Greetings Neighbors!
It’s another great day in the ol’ West End Neighborhood.
Here’s a quick summary of our WCNA membership meeting this past Sunday. While I do my best to capture the highlights, nothing can match the details, tone and nuanced discussion of actually being in the room. I strongly urge our neighbors to attend the meetings and be active. It’s not only a great way to stay informed and influence the future of the neighborhood, but it’s also a great way to meet new people who live very near to you. There really is something special about a connected neighborhood.
Electric Works Update
Scott Ferguson, the owner of Chapman’s Brewery and the executive manager over Union Street Market (USM), was our guest speaker and provided a host of updates on Electric Works projects. There are some new shops opening up in the east side of USM and new large tenants in the other buildings, including K&K Insurance.
Scott was also pleased to announce that Electric Works and Chapman’s will be a “significant” sponsor of this year’s Home & Garden Tour. Details are being worked out by our planning committee, but in my conversations with our volunteer chair, Ryan Benton, he’s very pleased with what Scott has put on the table and expects that in the end the support will indeed be “significant”! It’s great to see such support from our largest neighbor campus.
Although I don’t normally single out a member comment, it’s worthwhile noting that one of our neighbors – who is also a tenant at Electric Works – thanked Scott for the new energy at the campus since he took over. There’s a noticeable difference in communication, community connection, events and buzz. Exactly what we need!
Yesterday’s West Central: How to Research a Historic Home
Our very own Shelley Rothgeb used her personal experience researching her home 1020 Jackson Street to provide a “how to” for digging into your home’s history. Her own home dates all the way back before 1875, making it one of the oldest homes in the neighborhood. How does she know this? Through triangulation of multiple sources!
Shelley noted that there are great resources available through the Library of Congress website (https://www.loc.gov) and also the Allen County Public Library (https://www.acpl.lib.in.us/). She started with two main sources: The Sanborn Fire Maps and then the City Directory. The Sanborn Fire Maps were commissioned and created for insurance companies that mapped out entire neighborhoods showing the shape and material of homes and business structures. The earliest of these maps go back to the 1890s and then go through the early part of the 20 th century so you can see the evolution of proporties at that time. Shelley pointed out that in 1902 many of the addresses in West Central changed so you have to be careful for that and know both of your property’s addresses.
Click here to view the slides from this meeting.
Neighborhood Promotion
As part of the overall plan to invest in the WCNA’s chosen priorities, we are pursuing a comprehensive promotion plan with some pretty audacious goals:
- Identify the West Central boundaries – Unite disparate areas, Build engagement
- Amplify the brand & historic designation – Strengthen historic preservation
- Remind “visitors” this is a neighborhood – People live here, Speed & noise matter, Safety matters
- Pursue membership priorities – Use our financial resources
This is not one thing; it will involve many different investments, but all that we hope to ensure have a tie to the goals above. Our recent application with four other neighborhood associations for the Connected Neighborhoods $1 million grant fits squarely into these goals and would be an amazing compliment to our own efforts.
As part of this initiative, a new project was introduced. Our western gateway (West Jefferson Blvd) is dotted with 19 very functional and necessary, but not very attractive, jersey barriers. These large, heavy, concrete structures protect the homes behind them from errant cars that might come crashing through. In an effort to both beautify these utilitarian structures and capitalize on our investment in the Hemphill Smith Foundation sculpture going in just west of these barriers, the idea is to cover all 19 with public art.
A formal “request for proposal” or RFP would be created and sent only to qualified artists – those who have completed other outdoor art projects on unique surfaces. The proposal would call for creativity that ties the 19 together and fits within the “culture” of a historic neighborhood and is appropriate for the location – the front right-of-way for a residential street. The budget for this project is estimated at $10,000 with a completion date of next fall/summer (2026, not this year). The WCNA board is being advised by Alex Hall, a local artist and neighbor who leads many of the public art projects in Fort Wayne and is deemed an expert in this area.
No decisions were requested at the June meeting. This was an introduction only with the expectation that we will bring it back at the July or August meeting with refinements and a final decision. Discussion from those in attendance included a belief that the proposed budget is likely too small and the need for the consideration of those who live in front of the barriers to be considered.
More to come.
Announcements
Our next big event will be the annual Block Party at Moody Park. This kid-oriented event is on Saturday, July 26 th from 11 am to 2 pm. Volunteers are needed for both setup and tear-down, as well as during the event. Jackie Jones is our event organizer and has posted a sign-up genius list of volunteer shifts on the unofficial WC Facebook page, Beyond Porch Parties. You can also get to it by clicking here.
June Gift Direction
For June our $250 gift was directed to Emmanuel Lutheran Church’s food pantry, which provides lots of necessary food and other items to those in need. These monthly directions are made through consensus of those in attendance, my final (for today) reason that live attendance of our meetings is the best way to go.
It’s currently 86 degrees with humidity to match, so I think summer has officially started. See you on the front porch!
Joel Sauer, President
(260) 433-3672
2025 Board Officers
- Membership: Anita Kuker membership@westcentralneighborhood.org
- President: Joel Sauer president@westcentralneighborhood.org
- Secretary: Bethany Pruitt secretary@westcentralneighborhood.org
- Treasurer: George Taylor treasurer@westcentralneighborhood.org
- Vice President: Kelly Benton VP@westcentralneighborhood.org