Historic Buildings and Structures
of the West Central Neighborhood Association
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Map of area
120 W. Superior St. (Fort Wayne Engraving Company)
This two-story industrial/commercial building, built in 1929, was designed by Bradley & Babcock, Architects and Engineers. It is constructed of brown brick laid in decorative patterns with orange terra cotta as accent. Elaborate brick pilasters extending above the front parapet wall are an Art Deco element which lend strong, vertical lines to the building. Dark, polished terra cotta anchors the façade and each of the pilasters. At the corners of the building, layered pilasters create a varied brick surface.
A subsidiary of Wayne Paper Box & Printing
Corporation, the Fort Wayne Engraving Company produced commercial art and
manufactured engravings, electrotypes,
and nickeltypes. Additionally, in the 1920s and 1930s, they
produced printing plates of al l types in one or more colors, did retouching,
pen drawings, wash drawings, zinc and copper halftones,
and color engravings.
Local Historic District (individual) - 2000
614-618 S. Harrison St. (Randall Building)
Built in
conjunction with the Randall Hotel
that once stood to the north, the Randall Building is located in an area of
downtown Fort Wayne known as “The Landing” because it was close in proximity
to the now-defunct Wabash and Erie
Canal. The Randall Building was
constructed in 1905 to integrate the remains of another building on the site
which was partially destroyed by fire in 1904. It is one of the largest Victorian commercial structures to be built
in Fort Wayne, and one of the largest to survive. The architecture incorporates Italianate aspects
of the earlier structure. Some of
the details include visual separation of the fourth and fifth floors by a
row of brick corbels
topped with a limestone sill, and fifth floor windows topped with flat stone
lintels then semi-circular
transom lights. A plain metal cornice with a dentilled frieze below is present on
the east and south elevations. Subtle
changes in detail can be seen where remnants of the older building remain.
The building was originally owned by Perry A. Randall, a native of Noble County, Indiana, who settled in Fort Wayne in about 1873 after graduating from law school. In addition to practicing law, he was one of the original investors in the Jenney Electric Company in Fort Wayne, serving as its first vice-president. He continued to serve on its board of directors until the company merged with General Electric in 1911. In 1889, Randall bought the Robinson House which was a four-story Italianate hotel building to which he added an additional floor and a new façade. This became the Randall Hotel. The Randall Building was initially expected to be an addition to the hotel, but was utilized as commercial space, first by an interurban railroad passenger depot and offices, a shoe factory, and a shirtwaist factory. The Seavey Hardware Company occupied the entire building from 1914, when Randall sold the building, to 1920. The Wayne Hardware Company utilized the structure until 1979.
National Register (individual) - 1990
207 W. Main St. (Freistroffer
Block)
Once a
common building type seen in downtown Fort Wayne, the Freistroffer Block is
a brick Italianate
commercial building constructed in 1884.
On the front façade, decorative features include an elaborate metal
cornice with heavy end brackets
and a small, false center gable. Tall double-hung windows on the second floor
are capped with peaked metal crowns with large end
brackets similar to those of the cornice.
Henry Freistroffer lived and worked here where he ran a
horseshoeing business.
Local Historic District (individual) - 1986
305 W. Main St. (Edsall
House)
Edsall House
history
National Register (individual) -
Wells Street Bridge
Spanning
the St. Mary’s River on the north edge of downtown Fort Wayne, the Wells Street
bridge is a double-intersection
Pratt through-truss bridge type
built in 1884 by Alvin
John Stewart. Decorative details
of the iron bridge include cast iron openwork brackets with a quatrefoil motif
at the intersections of the uprights and struts.
Medallions located in several places display the names of county officials
at the time of construction, and a band of cresting with fleurs-de-lys extends
across the top of each strut. The overall bridge design provided for the extension of the floor
beams past the uprights in order to create pedestrian walkways on either side
of the roadway.
The Wells Street bridge was constructed in what originally
was a residential neighborhood, but over time became dominated by commercial
and industrial uses. Builder Stewart
was a native of Harpersfield, New York, who came to Bluffton, Indiana in
1871. He worked as the roadmaster for
three railroads, which meant he was responsible for the buildings and
structures located along the rail lines.
The bridge, although recently restored, has been closed to vehicular
traffic since 1982 when a new bridge was constructed nearby to the west. It currently serves as a pedestrian
crossing.
National Register (individual) – 1988
616
W. Superior St. (Hugh McCulloch House)
This Greek Revival
house was designed by local architect Henry Williams, and was constructed as
part of the 100-acre country estate of Hugh McCulloch in 1843. At the time, the house was two miles west of
Fort Wayne (and now, very much within the city). Situated between the St. Mary’s River and the newly constructed Wabash and
Erie Canal, the house was sited on a high point and had a broad front lawn
on the south that extended down to the banks of the canal. Orchards were planted on either side of the
house.
The two-story house was initially a simple rectangle
flanked by two open one-story porches.
The pedimented front
façade had a portico with
four, square columns
that sheltered an entrance in the easternmost bay. An Italianate addition was constructed in 1862 that extended
across the rear of the house. Also at
this time, it is suspected that the eastern front porch was enclosed in glass
and became a conservatory. In 1887,
Hugh’s son, Charles,
sold the house and divided it into housing tracts. In 1892, it was bought by the Fort Wayne College of Medicine who
drastically expanded and remodeled the house.
The roof of the original house was removed. The central mass was lengthened and enlarged to three stories and
was covered by a more steeply pitched roof, and the original portico was
replaced by a Roman Doric
portico. Additionally, the side porches
were removed and replaced by enclosed two-story wings with a flat roof. In 1906, the house was bought by the
Turners’ Club who again remodeled the building. Recent owners have done restoration work including replacing the
columns with those more appropriate to the original Greek Revival style.
Born in New England in 1808, Hugh McCulloch was a
prominent financier and banker who came to Indiana in 1835. From 1835 to 1857, he was the cashier and
manager of the Fort Wayne branch of the State Bank of Indiana. In 1863, he began serving as Secretary of
the Treasury under President Abraham
Lincoln and continued to serve in this position under President Andrew
Johnson and then later under President Chester
Arthur. In 1869, he became a partner
in a London banking house. He retired
to Prince George’s County, Maryland and died there in 1895.
National Register (individual) - 1980
Local Historic District (individual) - 1980
830
S. Harrison St. (Noah’s Ark Diner)
This diner
is characteristic of those built in the late 1940s to early 1950s and is the
only example that currently exists in Fort Wayne. Evidence found in the diner indicates that it was likely made by
the Valentine Manufacturing
Company of Wichita, Kansas. Only 10
feet by 40 feet in size, the exterior is encased in white- enameled steel
panels and is trimmed in dark green.
The diner’s overall design reflects the post-1930s streamlined
industrial style identified by smooth surfaces, horizontal lines, and minimal
decorative details. Here, a continuous
band of windows emphasizes the horizontality, and inside are smooth gleaming
surfaces of chrome, porcelain, and stainless steel.
Bought in 1945 and originally located on the northwest
corner of Clinton and Jefferson streets in Fort Wayne, the diner was first
owned by Noah Clauss who owned it until 1960.
In 1966, it was moved to the southwest corner of Clay and Berry streets
where it was known as Marge’s Diner and became famous for a breakfast
combination known as “garbage.” Now
known as Cindy’s Diner, it is now located on the northwest corner of Harrison
and Wayne streets and still proudly serves “garbage,” among other diner
classics. Also, the donut machine from
the old Murphy’s dime store downtown churns out donuts every morning.
Local Historic District (individual) - 1991
119
W. Wayne St. (Louis Mohr Block)
This limestone clad commercial
building, built in 1891, was designed by local architect Frank
B. Kendrick. The Neoclassical
decorative elements include a balustrade parapet, a cornice embellished with
dentils and modillions, and groups of
colonettes separating the second floor windows. The round-arched attic windows have smooth voussoirs. Having experienced a 1960s remodeling, the
first floor façade underwent a restoration in the mid-1990s.
The building was commissioned by Louis Mohr who sold
sewing machines and bicycles at this location until 1902. In 1925, Martin Ankenbruck bought the property and operated, along with various
family members, The Vogue clothing store for women. The business, having evolved into a gifts and greeting cards
store, closed in 1970. Jefferson House
Interiors, a furniture and interior design company, occupied the building until
1982. The architectural and planning firm
of Morrison Kattman Menze, Inc. were
instrumental in rehabilitating the building for commercial use and currently use
the building as their offices.
National Register (individual) - 1988
Constructed
in 1886 and designed by the architectural firm of Wing
& Mahurin, this five-story brick commercial building originally housed
the Mordhurst Oriental Drug Store. Historic
architectural details of the Queen Anne building with Moorish accents included
an elaborate metal cornice,
arched windows with stone lintels,
and a two-story tall bay window at the second and third floor levels. The bay was removed c.1950 in favor a more
modern treatment that included the use of peach-colored Carrara Glass tiles.
The storefront was also altered over time.
Rehabilitation work undertaken in the late 1990s restored the bay window
and added a four-color paint scheme.
The Mordhust Oriental Drug Store opened with great fanfare
in January of 1886. The interior was
said to exceed “that of any similar establishment in Chicago, St. Louis, or
other western cities” according to a newspaper article from the time. The floor of the main salesroom was laid
with encaustic tile, and
frescoes were painted on the ceiling.
Physician offices and supply storage areas were located on the other
floors of the building.
Local Historic District (individual) – 1997
914
S. Calhoun St. (Kresge-Groth Building)
Designed
by Detroit architect Harold Holmes, this three-story Spanish Revival
commercial building was built in 1926 for a Kresge’s dimestore by the S.S.
Kresge Company. It features
tapestry brick on the second and third stories, third-floor arched windows with
limestone
gargoyles perched above, and three limestone pilasters stretching the
height of the second and third stories.
The cornice,
below a roof of green Spanish tiles, is detailed with stepped stone corbels. On the first floor, the only original
architectural detail to remain is the dentilled limestone
storefront surround. The storefront
itself has been significantly altered.
In 1933, Kresge sold the building to the Earl Groth
Company which had operated a local department store known as Rurode Dry
Goods. Earl Groth became a general
manager for Rurode’s in 1920 and bought the company in 1930. He renamed the company when he purchased the
Kresge building. It remained in this
location until it closed in 1961. From
1964 to 1971, Walgreen’s occupied the building, and then Fishman’s, a clothing
retailer, moved in in 1974 only to move to the suburbs in 1979.
National Register (individual) - 1988
Local Historic District (individual) - 1989
926-930
S. Calhoun St. (Schmitz Block)
This four-story
commercial building, designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque
style by architect Frank
B. Kendrick, was built in 1888. Architectural
features include a façade of rough-cut limestone and round,
rock-faced piers extending the entire height of the building. The windows of each floor are given various
design treatments, and the cornice
has modillions carved
with grotesques, chimeras,
lion’s heads and leaves. The first
floor once had three storefronts along the Calhoun Street side.
As a memorial to her husband Charles who had died in 1887,
Henrietta Schmitz commissioned Kendrick to build the Schmitz Block. Charles, one of Fort Wayne’s first physicians,
and Henrietta came to Fort Wayne from Germany in 1837. They bought the property where the Schmitz
Block stands in 1839 and built their house on it in 1840. In 1866, he subdivided the property for the
building of storefronts; a source of rental income for the Schmitz’s. In 1912, the property was sold by the Schmitz
children to William H.
Noll, a prominent local businessman.
Eventually renamed the Noll Block, the Schmitz Block housed various
offices and businesses over the years including Hutner’s Paris, a clothing
retailer which utilized the upper floors after 1947, and Nobbson’s,
a woman’s clothing store which had grown from the adjacent Blackstone Building
(see next) to occupy the first floor.
In 1989, extensive rehabilitation began to turn the
Schmitz Block into condominiums and office space known as Midtowne
Crossing. The work revealed the stone
block inscribed with “Schmitz Block” and “1889,” cast-iron columns and some
marble features.
National Register (individual) - 1988
Local Historic District (individual) – 1989
112
W. Washington Blvd. (Blackstone Building)
Designed
by local architect Charles
Weatherhogg, the white terra
cotta faced Blackstone Building was built in 1927. It is the only remaining commercial building in downtown Fort Wayne
to exhibit terra cotta as a major building element. Displaying Neoclassical
elements, the façade is ornamented with Ionic pilasters and a modillioned cornice. The first-floor storefront, although modernized
over the years, still features the original multi-paned transom over the entrance
and display windows.
William H.
Noll commissioned the building of the Blackstone Building to house the
Blackstone Shop, an exclusive women’s clothing store owned by his wife, Laura
Green Noll. For ten years, the clothing
shop occupied the building. In 1941,
Harold Hughes opened a men’s clothing store, and in 1951, Nobbson’s,
another women’s clothing store, opened for business and became so successful
that it expanded into the first floor of the adjacent Schmitz Block (see previous).
Just as other businesses left downtown in the 1960s and 1970s, Nobbson’s
moved to a suburban mall in 1979.
William H. Noll, a prominent local businessman, was born in Fort Wayne and received a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Michigan. He married Laura Green in 1906. For two years, he was employed in a drug store operated by his father, Benedict Noll, before starting the Pinex Company in 1905. This company manufactured a cough remedy called “Pinex” which, by 1910, could be purchased in nearly any drugstore in the United States. From the Pinex profits, William and Laura were able to build a grand home in Fort Wayne that, including the furnishings, was said to have cost over one million dollars. Also, several years before World War I, William operated the first liquid nail polish industry in the United States, but sold his interests after the war. William, a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, died at the age of 66 in 1941.
National Register (individual) - 1988
Local Historic District (individual) – 1989
114
W. Washington Blvd. (The Fort Wayne Printing Company Building)
An
example of the Neoclassical
style used on a commercial structure, this brick building was constructed in
1911. It is the only known building
designed by local architect Ralph B. Snyder.
On the upper façade, the three distinct sections, or bays, are divided
by brick pilasters and
the windows have terra
cotta lintels and
sills. Other design details include a
bracketed modillioned cornice, decorative foliated terra cotta
panels between the rows of windows, and a series of swag, or garland, panels above the
first floor storefront.
The building housed the Fort Wayne Printing Company until
1927, and during World War II, the building functioned as a recreation hall for
the Fort Wayne Serviceman’s Club. In
1947 it became a home furnishings store operated by the Earl Groth Company. After 1961, Hutner’s clothing store used the building as a warehouse
until about 1980 when the Fort Wayne Plasma Donor Center took occupancy for the
next two years.
National Register (individual) - 1988
Local Historic District (individual) – 1989
120-122
W. Washington Blvd. (Knights of Pythias Building)
Originally built as the home to the local chapter of the Knights
of Pythias, this building was constructed in 1905. Designed by architect Alfred
Grindle, the primarily Neoclassical
architectural elements include the stone pediment over the center entrance,
simple stone pilasters
flanking the storefront-like windows of the first floor, and the stone quoin-like detail at the outside
edges of the upper façade. The second
floor windows are embellished with stone splayed lintels while
the lintels of the third story windows are segmental stone arches. Below the copper cornice are porthole-type
openings, an element seen as a clear influence of Grindle.
Current uses of the building include a dental office, Thirsty Camel restaurant, and Midtowne Place reception hall.
Local Historic District (individual) - 1985
121
W. Jefferson Blvd. (Embassy Theatre and Indiana Hotel)
Costing, $1.5 million to
build, the Embassy Theatre and Indiana Hotel opened in 1928. Owner Clyde Quimby
originally named the theater the Emboyd after his mother, Emaline Boyd Quimby,
but it became known as the Embassy in 1952.
The Spanish Eclectic style
movie palace and hotel was designed by A.M. Strauss with consultation by nationally
known theater architect John Eberson. Original interior details of the theater
include walls of French marble in the outer lobby, black and white Italian
marble in the inner lobby, a marble grand staircase, and motifs in Spanish,
Moorish, Indian and Oriental designs. Restoration work completed in the 1990s
recreated the original carpet, lace curtains, and light fixtures. The lobby
of the hotel, closed since the 1960s, was also returned to its original grandeur.
Most of the hotel space was also utilized to make way for an improved stage
system. Also housed at the Embassy is a Grande Page Organ.
In the early 1970s, the Embassy was but a few days away from demolition when
the Embassy Theatre Foundation was formed which, with community support, raised
the money to save the building. It is Fort Wayne's only remaining movie palace.
National Register (individual) -
1975
Local Historic District (individual) - 1975
Embassy Centre
http://theatreorgans.com/ftwayne/
226
W. Washington Blvd. (Engine House No. 3)
Built in
1893, Engine House No. 3 was designed in the Romanesque Revival
style by the architectural firm of Wing
& Mahurin. The east section was the first to be constructed,
with a western section having a bell tower over the main entrance to follow
in 1907. This section has since been
removed. A rear section was added
at a later date. Architectural details
include arched doorways and stall openings in brick, and a stone belt course above a row of
brick dentils on the
main façade. The elaborate cornice features modillions and dentil molding.
The building and expansion of this fire station was due to
the need for expanded fire protection to the growing parts of Fort Wayne at the
time. Two other fire stations built at
about the same time used the same plans as Engine House No. 3. By 1908, Engine House No. 3 was the largest
and best-equipped fire station in town, and also served as a testing site for
new equipment and firefighting methods.
It was last used as a fire station in 1972. It currently houses the Fort Wayne
Firefighter’s Museum and the Old No. 3 Firehouse Café.
National Register (individual) - 1979
Local Historic District (individual) - 1977
331 W. Washington Blvd.
(Paul Kinder House)
Inspired
by Craftsman
bungalows he saw while visiting California, contractor Paul Kinder built this
outstanding Craftsman bungalow for his family in 1914. The low, sweeping roofline, wide eaves with large triangular
roof brackets, and broad front porch make this house an unusually elaborate bungalow.
It is exceptionally detailed with many art glass windows, clustered porch columns,
fine masonry and stucco exterior walls, and slate roof. A carriage house that matches the Craftsman
style of the house, including a vented cupola centered on the roof,
accents the private rear yard.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
402
W. Wayne St. (Chamber of Commerce/Fort Wayne Woman’s Club)
Architect
Guy
Mahurin designed this building in the Spanish
Eclectic style in 1928. This style
was popular for hotels, theaters, and other commercial buildings in the 1920s.
Architectural details of the building include a variety of arched openings,
third floor loggias, decorative terra cotta, and elaborate
brickwork.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
405
W. Wayne St. (Trinity English Lutheran Church)
Founded
in 1846 by Henry Rudisill, Trinity English Lutheran Church was the first English-speaking
Lutheran parish in Fort Wayne. The current Gothic Revival church
structure was designed by architect Bertram
Grosvenor Goodhue in 1923. Interior
details include Gothic arches and a vaulted ceiling constructed of Guastavino
tile, sculpture by Lee
Lawrie, and stone carvings by Edward Ardolino. There are stained glass windows by Goodhue’s nephew, Harry Wright
Goodhue, and wood carvings by Alois Lang, a master carver from Oberammergau,
Bavaria. The church has an Aeolian-Skinner
pipe organ having 4800 pipes.
A wing housing the chapel and classrooms was designed by
A.M.
Strauss and Associates and
Oscar H. Murray, a consulting architect
from New York, in 1956. A mural in the apse
was painted by Austin Purves, known for his mosaics, murals and frescoes in
American churches and public buildings. The
stained glass windows were done by the George Payne Studios of New Jersey.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
420
W. Wayne St. (Bell-Klaehn House)
This Richardsonian Romanesque
style house was designed by the architectural firm of Wing
& Mahurin in 1893 for Robert Bell, an attorney and state senator. Contrasting smooth and rock-faced stone masonry on the exterior create
a striking effect. Other features
include an open loggia above an entry porch with large Syrian arches.
On the west side of the house is a matching addition designed by architect
A.M.
Strauss in 1935.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local Historic District (individual) - 1995
521
W. Wayne St. (Eakins House)
Built
c.1862, this house is the only surviving example of residential Gothic Revival architecture
in Fort Wayne. Typical features of the
style seen in the house include a steep roof, Gothic-arched windows, and porch
with intricate tracery
detail. An influence of the
contemporary Italianate style is indicated by the frieze with dentil and widely spaced
brackets where usually a decorative vergeboard might be.
The house was built for Joseph S. and Margaret A. Eakins. Joseph was born in Fort Wayne in 1828, and married Margaret, of Wooster, Ohio, in 1854. Joseph became a partner in the firm of Bash and Eakins, dealers of wool, furs, hides, seeds, and butter among other items, in the early 1860s. He and Margaret had at least three children and attended the Wayne Street Methodist Episcopal church. Joseph died in 1872.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local Historic District (individual) - 1995
931
Fairfield Ave. (St. Paul’s Catholic Church)
Built in
1886, architect Peter
Dederichs designed this church in the Renaissance Revival style which
was based on 16th century Italian architecture. It featured common style elements
such as a rusticated stone base, pilasters and classical ornamentation. It
also exhibited Roman arches. Inside were original portraits and wall stenciling
typically seen in churches built in the 1800s.
The church was founded as a German-Catholic congregation, but evolved into
an Hispanic parish, offering both bi-lingual and Spanish masses. In June of
2003, the church was closed and the parish was merged with another. The church
was demolished in June of 2004.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
509
W. Washington Blvd. (Colonel Sion Bass House)
Built
c.1855, this brick Italianate
house was owned by Colonel Sion Bass and his wife Eliza from c.1855 to
1878. Over the years, the house endured
the addition and demolition of wings and porches, but the present appearance is
very close to that when originally built.
A wide cornice
with bands of decorative moldings
surround the house, and a band of dentils is punctuated by
decorative scroll brackets that also surround the house. The bay window on the east side has a flat
roof along with a cornice consisting of dentils and brackets. Shaped and carved limestone is used for
some lintels and window
sills, particularly on the front, while other window and door openings have
brick segmental arches. Rubble stone
makes up some portions of the foundation.
The one-over-one double hung windows on the front, sides and in the east
bay window are likely early replacement windows, but many of the original
four-over-four double hung windows on the sides and back of the house
remain. The front door is surrounded by
decorative moldings and is topped by a transom while the two rear
doors have segmental arches and transoms.
Sion S. Bass was born in 1827 near Salem, Kentucky. He came to Fort Wayne in 1848 or 1849, and first worked as a clerk for fur traders Ewing, Chute and Company. In 1853, he formed a successful iron works firm called Jones, Bass and Company with W.H. Jones and John Hough, Jr. The foundry and machine shops were located near the new Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad line. The manufacturing facility, which later would become the Pennsylvania Railroad Shops, was sold to the railroad in 1857. Sion and Jones then formed Jones and Bass and developed a new foundry and machine shop on the south side of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago line with access to the new Wabash Railroad line. In 1859, the new plant was purchased by the Fort Wayne Machine Works. In 1862, Sion’s brother, John H. Bass, became sole owner of the plant which eventually became the Bass Foundry and Machine Works, Fort Wayne’s largest factory and employer.
As the Civil War loomed, Sion became interested in politics. He helped to organize the 30th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers (“The Bloody Thirtieth”) at Camp Allen in Fort Wayne. He was elected Colonel and commanding officer in September of 1861, and by October of the same year, was in training in Indianapolis. His regiment marched through Kentucky and Tennessee until 1862. Sion was wounded while leading a charge at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. He was taken to Paducah, Kentucky for care, but died April 14, 1862. He is buried in Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
Local Historic District
(individual) - 2001
601 W. Wayne St.
(Thomas Ellison House)
This
brick Italianate
house, representative of the many houses that once stood along the streets near
downtown Fort Wayne, was built in 1860.
The Italianate elements seen in this house include a low, hipped roof
supported by a cornice
embellished with decorative panels and brackets. The window and door openings are capped by stone hoods, and the
recessed front door features pilasters
and a transom. On the east side of the house is a two-story
bay window detailed with panels matching those under the first floor windows on
the front of the house.
The house was owned from 1888 to 1916 by Thomas and Hannah Ellison. A prominent city attorney, Thomas was born in LaGrange, Indiana, and came to Fort Wayne around 1873 after attending Notre Dame and Wisconsin universities. He was admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court and Circuit Court and served as an Indiana state senator from 1896 to 1899. He authored Indiana laws requiring care for dependent children, changes to the penal system and for establishing the parole system. In 1920, he left Fort Wayne to attend the national democratic convention in San Francisco, ultimately moving to Santa Monica, California soon after. He died at age 73 in 1925.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
624
W. Wayne St. (Ely Hoffman House)
This house
was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque
style by the architectural firm of Wing
& Mahurin in 1887. Typical
of the style are its rough-cut stone exterior as are the arched porch opening
and floral carvings surrounding the doors and windows.
Other details include a parapeted and gabled dormer. The house was built for Ely Hoffman, a partner
with his brothers in a hardwood lumber company.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
An
excellent example of the Italianate style
used for a commercial structure, this building was constructed c.1880. The red brick façade is divided into two
storefronts, each with a center entrance with large display windows on either
side, thus forming six sections. Each
of these sections is topped by a brick arch which create an arcade effect. The arcade is supported on the ends and in
the middle by stone capitals,
and in between by cast
iron columns with
decorative capitals. Carved limestone hoods top
the six windows on the second story, and each window has a limestone sill. The decorative cornice is composed of corbelled brick that forms
decorative bands and a row of dentils.
This building is located along the Broadway corridor, a busy thoroughfare in the West Central neighborhood that developed to serve the needs of the nearby residents. A variety of businesses, such as a millinery shop, a jewelry shop, a furnace company and a plumber, are known to have occupied the structure throughout the years. Two apartments existed on the upper floors of the building, as was common practice when buildings of this type were built.
National Register (West Central Historic District) - 1984
Local Historic District (individual) - 2000
Known as
the Spiegel Block, this trapezoidal-shaped brick commercial building was built
in 1905. The main entrance to the
building is centrally located in the rounded corner of the building. A decorative cornice, wrapping around
the façade of the building, is composed of a smooth band of brick resting atop
a wide band of massive, oversized brick dentils. A narrow band of intricate brick dentils is
just below the larger dentils and bordered by two projecting bands of
brick. The second-story windows have limestone sills with
flat brick segmental arches above the openings. A set of paired windows above the main entrance are topped with a
large, curved limestone lintel
that is carved with “19 SPIEGEL BLOCK 05.”
The lintel also has decorative surface tooling. This building underwent a rehabilitation in 2001 after having been
the victim of inappropriate renovations over the years. The result is a dramatic and pleasing
transformation for the building and the Broadway corridor.
The Spiegel building was associated with Gottfried Ernst
Spiegel who was born in Germany in 1845.
Soon after coming to Fort Wayne in 1857, Spiegel began working as a
grocery clerk. He opened the G.E.
Spiegel Grocery, in a different building but in this same location, in
1866. For some time, he and his family
lived above the grocery store. Spiegel
and his sons, August and Christian, built the existing building in 1905. It had an additional storefront that was
used as a rental property to obtain additional income. The grocery store was in the front of the
building. G.E. Spiegel died in 1919 at
the age of 74. August and Christian continued
to operate the store until they retired in 1955, ending 89 years of continuous
operation.
National Register (West Central Historic District) –1984
Local Historic District (individual) - 2001
1405
Broadway (Engine House #5)
Another
fire house designed by Wing
& Mahurin, this Queen Anne/Romanesque structure
was built in 1893. Architectural details
include two arched stall openings constructed of brick and outlined in stone,
flattened brick segmental arches above the windows, and a cornice
ornamented with dentils
and modillions.
This engine house was last used as a fire station in the
1960s, and was rehabilitated by the Fort Wayne Jaycees for use as a meeting
facility in the 1980s. It was recently
sold to a new owner.
National Register (West Central Historic District) –1984
Local Historic District (individual) - 1987
1421
Broadway (Dr. Adolf/Adolph Schulz House)
This rare example of a townhouse in Fort Wayne, is Gothic Revival in style with Tudor Revival influences. Built c.1880, the front façade is of brown tapestry brick trimmed in limestone with a sculptured limestone band separating the second and attic stories. The steep front gable has carved stone panels. Crocketed finials dominate the front façade while other typical features of the style include elaborate limestone detailing and the flattened Gothic arches of the porch and second floor windows. A narrow, one-and-a-half story gabled brick carriage barn is at the rear of the house.
Dr. Adolf (or Adolph) Schulz lived here and had his medical offices here for 52 years before his death at age 80 in 1934.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local Historic District (individual) - 1990
221
W. Baker St. (Pennsylvania Railroad Station)
Opened
in March of 1914, the combination Craftsman and Neoclassical style Pennsylvania Railroad station (also known as
the Baker Street Station) was designed by the architectural firm of Price
& McLanahan. The main waiting
area, off which are two wings, has a barrel vaulted ceiling
punctuated with stained-glass windows and semicircular windows on each end.
Original interior details included a color scheme in buff tones with
orange and yellow tints. The walls were of a light-colored brick up
to the point at which the plaster vaulted ceiling began. The ticket windows, just to the right inside
the main doors, had bronze railings and marble counters. Bronze grills covered the windows. Except for the baggage and mail rooms and private
offices of the main floor, the flooring material was of terrazzo. Off the east wing were the lunch and dining
rooms, each accented with touches of marble, polished brass, and bronze light
fixtures. Other areas of the station
housed the kitchen, a news stand, the baggage room, a telegraph office, the
ticket office, the station master’s office, a parcel room, a women’s room,
and a smoking room. 
This station has not been used as an active railroad
station since 1990. The architectural
firm of Martin Riley Mock
rehabilitated the east wing of the building for offices in 1996 and engineered
the restoration of the main waiting area which was completed in the fall of
2002. The station may be rented for
parties or receptions.
Pennsylvania Railroad Station links:
Baker Street Train
Station history
National Register (individual) - 1998
Local Historic District (individual) - 1990
825 W. Berry St. (George
P. Evans House)
Built c.1895,
this brick Queen
Anne house was first owned by George P. Evans. Behind the house stands a two-story brick carriage house which actually
functions to house a carriage today.
George was born in Hillsboro, Ohio on June 15, 1852, and
came to Fort Wayne shortly before the Civil War. He was associated with his father, Amos Evans,
in the firm of Evans & Company which sold wholesale dry goods and
notions. He later formed the Evans
Brothers Company, with brother John P. Evans and half-brother Oliver Evans,
which manufactured overalls, hunting coats and other articles. He and his brothers were also associated
with the Hoosier Manufacturing Company in Fort Wayne which manufactured such
things as overalls, shirts and pants.
By approximately 1905, the company was considered to be among one of the
most influential industries of the city.
George was a thirty-second degree Mason, a Shriner, and a
member of the First Presbyterian Church.
His father, Amos, was married to the niece of Asa Fairfield. George was still residing at 825 W. Berry
St. when he died on August 5, 1925.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
915-917
W. Berry St. (Carnahan Duplex)
This Second Empire
duplex, built c.1883, was designed by architect John
F. Wing. The owners of the property at the time of construction
were William L. Carnahan and Clara L. Carnahan, but they never lived at this
address. The Carnahans probably held
this house as a rental property. The
earliest known people to live here were Robert H. Carnahan, Clara and William’s
son, from 1897 to 1905, and Joseph A. Rossell, from 1891 to 1909.
Clara L. Carnahan, born in Fort Wayne in 1845, was the
daughter of James Bayless Hanna, and the oldest grandchild of Samuel
Hanna. She married William
L. Carnahan in 1864, and they moved to Fort Wayne in 1872. While living in Fort Wayne, she was a
communicant of Trinity Episcopal Church. She and William had four children; Louise,
Robert H., Clara C., and Virginia C. Carnahan.
Clara died in 1927.
William L. Carnahan was born in Lafayette, Indiana on
March 5, 1837. Sometime after 1860, he
became a member of the firm Carnahan Brothers & Co., wholesale dealers and
manufacturers of shoes and boots in Lafayette.
He worked as a traveling salesman with the company. In 1872, when he came to Fort Wayne, he
founded the wholesale boot and shoe company of Carnahan, Skinner & Company
where he worked as the supervisor of the clerical and sales departments. In 1875, the business became Carnahan, Hanna
& Company, for which he was one of the principal and chief executives, and
then Carnahan & Company in 1886.
Carnahan & Company, located on Clinton Street, established an
extensive trade business throughout four states. William continued as the
executive head of the business until his death in 1897. He was a member of Company G, 67th Regiment,
Infantry, Indiana volunteers, and was also a member of Trinity Episcopal Church.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
922 W. Berry St. (Kimball-Shoaff House)
Standing as one of the finest examples of the Greek Revival
style in Fort Wayne, this house was built in 1858. Classic features of the house include a low-pitched, front-gabled roof with a wide frieze and returns, a small
entry portico with Tuscan columns, and windows with
six over six panes. The two-story
solarium on the west side of the house was added on at a later date.
Virgil L. Kimball built this house on land purchased from his business partner, Samuel Edsall. Kimball died in 1867, leaving the house to his wife and two daughters. The house had the longest association with architect Richard Shoaff, who bought the house in 1950. The first floor, with wood floors in a herringbone pattern and two original fireplaces, functioned as his office until the house was sold in 2001. It has been returned to living space by the current owner. In the 1960s, Shoaff added space for two apartments onto the back of the building.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Architect
A.M.
Strauss designed this
Tudor Revival apartment complex in 1925.
Tudor elements include the brick and terra cotta parapet with crenelations and finials, tudor-arched entries,
and decorative corner quoins. The influence of the Spanish Eclectic style
can be seen in the shallow, glazed terra cotta and iron balconies of the upper
floors.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1017 W. Berry St. (Christian G. Strunz House)
This house
was formerly located at 333 East Berry Street. In 1980, it was moved to its current location due to being threatened
for demolition by its then owner, the General Telephone Company (GTE), for
a parking lot. The lot where the house
now stands was formerly occupied by a parking lot for St. Joseph’s Hospital,
who razed the magnificent Fleming House, a portion of which once stood on
this same lot.
The Strunz House, more commonly known as the Sponhauer House among area preservationists and those living in the West Central neighborhood, was designed by the architecture firm of Wing & Mahurin. Constructed in 1886-1887, the house exhibits some Italianate details, such as the rounded brackets under the eaves and heavy moldings around the windows, but many other architectural styles are present as well, giving the house an “eclectic” look. Classical details include the dentil course along the cornice line and the tall, fluted porch columns. An Adamesque detail, associated with colonial houses, may be seen in the graceful garland ornamentation on the porch architraves. The prominent and elaborate Flemish gable is unusual as is the figure situated to the right and above the main front porch.
The house was built for Christian G. Strunz, his wife,
Lisette, and their daughter, Henrietta.
Born in Germany in 1831, Christian operated a grocery from about 1860,
the year he arrived in Fort Wayne, until his retirement in 1900.
Henrietta married Henry F. Grage with whom she had a
daughter, Helen. They all lived in the
house with Henrietta’s parents. Grage
became a well-known traveling salesman in Fort Wayne, working the last twenty
years of his life for the dry goods wholesaler George Dewald Co. Grage died in 1915 at the age of 51, and
Christian and Lisette died in 1916.
Helen married Roy Sponhauer in 1922, and they also lived in the
house. Helen was the last of the family
to live in the house until she died in 1976.
That same year, GTE bought the house which was still in good condition
and in an unaltered state from its original architecture. By 1989, the owners of the house, who took
possession in 1980, were slow to make the necessary repairs to the house due to
a lack of money, and the house fell into disrepair. The current owners, who bought the property in the summer of
2002, are elated to have the opportunity to finally return the Strunz House to
its former glory and are committed to doing so in a timely manner.
National Register (individual) - 1979
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1026
W. Berry St. (Theodore Thieme House)
Designed
by architect Marshall
Mahurin in 1898, this Queen Anne house
was built for Theodore Thieme. For
some time, this house served as the Fort Wayne Art School until 1991. A theater, originally known as the Little Art
Theater and now as Arena
Dinner Theater, was added to the rear of the house in 1922. Despite the loss of much original detail, the
house exhibits many traditional Queen Anne features such as steep gables, asymmetrical massing,
and a variety of window styles, including a spectacular stained-glass window
on the west stair landing.
Thieme was born in Fort Wayne in 1857. He began his first career in the
pharmaceutical business when he apprenticed in a drug store in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. He graduated from the New
York College of Pharmacy in 1876. Back
in Fort Wayne, he worked for the Meyers Brothers Company as a prescription
clerk, then ventured into business on his own until 1889. In 1891, he opened the Wayne Knitting Mills, the first
factory for the production of hosiery in the United States, at the corner of
Clinton and Main streets. In 1923, he
established an additional factory, under the name of Thieme Hosiery Company, in
Los Angeles. His business grew to be
one of the largest and most successful hosiery factories in the country.
Thieme became interested in the beautification of the
rivers in Fort Wayne and was instrumental in erecting an stone ornamental
retaining wall near the approach to the bridge over the St. Mary’s River at
West Main Street. In 1922, Thieme
donated his house to the Fort Wayne Art Association for the purpose of
establishing the Fort Wayne Art School. Additionally, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art has in its possession
a large collection of art once belonging to Mr. Thieme.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
704
Rockhill St. (Carole Lombard House)
This
shingle style house,
built c.1905, features a complex shape with a uniform, shingled surface. The turret frieze exhibits a
low-relief carving, but there are few other decorative details.
Actress Carole
Lombard was born in this house in 1908 as Jane Alice Peters. A popular American movie star in the 1930s,
Carole died in a plane crash in 1942 while promoting war bonds. Carole’s grandparents, Mary and John C. Peters,
lived nearby at 832 W.
Wayne St.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1202
W. Washington Blvd. (Joseph A.M. Storm House)
This house
is an exceptional example of the Queen Anne style
due to its masonry
construction. Designed by the architectural
firm of Wing
& Mahurin in 1885, design features include a square tower with an
eyebrow dormer, a projecting gable
with a shallow oriel window,
and brickwork accented with stone details.
The porches were built c.1910 in the Craftsman style, with tapered
square columns, exposed
rafters, and tile roofs. The iron
fence around the yard is original to the property.
The house is associated with Joseph A.M. Storm, who came to Fort Wayne from Germany
in 1864 at the age of seventeen. Twice
elected to the city council, he first worked as a clerk in a hardware store and
then went into the hardware business for himself. In approximately 1894, he sold the business to J.C. Peters &
Company and moved with his family to Petoskey, Michigan. He died at the age of 49 in 1896.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1415
W. Washington Blvd. (Robert Millard/Bishop Noll House)
Designed
in the Craftsman
style by architect Harry Wachter in 1910, this house was built for Robert
Millard, partner in Moellering & Millard Wholesale Grocers. Robert was also involved in the Fort Wayne
Rolling Mill. From 1923 to 1925,
the house was occupied by Bishop Ehlerding, and by Bishop John Francis Noll
from 1925 to 1956. The house was originally
designed and oriented to take in the view of the landscaped entrance to Swinney
Park, which has since disappeared due to the now very busy nature of West
Washington Boulevard. The enclosed
porch with exposed rafters was originally an open pergola. Inside, the Colonial style prevails. In 1935, a chapel complete with stained glass
windows and designed by A.M.
Strauss was added to the
house.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1404
Swinney Court (William Page Yarnelle House)
Fort Wayne’s first female architect, Joel
Ninde, designed this Colonial
Revival house in 1914. Design
features include parapeted
end gables and small
gabled dormers. The portico, the entry with fanlight and sidelights, and the two-story
solarium are additional classical details.
The house is associated with William Page Yarnelle who was born in Fort Wayne in 1884. Residing here with wife Clara and their five children, he was known in Fort Wayne for his involvement in many civic enterprises. The various causes he was involved in included fund drives for World War I and the American Red Cross, and building campaigns for the Chamber of Commerce, the local YMCA, and the Catholic Community Center, among others. Additionally, he served as vice-president of the hardware wholesaler Mossman-Yarnelle Company (started by his father Edward F. Yarnelle), vice-president of the Prudential Building and Loan Association, and director of the Fort Wayne chapter of the American Red Cross. He helped organize the acquisition of the Swinney Homestead (see below) to be used as the historical museum for the Fort Wayne-Allen County Historical Society.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local Historic District (West Central Historic District) -
1984
1424
W. Jefferson Blvd. (Thomas W. Swinney)
Originally
constructed in the Federal
style in 1844, this house was built using Indiana walnut, poplar, and limestone for Lucy
and Thomas G. Swinney. Thomas was an
influential and wealthy landowner who was active in local affairs. A strong advocate of the Republican Party,
he served as justice of the peace, overseer of the poor, and two terms as Allen
County treasurer. In 1886, and after
Swinney had died, his daughters remodeled the house in the Italianate style,
adding the porch, paired brackets, and the central wall dormer that simulates an Italianate
tower. In 1874, the grounds became the
Allen County Fairgrounds and later became Swinney Park. For many years, the house served as a
historical museum for the Fort Wayne-Allen County Historical Society. The Settlers, Inc. has leased the home since
1983 and led in the recent restoration.
National Register (individual) – 1981
Local Historic District (West Central Historic District)
– 1984
1231 W. Jefferson Blvd.
This Italianate
house is simply detailed with a hipped roof and beautifully carved brackets
with pendant detail under the eaves
of the roof. The dentil course along the cornice is a more
Classical detail. Where more elaborate
Italianate houses have heavy crowns or hoods over
the windows, this house exhibits simple crown molding. The porch is likely a later addition as the balustrade, supported
by square balusters,
and the square, tapered columns
are more indicative of porches on houses built in the 1910s and 1920s.
The house was likely built sometime in the 1880s. The earliest known owner of the property was
Frederick Ehlert, who owned the entire lot and a lot next to it. Frederick worked as a
watchman/switchman/laborer with the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railway
Company. He was married to Caroline,
with whom he had at least three children.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local Historic District (West Central Historic District) -
1984
1124/1122 W. Jefferson
Blvd.
These
two houses are characteristic of those found in the southern portion of the
West Central neighborhood that were built for the working-class. Italianate elements can be seen in the
round-arched gable
windows and decorative porches of both houses.
Each house also has a gable-front which is typical of the Greek Revival
style. A decorative door surround with pilasters at 1124 West
Jefferson (left) is a particularly notable feature.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
721
W. Wayne St. (L.O. Hull House)
Architects Wing
& Mahurin designed this house in the Richardsonian Romanesque
style c.1888. Architectural features
include rough-cut granite walls and a variety of arched openings, a round
tower, and a parapeted gable. The arcaded porch is supported
by short columns of
polished granite and topped by stone laid in a checkerboard pattern.
The house was built for L.O. Hull who ran a wholesale and
retail wallpaper business on South Calhoun Street. Hull, a native of Richland County, Ohio, was a Civil War veteran,
serving in the Union army with Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Ohio
Infantry until 1865. He died at the
age of 80 in 1929.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
814 W. Wayne St.
This
simple gable-front house
was built c.1872 for James C. Wilmot, his wife, Ellen, and their four young
children. Originally from England,
James owned a paint shop where he dealt in paints, oils, turpentine, mixed
paints, white lead, and glass. He also
did house, sign, banner and ornamental painting. In 1879, the house was sold to Milton N. Webber who owned a saloon
called “Milton’s Place,” located at the northeast corner of Main and Calhoun
Streets in downtown Fort Wayne.
Having been covered in aluminum siding and given wrought iron porch supports over the years, this house has recently been restored. Wood clapboard siding and a small porch with turned posts complement the house’s cottage-like style.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
832
W. Wayne St. (John Claus Peters House)
This Richardsonian Romanesque
house was designed by the architectural firm of Wing
& Mahurin in 1885. Costing
$8,000, it was built for John C. Peters and his family.
Exterior architectural details of the home include a stone foundation,
brick walls accented by rock-faced stone lintels
and string courses,
and a large Syrian-arched entrance. Inside,
design features include fireplace surrounds, moldings and stair rails of intricately
carved wood, stained glass windows, and hardwood floors.
John Peters was born in Fort Wayne in 1841 to German immigrant
parents, Claus and Caroline. First
following in the steps of his father, John worked as a cabinetmaker until he was twenty-one. His next business venture was the creation
of the Peters Box and Lumber Company, which sold oak, ash, walnut and poplar
as well as veneers, wood pulleys, and furniture.
He sold this company then started the John C. Peters Lumber Company
where he specialized in quartered oak lumber.
Soon after, the Horton Manufacturing Company, utilizing space at the
lumber company and incorporated by Peters and others, began manufacturing
the first mechanical washing machines to be sold in the area. By 1924, half of the washing machines in the
world were supplied by Horton. Beginning
in 1887, Peters became the owner of the Wayne Hotel on Columbia Street in
The Landing area of downtown Fort Wayne.
This four-story hotel had 128 rooms furnished with the finest accessories
of the day and became Fort Wayne’s leading hotel at the time. Peters owned the hotel until his death in 1922.
National Register (individual) – 1980
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local Historic District (West Central Historic District) -
1984
924
W. Wayne St. (Ronald T. McDonald House)
Built in
1887 for Ronald T. McDonald, this Queen Anne house
is a rare example of a surviving wood-framed house designed by the architectural
firm of Wing
& Mahurin. The house has a
complex floor plan, hipped roof with a variety of cross gables, decorative
moldings, wood siding and wood shingles.
Additional features include angled and oriel bay windows and an elaborate
chimney.
McDonald was an electrical lighting pioneer who founded Jenney
Electric in Fort Wayne, which later became the present-day GE facility on
Broadway. Myron Dessauer, partner in
the local Wolf & Dessauer Department Store, later owned the house.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
909 Union St.
This
large Craftsman/Tudor Revival duplex
was built c.1918. The symmetrical
building has a side-gable
roof with a large, gabled dormer
centered on the front. The
architectural features, such as the brackets at the eaves, are primarily
Craftsman. The recessed double front
porch, divided into two halves by a brick column, is also Craftsman
in design. The stucco walls, with the
effect of half-timbering,
show the influence of the Tudor Revival style.
The windows, in singles and in pairs, have multi-paned upper sashes, and
there are matching, three-sided bay windows near each front entrance to the
duplex. The unusual side yard north of
the house has been well-developed into a garden. The adjacent Craftsman style duplex to the south was built as a
companion to this property.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1128
W. Wayne St. (Winfield S. Bash House)
Designed
using a combination of architectural styles, this house was built in 1886. The massing of the house is Queen Anne in
style, but the large round tower, originally built as two stories and changed
to three sometime before 1910, is Richardsonian
Romanesque in style. The large
window on the first floor of the tower, with elaborate brick and a carved stone
surround, and the irregular placement of the remaining tower windows are
unusual features. The current front
porch was constructed c.1920.
The house is associated with Winfield Bash, who was born in Fort Wayne in 1861. He and his wife, Lillian, moved to New York in 1897 where he was an active member of the produce exchange. After returning to Fort Wayne in 1910, Mr. Bash worked as a salesman for the Mayflower mills. He died at age 64 in 1926.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1202
W. Wayne St. (B. Paul Mossman House)
The architectural
firm of Wing
& Mahurin designed this Richardsonian
Romanesque house in 1905. The
house exhibits massive stone construction and a round tower, but signature
Romanesque arches are absent from this house.
Tudor arches and crenelated
parapets create an
English castle look. The open front
terrace originally was covered by a tile roof that matched that of the house.
Born in Coesse, Indiana in 1870, B. Paul Mossman came to
Fort Wayne in 1879. He became associated
with the Mossman-Yarnelle
Company of Fort Wayne, wholesalers of heavy hardware, for which he eventually
served as president. Additionally,
he helped to reorganize the former Commercial Club into the present Chamber
of Commerce, served as general chairman of the Fort Wayne chapter
of the American Red Cross upon its organization in 1916, helped to lead a
building campaign for the local YMCA, and served as director of the Fort Wayne
Country Club for ten years.
Donated by Mossman to the City of Fort Wayne in 1958, the
house served as quarters for Fort Wayne’s art
museum until moving to its current Main Street location in 1983. Four apartments occupied the house from 1983
to 1995. The current owners have done a
great amount of restoration on the house, now a single-family residence/art gallery.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1210 W. Wayne St.
(Arthur H. Perfect House)
Built
for Arthur H. Perfect in 1910, this house displays architectural details
typical of the Prairie
style. The emphasis of the house is
on the horizontal, a classic Prairie feature, which is achieved by the
low-hipped roof with wide eaves
and accentuated by a wide front porch.
The round-arched windows on the house reflect the influence of the
contemporary Mission style. There is a
large matching carriage house at the rear of the house.
Perfect was born in Olive Green, Ohio in 1865, and came to Fort Wayne in 1896. Having already established himself as a successful wholesale grocer elsewhere, he soon secured a similar business for himself soon after arriving. He was involved in various civic ventures including the local YMCA, for which he served as director for three years, Fort Wayne Associated Charities, the Fort Wayne Rescue Home and Mission, and the Chamber of Commerce.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) - 1984
1337
W. Wayne St. (Rockhill House)
Architect
Charles
Weatherhogg designed this house in 1910.
Built in the Colonial
Revival style, the house features a symmetrical façade with an elaborate
central portico with
recessed entrance. Other common Colonial
Revival details include corner pilasters, modillions under
the eaves, and a dormer with a Palladian window.
Howell C. Rockhill was born in 1886 to Elizabeth and William
Rockhill, a well-known Fort Wayne pioneer.
Howell Rockhill was involved in various business ventures throughout his
life, including managing the company that published The Journal-Gazette, a local
newspaper, and serving as director of the Fort Wayne Iron & Steel company,
but he also helped to organize Fort Wayne
Rolling Mills for which he served as vice-president, treasurer and manager,
as well as the Lincoln
National Life Insurance Company for which he served in several
capacities. He was married to Ophelia
Valette Rurode, and they began living at 1337 West Wayne Street in 1911. Howell died at the age of 86 in 1942.
National Register (West Central Historic District) – 1984
Local District (West Central Historic District) – 1984
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources of Information
Ankenbruck, John. Twentieth
Century History of Fort Wayne. Fort
Wayne, IN: Twentieth Century Historical Fort Wayne, Inc., 1975.
Cindy’s Diner menu.
Fort Wayne, IN.
City of Fort Wayne.
West Central Historic District (walking tour brochure). Fort Wayne, IN.
Embassy Theatre program.
Fort Wayne, IN.
Fort Wayne Daily Gazette. 26 June 1897.
Fort Wayne Daily News. 11 May 1883 - 14 March 1914.
Fort Wayne, Indiana Interim Report: Indiana Historic
Sites and Structures Inventory. Indiana: 1996.
Fort Wayne Journal. 5 April 1896.
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. 27 November 1901 – 20 September 1996.
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. 1 December 1922 - 16 September 2002.
Fort Wayne Weekly Journal. 9 April 1896.
Griswold, Bert J. Builders
of Greater Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne,
IN: 1926.
Griswold, Bert J. The
Pictorial History of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Vol 2. Chicago: Robert O. Law
Co., 1917.
Helm, Thomas B. History
of Allen County, Indiana. Chicago:
Kingman Bros, 1880.
Local Historic District files. City-County Building, Community and Economic Development
Department, Fort Wayne, IN.
National Register of Historic Places files. City-County Building, Community and Economic
Development Department, Fort Wayne, IN.
Robertson, Colonel Robert S. Valley of the Upper Maumee River. Vols. 1 and 2. Madison, WI: Brant & Fuller, 1889.
Slocum, Charles Elihu and Colonel Robert S.
Robertson. History of the Maumee
River Basin, Allen County, Indiana.
Vol. 2. Indianapolis: 1905.
Vertical File.
Allen County Public Library, main branch, Fort Wayne, IN.
Welcome to Trinity!; A self-guided tour of the
architecture and symbolism of Trinity English Lutheran Church. Fort Wayne, IN: Trinity English Lutheran
Church, 2000.
Other sources
Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne:
Fort Wayne city directories
Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, Fort Wayne
death records
United States Census Population Schedules
City-County Building, Fort Wayne:
property record cards
property transfer books
deed indexes
deed books