Fort Wayne Aviation Museum image posted December 16, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
This location is just north of Parkview Randallia Hospital located at the southeast corner of Randalli and State Boulevard. Walton Avenue is North Anthony Boulevard today. Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and authorcommentedThe image you've posted of the Driving Park was taken by Art Smith from his airplane on October 20, 1912. The image was in the scrapbook that Art's mother (Ida) kept of her sons exploits. Roger Meyer at the aviation museum that was at onetime at Fort Wayne International Airport allowed me to copy this wonderful image. The labeling on the photo was done by myself several years ago.
A December 16, 2022 post with a 1912 photo on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook stated: This is a 1912 aerial photo of the very first racetrack in Fort Wayne called The Driving Park built in the 1890s. Tap on pix to expand it and notice State St. and Randallia Dr. N. Anthony Blvd was not built yet. Plus see the trolley cars that brought citizens from downtown to the grand stands.
#120 is labeled Fort Wayne Fair Grounds in this 1907 Griswold's birdseye view of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana indexed for ready reference. at the The Library of Congress. Driving Parrk is just east of the Fair Grounds not shown on this map. See below. St. Joe Gravel Road is now Crescent Avenue, Griswold Avenue is State Boulevard. North Walton Avenue, now North Anthony Boulevard, is just below the circle. The grayish line on the right edge of the map in this screenshot.
Several name changes since 1907 shown in the modern view of Google Maps. St. Joe Gravel Road is now Crescent Avenue, Dodge Avenue at the corner of Malcomb Street is now Flordia Drive. North Anthony now goes through the former Fair Grounds past St. Joe Gravel Road-Crescent Avenue to Coliseum Blvd. On the left Thomasetta Street is now Kentucky Avenue. And several more name changes in this view.
In November of 1892 Frederick J. Hayden sold a portion of his property on the northern outskirts of Fort Wayne to a newly formed organization known as The Fort Wayne Driving Association. The 100 acres involved in the sale were originally a portion of the vast land holdings amassed by pioneer entrepreneur Samuel Hanna. The Driving Association included the wealthiest of Fort Wayne residents. On Thursday, October 9, 1902 more than 16,000 were on hand for the festivities which included Fort Wayne’s first auto race. Saturday, October 23, 1910 flying in the air above Driving Park, Miss Blanche Stuart Scott became the first woman in America to make a solo public flight by airplane. Paraphrased from Fort Wayne Driving Park February 11, 2013 History Center Notes & Queries blog by Mark Meyer and The amazing flying Miss Blanche Scott by RICHARD BATTIN October 19, 1994 in the SUMMIT CITY HISTORY NOTES inCityscapes - People & Places series of articles from the archives of
The News-Sentinel newspaper.
1892 Samuel Hanna sold 100 acres to the driving association formed by some of the city's wealthiest men. 1902 was Fort Wayne's first fair. Auto races were on a one-mile oval and by 1910 airplanes appeared. In 1913 the land was sold to developer Louis F. Curdes, developer of Forest Park Boulevard. It became Forest Hill through the 1940s. From Lost track fades from memory by Rosa Salter Rodriguez published July 07, 2013 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
Hofer and Davis, Inc. proudly presents another edition of our new feature, "The Plat of the Week"! This is FOREST HILL ADDITION as found in Plat Book 8 page 60 in the Office of the Recorder of Allen County, Indiana and recorded on October 22, 1917. It is a REPLAT of DRIVING PARK ADDITION EXTENDED from November 6, 1916. A.K. Hofer prepared this plat and picked out Lots 185 and 186, on the corner of Dodge and Leroy Avenues, to build a 2 story, four bedroom brick Colonial home he designed himself, which we still have the hand drawn ink on paper original documents. It is the house my father and aunts grew up in. It was even his business location during "The Great Depression" (see business card posted earlier in an album - business cards), and my aunt said it was known during those times that this was a house those in need could come by and get a bowl of soup and a slice of bread. She remembers during this time the back porch always filled with people eating and there was always a pot of soup in the kitchen. It always stayed in the Hofer Family after AK Hofer died in 1968, and I bought 2129 Dodge Avenue in 1982 from my father and aunts and lived there until 2011.
