This thread may seem a little obsessive (45 photos of one building). People react to One Summit Square in various ways; some hate it, some love it, and surprisingly, some local folks are so out of touch that they didn't even recognize it when I exhibited a photo of it several years ago in the gallery at First Presbyterian.

 

Here goes.

 

One Summit Square, 1980 - 2008 (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

 

Photographs copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by Robert E. Pence

 

1980

 

One Summit Square, 442 feet tall, is Indiana's tallest reinforced concrete building. It was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates and completed in 1982. The initial proposal and renderings showed a gleaming tower cladded with mirrored tiles, but construction delays put the owner in a bind to meet occupancy dates in time to keep the mortgage rate locked in. Or at least that was the reason given to the public. The mirrored tiles went by the wayside. When initially completed its surfaces were raw concrete. Because of leakage problems the concrete was sealed with a gray stucco-like material in the 1990s.

 

One Summit Square was erected on the site formerly occupied by Wolf & Dessauer, a locally-owned department store that stood on the northeast corner at Washington & Calhoun Streets. The old 5-story W&D building was where I first experienced revolving doors and probably escalators. I can't remember for sure if that building had escalators.

 

The lighted Santa that graces the north wall of the National City Building and the wreath that overlooks the plaza on the north side of One Summit Square originally were displayed on the W&D building, and crowds used to gather on the sidewalks to marvel at the animated window displays.

 

 

Windy Morning

 

People who haven't experienced the sudden straight-line winds that sometimes hit Fort Wayne have no comprehension of how destructive they can be. This crane was being used to hoist concrete during construction of One Summit Square.

 

As July arrived, I commented to the facilities engineering manager at work that I was surprised the contractor didn't anchor the crane when it wasn't being used, by running a line out from the boom and hooking it onto a dump truck full of stone parked a block or so to the west. His response was that those cranes are so heavy, and their booms so porous, that it "wouldn't be possible for wind to upset one. They could stand through a hurricane with no problem."

 

About two days after that conversation, I awoke in the morning to wind that was causing my house to vibrate. I couldn't see out the bedroom windows because of the intensity of the rain and the leaves that were plastered against the window screens. I reached over and turned on my scanner to see if I should head for the basement or just get under the bed right away. The first thing I heard was the voice of a policeman talking to the dispatcher. It went something like, "It's swaying pretty bad. Oh! There it goes!" That was followed immediately by a loud noise. The wind episode probably didn't last five minutes.

 

Back at work, I thought better of mentioning the event, and the facilities engineering manager didn't bring it up.

 

 

 

 

After a boom has been damaged like this one, it can never be repaired and made safe. The only thing to do with it is cut it up. Even that is extremely dangerous work, because it's hard to tell what's under stress and which way it might fly, or what might collapse or shift when a cut is made.

 

 

Both tower cranes stood fast through the wind.

 

 

Old Glory in tatters, shredded by the wind. That should give some idea what kind of velocity was involved.

 

 

 

A view looking north from the 26th floor of the National City Building showing the construction of One Summit Square. The cleared block in the center of the photo is where the Hilton Hotel and Grand Wayne Center stand now.

 

 

 

Looking across the site of the Hilton Hotel and Grand Wayne Center, 1981

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend of mine had his wedding reception in the lobby of the theater visible in this shot.  It was a great setting for a wedding reception but unfortunately he was in divorce court this week. 

 

If that was allowed to remain as just a concrete facade, in 30 years, we'd be seeing a dingy, brown/gray building. I like the solid color stucco that was applied.

Thanks for this post, Rob. I never knew that that incident had occurred during the construction of Summit Square.

 

I first saw the building when I was in Fort Wayne for a job interview in late 1989. I was dazzled by it, and it's been one of my favorite buildings anywhere ever since. I just happened on the West Central neighborhood later that same day, and all the visual excitement convinced me that maybe I could enjoy living in Fort Wayne after 13 years in Chicago. I ended up staying in Fort Wayne for just seven years, but my decision to move there is one I have not a single regret about. People think it's weird when they hear me say it, but I miss Fort Wayne easily as much--I think more--than I ever missed Chicago. I guess it has to do with where I was when I was there.

Great thread!

 

But the Lincoln tower will always be my style.

Amaging that the crane did tip.  I know for Tower Cranes, we will ussually unlock the "swivel" on them at the end of the day and let it "freespin" in the event that wind acts up.  They typically will not do one full rotation, but there are times you can see it moving without an operator in there. 

Robert,

 

I am not originally from Fort Wayne and was not aware of these events.  Thank you for taking the time to capture the construction process and share it with all of us. 

 

 

I'll say that it is an interesting building, but not really my style.  Nonetheless, this is a great series of photos.  Nice to see the progress from construction to completion and the events in between.

rob's photography archives, always a fun trip.

 

Sheeeeeeeeeyit!  Imagine that thing coming down (imagines it in slow-mo)

The Rhodes Tower of Fort Wayne.

The Rhodes Tower of Fort Wayne.

 

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking.