I know I posted photos of the Allen County Courthouse in Fort Wayne a few years ago. I just found the original Camera RAW files that I thought had been lost, so I've reworked the JPGs to make them bigger and sharper and hopefully with better color, and added a bunch more exterior photos taken before and since the original post.

 

Allen County Courthouse

Fort Wayne, Indiana

 

All Photos Copyright © 2004-2009 by Robert E Pence

 

The Allen County Courthouse is one of only 35 National Historic Landmarks in Indiana. It was ordered in 1895 and dedicated in 1902 at a cost of more than $800,000. Designed in the Beaux Arts style by Brentwood S. Tolan and constructed by James Stewart, it replaced a badly-deteriorated 1861 brick structure on the same site. The courthouse shares county offices and functions with the newer City-County Building across Main street.

 

To learn more about National Historic Landmarks and the courthouse restoration, visit the Historic Landmarks Foundation site.

 

A late-night view looking down Court Street before the plaza was created.

 

Looking down Court Street in 1983, with the Lincoln Tower decorated for Christmas.

 

Looking down the alley from the east, 1981.

 

Glimpses from various places around downtown, as early as 1983.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several years ago a block of mostly-nondescript buildings immediately to the east was cleared and Court Street was closed and landscaped to create an attractive plaza and to provide an unobstructed view of this magnificent building. The City-County Building, the Journal Gazette Building, the Anthony Wayne Building, Fifth Third Bank and the Lincoln Tower also face the plaza.

 

 

Some details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some pre-dawn winter views from February, 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

Let's go inside. First, lock your cell phone, pager (people still use pagers?), camera, and any other electronic devices in your car. You can't take them into the courthouse during business hours, and the guards at the security desk <i>will not</i> hold them for you.

 

Thanks to the efforts of the Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust, the courthouse has been lovingly maintained and recently underwent a $9 million restoration of its interior design features, scagliola (faux marble) and Charles Holloway murals. The richness of detail and ornamentation are wonderful, and it's especially remarkable that it has been restored after having been overpainted many years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Cornerstone from the previous (1861) courthouse. That building's architect, Edwin May, designed the 1888 Indiana State Capitol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The courtroom photographs show the Circuit Court. It was the only courtroom not in use during my visit.

 

 

 

 

The intersection of Main and Calhoun Streets, seen here from a second-storey window, once was known as the Transfer Corner. Here the North-South and East-West streetcar lines, and later, bus lines, intersected. In the horsecar era a turntable in the middle of the intersection allowed cars to change directions. In the streetcar and trolleybus era, the intersection was one connection short of a double-track grand junction, and the catenary wires overhead looked like a spiderweb.

 

 

 

 

The photo below was chosen by the Indiana DNR's Department of Historic Preservation and Archeology to be published on the state's 2006 historic preservation poster.

WOW! That is gorgeous!

 

See kids, this is why I don't like the "new" buildings.  I like old masterpieces!

One of the best courthouses in the country.

All I can say is WOW!  Especially dig those courthouse interior shots. 

 

From past experience I know that capturing the scope of these grand interior spaces is very difficult.  Every time I've tried it, the photos turn out underwhelming.  So I appreciate Rob's skill in making a beautiful building look even better in photographic form.

Fantastic thread.

 

I was really interested to see the photos of Court Street before the plaza was installed; that was a great project.

whoa -- very impressive!

 

loving the nightshots best.

It looks like a state capital

Incredibly beautiful.    Wonderful Photos Robert.  Many of the interior shots remind me of the interior of St. Louis Union Station  ---  the beautiful arched entrances, stained glass, light fixtures.    Truly wonderful.    Thanks very much!!

I just wanted to say "thank you" for the amazing photos.  I was born in Ft Wayne and lived there until I was 14.  Since it was my home during the formative years of my childhood, I still think of it often.  Your photos captured many images that I still hold in my memory with much fondness.  They also make me sad because, like many people (I think), it's easy to think back to youth as a time when life was much simpler.  Sorry for the sappy nostalgia...I really just wanted to express my appreciation for sharing your photography.

I'm glad you folks have enjoyed the photos. Fort Wayne has kept a few of its treasures, and the courthouse is foremost among them.

 

After years of "This is the way we've always done it" administration, things are beginning to move forward; the experience of the new downtown ballpark has turned even some of the naysayers into enthusiasts, and finally dirt is being moved for construction of the new hotel. Our previous mayor started running the city like a business, and his successor is following suit. There's a strong emphasis on bike paths and recreational trails and a comprehension of walkable communities and urban density, both in the administration and in the current generation of city planners. Downtown is still full of holes (surface lots), but I expect that that soon will begin to change.