The City of Fort Wayne made enormous strides in providing public utility service to residents at the beginning of the twentieth century. The City first declared the need for a municipal light and power plant in 1898 and voters approved the construction of a structure in 1906. By September 1908, City Light and Power was generating power, and the first service meter was set on Christmas Eve of the same year. City Light and Power was later enlarged and modernized from 1929 to 1934. The improvements included a new turbine room building, station switchboard, boiler plant, and a 15,000 kW turbo-generator. The improved municipal plant served residents for nearly forty years. The iconic stacks and lighted signs of the expanded City Light and Power Building permeate the memory of those who can remember this Summit City icon. The sale of City Light Utility to Indiana & Michigan Electric Company came after a referendum in the May 1974 primary. In September of that year, Mayor Ivan Lebamoff signed a thirty-five-year lease of the municipal operation to I & M. Since 1995 the Old City Light and Power Building has been home to Science Central. #sociallyhistory
Desciption: One of the major responsibilities of City Council is to maintain or improve the quality of life for the citi-zens of Fort Wayne. Major public service projects serve this end. By the mid 1850s, a sewer system had become critically necessary, spurred both by the fear of disease and the need for flood control. In 1858 the first sewer line in Fort Wayne was completed. The first waterworks in Fort Wayne was built in 1880, drawing the water from deep wells and distributed from pumping stations. By the early 1930s, it became apparent that there were limitations on the capacity from the underground water supply. A twenty-five-acre tract of land east of Spy Run was chosen for the new water filtration plant, at the point where the St. Mary's River and the St. Joseph River come together. It opened in 1933.
A new municipal power plant, City Light and Power, opened in 1934 and served Fort Wayne for nearly forty years. The sale of City Light Utility to Indiana & Michigan Electric Company came after a referendum in the May 1974 primary. In September of that year, Mayor Ivan Lebamoff signed a thirty-five-year lease of the municipal operation to Indiana & Michigan Electric. Since 1995 the old City Light and Power Building has been home to Science Central.
City Light and Power used metal tags to identify each of the power poles to facilitate any repair that might be needed. I & M took over operations on 1 March 1975, and as a result this city light pole identification tag became obsolete.
FACTSHEET: City Light Lease Settlement History In 1974, the City of Fort Wayne’s electrical power grid needed capital improvements. The City leased its electric utility to Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) for 35 years. The Lease allowed I&M to “retire” or replace portions of the Leased Property or make improvements to it. At the end of the Lease, all Leased Property was to be returned to the City, and the City had the option to purchase from I&M the betterments made by I&M at their net original cost. City Light Lease Settlement Announcement at City of Fort Wayne.
The Light Lease Trust Fund The City of Fort Wayne is on the verge of getting its hands on a cool $33 million windfall… if it can get through negotiations with I&M first, Michael Summers, michael_summers@fortwaynereader.com Fort Wayne Reader 2010-01-25.
12 drawings plus this text: For approximately 50 years, from 1929-1978, the City Light and Power Works building, designed by Froehlich & Emery Engineering Company, served as the chief power producer for the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. During this time period the building underwent several alterations and additions, most notably the 1932 and 1936 bay additions. The City Light and Power building obtains style characteristics similar to typical nineteenth century buildings, by way of the limestone relief detailing and masonry detailing in both limestone and brick. The building's key features are the large industrial windows which enhance the original utilitarian purpose of the plant. Plans are already being made to transform the building into Science Central, a science museum for children. By documenting this building, it is hoped that the memory of the old City Light and Power Works can be preserved. From Notes: 1993 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry Significance: City Light & Power, 1950 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN at the Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey and City Light & Power, 1950 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN Drawings from Survey HABS IN-251 at The Library of Congress.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture of a City Light manhole cover we ran across a few weeks ago! I'm sure many of you remember the old City Light Power Plant on Clinton Street. It is now home to Science Central, and BTW...... Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided the survey for Indiana and Michigan Power Company for the transfer in 1990!
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this article written for the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST through The Journal-Gazette by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988. Tracy later became Journal-Gazette writer and Editorial Editor, and now works for Indiana and Michigan Power (AEP). We shared pictures before on the McCulloch House on Superior Street, when Tom and Kris Bireley had restored it and we surveyed for them. This article is on the flip side, and mentions one of our long-time clients Bud Hall. It also talks about the City Light property before it became Science Central. BTW....Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided the survey when Science Central took over! It shows an image of the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST a
The Journal Gazette newspaper article by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988 discussing six old buildings he wrote about four years earlier in 1983, four were vital to Fort Wayne heritage, that were wasting away. Two were still empty in 1988. They were the McCulloch House, the Centlivre Brewery site still standing in 1988 but later demolished, The Edsall House, the Baker Street Train Depot, the Hanna School built in 1905, closed in 1977, city bought in 1979, sold in 1984, bought again in 1986 then demolished in 1987 saving only the arched doorways, a gable, the cornerstone and balustrade; and City Light now Science Central. At the end he mentioned car phones a new technology in 1988!
