Robert Pence

Interesting study; at the time of the Green Line streetcar extension in 1890, it was most likely a horsecar line. I noticed that one of the map excerpts refers to a stable, and I think wholesale electrification of city streetcar lines took off in a big way a couple of years after that. Fort Wayne's West Central Neighborhood has quite a few shotguns and an overall very similar housing stock, mostly on the side streets clustered around the GE complex on Broadway. Part of that complex dates from around 1890 as Fort Wayne Electric Works. In the 1950s more than 3,000 people worked there on three shifts. Now several of the buildings have been razed, GE has sold the motor and transformer businesses, and the complex is largely vacant, along with the blocks of land that the company bought in the sixties and cleared for employee parking.

'nother excellent neighborhood survey!

Interesting shot. It's a bit disorienting at first, but I don't know that presenting it horizontally would change that.

Sunset last week, near where I grew up.

Good idea! Non-running cars from the impound lot, maybe. Just park them around out-of-the-way areas, unlocked, with a special tag so that they don't get towed. ( :weird: ) Seriously, I think there are many problems with security on some systems. One night 'way too late to be out, especially when not sober, I was on a CTA train in Chicago. I had made it a point to get a car with a conductor, but still there was a little group of three thugs migrating around the sparsely-populated car hassling people for change, transfers, etc. The conductor paid no attention to them. Maybe he was on commission?

Fascinating tour! The urban density and color look great.

Some cute towns - charming and historic.

Beautiful shots! Fountain Square is shaping up to be a great public space.

Wonderful photos. I love the sun, the density, the vitality of the crowd shots ...

Some interesting shots, different views from what I usually see. I like the industrial grit stuff.

some garbage

We're all here to help each other :wink:

Fascinating!

Once or twice, I think, maybe :-D http://robertpence.com/south_shore.html I had the impression it was farther south along the IC, maybe in the vicinity of Van Buren, but I didn't have any solid basis for that assumption. I may be older than dirt, but I came rather late to a fascination with trains & railroads. Even that was before a lot of forumers were born, though I guess. :|

There were three additional stations in Chicago that served intercity trains until Amtrak consolidated everything at Union Station: Dearborn Station, the only building still standing, served Erie, Monon, New York Central, Santa Fe and maybe others. It was a stub-end station. I have just a few small-child mental images of arriving there from Decatur, Indiana via the Erie with Dad when I was about five years old. It was winter, and I remember the clouds of vapor swirling around the steam locomotive as we walked by it. Grand Central Station served B&O and others, and was a stub-end station with a vast train shed. I think it was on the southwest side of the loop. I don't remember ever being there. Central Station served Illinois Central and a few others and stood near the lakefront. My only visit there was to tug on the locked door and read the sign taped to the inside of the glass that said Amtrak had moved all service to Union Station. IC moved all its offices out and razed it shortly thereafter. I think it was stub-end; although tracks ran beside or under it, I think they all ended a short distance to the north at Randolph Street (Now Millennium Station) or in freight yards.

Be kind, MTS. He's experiencing conviction, and it's a private, anguished time. Next, he has to confess. After that, he has to repent. Then he'll come into full redemption. Be strong and resolute, Kingfish! We forgive you. You just have to make it right with yourself.

Looks like this thread turned into de facto shoutbox. I thought it might provide a place to vent some of the marginally relevant banter that otherwise runs up post count & traffic on some of the forum threads. I'm actually apathetic about it, but then, who cares?

Hydrobond, that's a wonderful thing to see first thing on a snowy morning! Beautiful pic. Sign on the post says "COLD BEAR." I suppose they mean "COLD BEER" but maybe not?

Ink, it was a traveling exhibition of works by sculptor Tom Otterness. He has done a lot of noteworthy public art, and it should be easy to find out more about him on Google.

Try Indianapolis Motor Speedway; that's the venue for the Indy 500. There's also a pretty fabulous automobile museum on the property that features not only vintage race cars, but a lot of beautiful classics. Three war monuments I can think of are the Indiana World War Memorial (WWI), Soldiers and Sailors Monument (Civil War, in the center of the Circle), and an Oliver P. Morton monument at an entrance to the state capitol building. Indiana World War Memorial Soldiers & Sailors Oliver P. Morton The World War Memorial has to be experienced first-hand, both exterior and interior, to be fully appreciated. It's massive, dignified and elegant. The lighting in the cavernous shrine at the center of the monument is dim, and I didn't have a tripod so my photos don't really do it justice. The photos of the rest of the memorial are pretty good; You can see them here Oh! Yeah! There's a new World War II Memorial in Veterans' Park, along the canal, and someplace downtown there are Korean War and Vietnam memorials, too.

Media lead articles on passenger rail with titles like "Amtrak Continues to Lose Money" but take a different slant on parking and highways, downplaying taxpayer subsidies. The money that the city and county have to kick in to cover the shortfall comes from the taxpayers. Ironically, the Plaza Garage is adjacent to the former Nickel Plate elevated passenger platform built in 1955. I think it served passenger trains for only three years after it was completed. http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/local/16506291.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on Sat, Jan. 20, 2007 Plaza Garage sees rise in revenues for 2006 By Amanda Iacone The Journal Gazette The Plaza Parking Garage behind the City-County Building generated more revenue in 2006 than the previous year but city and county leaders are still working to increase that amount.

Neat shots!

Amazing thread, again! Your research is so incredibly thorough and detailed, I hope you're archiving it somewhere that will be accessible to researchers.

Neat photos! Yeah, the town on the Canadian side is pretty touristy, but the last time I was there it was lots better than Niagara Falls, NY. That was pretty desolate, almost post-apocalyptic looking. I think Toronto is one of the best cities in North America.

Great photos! Maysville looks pretty impressive, with a lot of fairly large buildings downtown still in good shape. Ripley's history is fascinating. There was also a Rev. Rankin (Alexander) in Fort Wayne; He was kin to John Rankin, his brother, perhaps? Alexander Rankin was pastor for the city's first protestant congregation, First Presbyterian, from 1837 to 1843. He was suspected of harboring escaped slaves in his house, which still stands downtown and is undergoing restoration (slowly) by ARCH (ARchitecture and Community Heritage).