Fort Wayne

Images of America: Indiana

by Ralph Violette

In 1895, Fort Wayne officially celebrated the centennial of the construction of a Fort at the Three Rivers by General Anthony Wayne in 1794. For the belated birthday, Fort Wayne's streets were festooned with flags and bunting. Centennial arches were erected throughout the city, and many events filled the week-long celebration. This photographic essay examines the century since the centennial. It outlines Fort Wayne's development in the twentieth century and conveys a picture of the city at the end of the century. The significance of the rivers in Fort Wayne's development is explored. A chapter on Calhoun Street focuses on the changes the twentieth century has produced in the downtown area. Changes in residential patterns, transportation, and leisure-time activities are emphasized.

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 13, 1999

Reviews

[Paul Lunger · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the unique ways that the early books in the "Images of America" series is that those books at times are slightly different from a writing style as well as a storytelling style than the more recent entries. That is very much the case with the 2000 entry by Ralph Violette on Indiana's 2nd largest city Fort Wayne. As someone who periodically visits the city & has had a chance to explore parts of it, my eyes were opened to some of the history of this city that at times isn't exactly spelled out, but now makes a bit more sense. The book (as was common for this series in those days) focuses on 5 various pieces of the city & it's surrounding region. Each of those pieces and stories make up the "Summit City" as it was then & how it still is nearly a quarter century after this book was published. It has definitely opened the eyes up to this reader who will have to do a bit more exploring on my next trip up there.