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.

 

Great set--and a great neighborhood. Interesting that the biggest homes don't line Thieme and overlook the river.

 

 

It is a funny coincidence that one of the twin homes, built in 1919 has the address 919.

Great set--and a great neighborhood. Interesting that the biggest homes don't line Thieme and overlook the river.

 

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.

Great stuff!

Very impressive pictures Robert of a very impressive neighborhood.

 

Terrific photos. Lovely neighborhood.

Wow. Gorgeous homes. Great thread, Rob.

Okay I need to check out Fort Wayne

well done. what a fantastic collection -- an old friend of mine's family lives there facing the river. great looking area, but seemed flood prone.

well done. what a fantastic collection -- an old friend of mine's family lives there facing the river. great looking area, but seemed flood prone.

 

Flood prone? Really? You don't say!

 

There are some great victorians in these pix!  Somehow I missed this part of Fort Wayne when I was up there.

Run Forrest Run!  Great timing.