwight D. Eisenhower made a 150-mile trip through northern Indiana during his candidacy...
On September 15, 1952 General Dwight D. Eisenhower made a 150-mile trip through northern Indiana during his candidacy for President. His stop in Fort Wayne brought him to the Baker Street Station to give a whistle-stop speech where a crowd of 5,000 greeted the candidate. He reminisced to the crowd of his previous visit 30 years earlier when he was with a military company camped outside the city. It was then he learned of John Chapman and would later remark how Fort Wayne and Johnny Appleseed have been one and the same in his mind.
A Comment by Craig Leonard, local historic preservation consultant, states: This is the largest free-standing building designed by the Philadelphia architects Price and McClanahan(they also designed the 1916 train shed addition to Union Station Indianapolis, which was made into a multi-use mall in the 1980's). Will Price' brother in law, James Turner, was the Vice President of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, so this firm designed most of their structures between Philadelphia and Chicago. James Turner later left the railroad to found Turner Construction, which built One Summit Square, now the Indiana Michigan Tower. (cf., George Thomas, William L. Price, From Arts and Crafts to Modern, Princeton, 2000. The firm had enough Indiana business to have a branch office in Indianapolis for seven years.
Check out the new mural installed today at the Baker Street Train Station and how it captures the essence of this iconic Fort Wayne landmark!
All Aboard History: Baker Street Station
