The Fort Wayne Bottling Works Building on Hake Block along Wells Street will soon become a local historic district. The Fort Wayne Bottling Works on Hake Block – which sits across Wells Street from the Fort Wayne-Allen County Police and Fire Memorial – was built in 1884 and 1885 as a brick commercial building. 2024 owner James Markey statements: it was built on a parallelogram-shaped block. It has many interesting angles and was built the same year as the Wells Street Bridge and made with the same limestone and materials used for the foundations. The Hake Block was built by Frank Hake, who lived in the building with his family after immigrating to Fort Wayne from Germany. Hake operated his beer factory – Fort Wayne Bottling Works – in the building before it was converted into other uses, including a hotel. He died in 1894. The upstairs of the building used to be “Hake’s Hall,” which hosted various meetings and concerts. From the mid-1880s to the early 1900s, the second floor served as the meeting place for a local political party, the Ninth Ward Democrats.
It's the THIRD installment of FUN FACT FRIDAY where we take you back in time to learn some history about some of your favorite buildings in Fort Wayne!
Today, 1441 Wells Street! This building, located within the famous Historic Wells Street Corridor, was built in 1900 and soon after was home to the Palace Theatre. In 1917, the name was changed to the Wells Theatre, which opened on April 10th of that year and boasted 275 seats.
In 1920, ownership of the Wells Theatre changed hands to Alfred Borkenstein, who announced that the building would be extensively remodeled.
Throughout the next few decades, the Wells Theatre continued its business providing entertainment to the people of Fort Wayne, but it unfortunately closed in the 1950s.
Much later, 1441 Wells Street was home to Koehlinger Kruse Security as an office, and then was transformed into warehouse space.
Today, we are back at the Wells Theatre, found at 1441 Wells Street!
This building was built in 1900 and was originally home to the Palace Theatre. The Palace Theatre was then renamed to the Wells Theatre in 1917, and its heyday was seen throughout the 50s.
In 1951, a show only cost fourteen CENTS to get in! Not bad!
The theatre soon came to be known as a "cheap babysitter" because parents would hand their kids change and send them to the movies for a day, and the only adults found in the theatre at times were the workers.
The theatre also became a hot spot for teenagers to hang out or take a date. You could cuddle up to your girlfriend or boyfriend in the air conditioning and watch a movie like "The Blob" or "The Creature From the Black Lagoon".
The occasional concert or sock hop was also held here, as well as church services on Sundays.
The Wells Theatre was so popular that its tickets were a prize on a TV Show called Dance Date, which was a local version of American Bandstand.
After the theatre closed, locals remember the building as a rehearsal space for bands. The sloped floor was leveled off and the theatre was partitioned into small rooms for musicians to practice their skills.
That era is now in the past, but the building lives on! It's now being used as warehouse and office space, and could be the space for you!
Historic image credit: "The Best of Fort Wayne: Volume 2" by George R. Mather, page 105
Wells Theatre: A Century of Memories and Transformation in the Heart of the Historic Wells Street Corridor in Fort Wayne
This building, located within the Historic Wells Street Corridor, was built in 1900 and soon after was the first home of the Palace Theatre. In 1917, the name was changed to the Wells Theatre and opened on April 10th of that year showing “The Secret Kingdom.” The theater boasted 275 seats and showed a variety of films and double features.
In 1920, ownership of the Wells Theatre changed hands to Alfred Borkenstein, who announced that the building would be extensively remodeled.
Today, the intersection of Wells and Fourth Streets is still bustling with businesses like Big Eyed Fish, Honey Plant, Klemm’s On Wells, Hyde Brothers Booksellers, and Three Rivers Music Theatre.
The Miller’s Drug Store Building c. 1910/1968, 2135 Wells Street, is a good example of a nearly unaltered 20th Century Commercial style building. Now home to Moring Floral, it’s not necessarily architecturally notable but is important because it is relatively unaltered and an asset to the community. Few of these neighborhood retail stores are still standing as modern commercial districts and neighborhoods have surrounded them. The building has rectangular massing, variegated yellow brick walls, original wood display windows and 3/4 glazed door. The building has an interesting retail background. In 1927 the building was a Piggly Wiggly Store, but by 1930 the Miller Family had turned it into a drugstore. It remained a drugstore until 2015 and is currently the Moring Florist Shop. ARCH is proud to present this edition of Throwback Thursday, part of its work as the historic preservation organization serving the greater Fort Wayne area, made possible by ARCH members and donors. Thank you.
FACT 
This building, located within the famous 
In 1917, the name was changed to the Wells Theatre, which opened on April 10th of that year and boasted 275 seats. 
to the people of Fort Wayne, but it unfortunately closed in the 1950s.
as an office, and then was transformed into warehouse space. 
and 
