Robert Pence

I like these photos a lot. I haven't been in the Museum of Art in at least 20 years, and it looks like I need to go there. Time was, photography was prohibited on the premises of most art museums. It's good that more and more, they're allowing it in most of their gallery spaces.

There's an explanation for that; Thieme Drive didn't exist before 1911. The land between Washington and Main or Berry (right now I'm not sure which) and from College Street to the river was occupied by Fort Wayne College. Beginning around 1911 the land became available for development, and many of the homes of affluent downtown business owners already had been built before 1900. A handful of affluent families built on the former college site after 1911 (the Latz home is an example), and a few homes on the fringes of that site are older. My residence is built around an original structure that, so far as I can determine, dates to about 1860. Thieme Drive is named for Theodore Thieme (pronounced in Fort Wayne like "Theme" and in nearby strongly-German rooted Decatur like "Teamy"), president of Wayne Knitting Mills, then one of the city's largest industries. Now a fragment of the knitting mills complex remains on West Main Street and houses various smaller manufacturing industries. Mr. Thieme saw the deplorable condition of the areas along Fort Wayne's rivers and worked to promote the development of those areas for beautification and scenic drives. There are a few Wayne Street goodies that I missed on this walk-around. I'll add them later in Spring when the lighting becomes more manageable. I'll have to see what I can come up with about the college; I know there are photos, and I think I know who probably has access to them.

Wow! I haven't tried any of the features yet, but at first glance I like! I have a 26-inch monitor with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, and the text size with the old layout challenged my eyes unless I zoomed my browser screen to 150%. With this version, the home page is entirely readable and full-screen without enlarging. Thanks! Edit: "Quote" and "Insert Quote" and "Preview" seem not to work. "Preview" hangs endlessly at "fetching preview ..." It's possible to work around that; Modify and Post work OK.

Fort Wayne West Central (Melting) Snow, February 12, 2011 I bought myself a lens for Christmas, a Tamron 28-75mm zoom (Model A09) and still needed to check it out. The weather has been too foul for me to spend any time outside until today, when sun and warming temperatures arrived. Although the true test will be making a large print, so far I think it's a keeper. All Photographs Copyright © 2011 by Robert E Pence We had a fair accumulation of snow from before and after the "blizzard" that didn't really materialize on February 1. Accumulation has become less evident as packing and evaporation have taken their toll, and the weather forecast called for above-freezing temperatures for the next several days. I wanted to get some photos before it all went away. I took this photo from my front stoop on February 1 as snow fell densely and winds gusted to 45 mph. That only lasted for a short while, and not for the several hours that had been forecast. My patio. After my photo tour I dug out my trash cart and recycling bin and parked them in front of the garage where they'd be easer to use. Views north and east from my corner. Saint Marys River, looking toward Swinney Park across the street from my house. River Greenway, diligently kept plowed by the parks department. My street has been closed since last August and will remain that way for a while, pending completion of riverbank and greenway work. These houses were built by a businessman as a pair in 1919, the one on the left for him and his wife and the one on the right for their daughters. I've owned the one on the right since 1972, and lived there until 1989. Looking east on Wayne Street from Thieme Drive. The westernmost couple of blocks of Wayne Street, between Thieme Drive and College Street, were developed beginning in 1911 after being vacated by Fort Wayne College, the predecessor of Taylor University. Mostly these photos of Wayne Street will be of houses on the north side of the street, because the snow and low southern sun create harsh, nearly-unmanageable backlighting in the opposite direction. This home was built in 1911 by the Latz Family, then owners of Wolf and Dessauer, the Fort Wayne area's premier department store. They lived here until 1937, I believe, when they built a palatial mansion on Covington Road. Since then the house has contained five apartments. Between 1967 and 1971 I lived in an upstairs apartment that ran the length of the right side of the house. I was told that the drive-out basement garage on the left side originally accomodated an electric automobile. Designed by architects Wing & Mahurin, this house was built in 1905 for Paul B. Mossman, then president of Mossman-Yarnelle, a heavy hardware distributor. Mossman donated the house to the city in 1958, and from then until 1983 it housed the Fort Wayne Art Museum. Now it is a private residence and art gallery. Here's what I wrote originally about the house below: "This house was built built in 1886 and was owned after 1910 by Winfield S. Bash, a salesman for Mayflower Mills. The third story of the tower was added sometime prior to Mr. Bash's ownership, and the current front porch dates to around 1920."<p /> Here's an update and a historic photo, courtesy of Don Orban, preservation planner for the city: "The photo of 1128 W. Wayne is from a series of folios called “Fort Wayne Illustrated” published in 1889. Notice the name under the photo. This house was later owned by George H. Van Arnam (Van Arnam Manufacturing – plumbing supplies). In the “Fort Wayne – With Might and Main” booklet published in 1911, the house is identified with Van Arnam’s name and shows the third floor on the tower. At this point it’s purely guess work as to whether Bash made the additions toward the end of his ownership or Van Arnam at the start of his. My guess would be with Van Arnam." Here's what I wrote originially: "Right now I don't have any history on this house. I've seen old photos of it with all its original features including a wrap-around Queen Anne porch, and without the frame addition on the back. In my earliest memory (1960s) it was a doctor's office (I think), and I believe it may have been vacant for a while. The current owners appear to be doing a lot of work, and they've attended to important structural items like window repair and replacement, probably quite expensive considering that several are curved." Here's some updated info and historic photo from Don Orban: "The other image is a scan from a reprint of a booklet called “Art Souvenir of the Fort Wayne Gazette 1894”. It shows the house at 1030 W. Wayne as the R.W.T DeWald house. Robert W.T. DeWald was the oldest son of George DeWald (George Dewald & Co. Dry Goods). He started working for his father in 1876 at age 15 and eventually became president. He married in 1889 and built the house around 1893. (info from the 2010 West Central Tour booklet)" Note the Italianate house in the background of the historic photo. That's the Fleming house. I have vague memories of it from about 1960. It was razed in the 1960s to create a parking lot. This house is one of the few surviving wood-framed houses designed by Wing & Mahurin. It was built in 1887 for Ronald T. McDonald, an electric lighting pioneer who founded Jenney Electric Company, a predecessor of the GE Broadway facility. The home later was owned by Myron Dessauer, a partner in Wolf & Dessauer Department Store. I lived here for about a year before I bought my first house in 1972. It didn't look that good, then; it was slathered with gray asbestos siding that covered all the interesting architectural details, and suffered from lots of deferred maintenance. The kitchen floor had about a two-degree list from foundation settling due to lack of functioning gutters and downspouts. At least if I dropped anything I knew which way it would roll. Designed by Wing & Mahurin, this house was built in 1885 for successful businessman John Claus Peters. Peters started as a cabinetmaker, later went into the fine hardwood lumber business, and then incorporated the Horton Washing Machine Company. Horton made the first mechanical washing machines sold in the area, and by 1924 half the washing machines in the world were supplied by Horton. John C. Peters was the grandfather of actress and Fort Wayne native Carole Lombard, whose birth name was Jane Alice Peters. This house was built about 1872 for paint merchant James C. Wilmot, his wife, and their four children. Until recently it was covered with aluminum siding and had faux-wrought iron porch supports. Recent restoration has returned it to its cottage-like appearance. Built pre-1855 for U.S. Congressman (?) Brenton. More information will follow. Usually a great deal of care and planning goes into my photos, but sometimes a picture just happens.

I thought about taking my bike to Allegan when the weather warms up and riding around the Forbidden Zone to try to provoke a confrontation. Then, I looked up the ordinance on the city web site, and saw the part about fines, impounding bikes, and even jail, and decided to let someone else make a test case. I might write a letter to the mayor and perhaps to the editor of the newspaper, though.

I've known people who had trouble paying their rent and buying groceries or clothes/shoes for their kids, but who kept one or two (sometimes more) big dogs that probably cost as much to feed as a kid. As a landlord I'm mystified by the stupidity of people who think they have to have a dog, and yet expect to be able to rent a very nice place with a tiny or no yard, and think it's unfair that a landlord should either refuse them or want a hefty pet deposit. I've had renters who tried to sneak a pet in, thinking I wouldn't find out. You can't keep a cat away from windowsills! Or they try to claim that they're only sitting their mother's dog while she's on vacation or in the hospital or whatever. I've had renters who tether their dog in the yard and don't pick up after it, even when I've stipulated that they must, and then can't understand why the grass doesn't get cut. Damn, how I hate stepping in something and then not noticing it until I get into my car or walk into my house. One thing on which I'm now completely inflexible is big dogs. I've had too many complaints by neighbors who got the sh!t scared out of them when they walked past my rental place and some bellowing, snarling beast lunges at them on the end of a chain that lets it almost reach the sidewalk. Likewise, if I have to go into the house for a maintenance emergency when no one is home, I don't want to be attacked.

There must be a collective interest in preservation there; even though downtown has some "missing teeth" most of what's there looks like it has had more than ordinary maintenance. Nice! The building in the second picture, with the second-level porch, looks like it might have been an inn with a tavern, the old-time kind that served full meals, at street level.

Neat shot! Of all the times I've visited Cleveland, I have yet to see one of those big ships navigating that twisting path. I need to keep trying - in warmer weather :-D.

Excellent tour. I especially appreciate that you include the beautifully-detailed interiors of some of the outsanding vintage buildings. City Hall looks even more splendid on the inside than on the outside.

I don't know if walking is allowed. The day I was there (Sunday afternoon in late March), the only other people downtown were riding Harleys with extremely loud pipes. Allegan, Michigan. Rather attractive downtown, in fact. Click the photo to go there.

I've bought used equipment successfully at a local camera shop down the street from where I live, but I've never bought any on line. B&H is a reputable on-line vendor, and they sell some used equipment, but I don't know how their prices are compared with local shops.

This morning the temperature at the airport purportedly was -10F, but at my house in a city neighborhood it was warmer (-1F). With each passing day I'm increasingly challenged to find beauty in winter. Nice shots, though. I like the splash of color from the traffic signal against an otherwise bleak scene. Regarding those push-to-cross buttons, the pedestrian legally has the right of way in every state I know of. I think it's time we enforce pedestrian priority; drivers should have to get out of their cars and push a button - and then wait - to get a green light.

The sort of camera seems to have a lot to do with how much flak I get when taking photos. I can go almost anywhere and photograph to my heart's content with a pocket-sized digital camera, but when I haul out the D700 with 70-300mm VR lens, I'll immediately be the object of attention. Sometimes the challenge is done in a non-threatening way; recently at the farm show I was approached by a venue official who struck up a conversation about photography and managed to work in a couple of questions about how I planned to use the photos. Assured that my intent was non-commercial, he said, "Enjoy the show" and went on his way. Something similar happened with one of the vendors. Last year at the same show I walked all over with a pocket-sized point-and-shoot camera and took even more photos, and no one paid any attention. When I want to photograph in a place where I might run into serious trouble, I make it a point to check in with the security desk if there is one. In one railroad station they were fine with it and then asked what kind of camera I use. When I showed them the DSLR, suddenly they had reservations and there were more questions. Eventually they gave me the go-ahead. I'm sure that if I had been carrying my Nikon S700, there would have been no challenge.

And there's the West Side Market in Summer, with the smells of melons and sweet corn in the produce arcade, and sausages and spices inside. And ...

I'll have to remember that. I don't have any kids of my own, but I probably could borrow a couple of toddlers from my niece. One constantly whines, whimpers, and fusses, and the other runs constantly and pulls, pushes, tugs, and pokes at everything that can be pulled, pushed, tugged, or poked. Turning him loose in the showroom probably would keep the sales manager on the edge of his seat. I could buy him some Lee's Chicken beforehand so he'd leave greasy handprints all over the cars and the showroom windows.

Although I have a new heat pump and high-efficiency gas furnace for central heat, in the coldest winter weather (which we've had an extraordinary amount of, this year) I close the upstairs registers and use one or two kerosene heaters during the day for spot heating to reduce the furnace run time. (I'm never out of sight of the heaters when they're operating.) With undyed, untaxed K-1 kerosene upwards of $4/gallon at the pump now, the economics of that are diminishing rapidly.

So cut a cable and then watch from an unobtrusive location for a while, and see if anybody shows up.

Reading the above is the first time in a few days that I remembered the Super Bowl, and the first time I knew who won.

Looks like it's a little bit past its prime. The clock is the nicest thing there.

Me neither. I'm anti-social. :x

I'm glad you got it back intact. Will your insurance reimburse the recovery cost? I suppose it's less than your deductible, though. :| They'd probably want to keep the Swisher Sweets, anyway. As a kid growing up on a farm five miles from anywhere, I felt really isolated. My bike was my treasured connection with the outside, and Mom would've grounded me until I graduated if she'd found out that I rode it clear to a town more than 20 miles away. She had trouble enough with me riding to the gravel pit five miles away that was the community swimming hole, and then coming home after dark on gravel roads that almost no one used at night.

Rob, I looked at that whole gallery and I am amazed by the sheer size of some of that equipment. I'm amazed by it, too. The tractors we farmed with 50 - 60 years ago look like toys compared with the ones farmers use now. The machines that landscapers use to mow suburban lawns have more horsepower than the machines we used for growing food. The high machines with the tall wheels are crop sprayers; to me they look like a cross between a spider and a grasshopper. We farmed about 300 acres and milked 30-40 cows when I was a teenager, and we were considered one of the larger operations in our immediate area. Now, few farmers do both; grain farmers own and/or lease thousands of acres, and dairy operations have thousands of cows.

Fixed broken links and bumped.