Located on Washington Boulevard and Maumee Avenue with access off of Glasgow with 42 acres since 1918. History: Memorial Park is a tribute to the men and women of Fort Wayne and Allen County who gave their lives in service of their country during World War I. The land that was formerly known as the "golf grounds" and that would later be Memorial Park was acquired from Ms. Minnie Hill White on November 29, 1918, only eighteen days after the signing of the armistice that ended the conflict. Known for several beautifully sculpted monuments commemorating various participants and events in the conflict, it also includes a monument to aviation pioneer, originator of skywriting and Fort Wayne resident Art Smith. Smith Field Airport would later be renamed in his honor.Copied from Memorial Park at City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation.
The Allen County and Fort Wayne World War Memorial, as it looked in Memorial Park in 1928 when constructed. Photo credit: ACPL.
During WW I over 117,000 Americans lost their lives. Here in Indiana 135,000 Hoosiers served in the military and over 100 from Allen County gave the ultimate sacrifice. Both nationally and locally, patriotic fever ran high by the time Armistice took place on November 11, 1918, and rightfully so. A large temporary “Liberty Memorial Arch,” designed by architect Marshall Mahurin, was constructed on the sidewalk at the southwest corner of the courthouse square in September of 1918 that included the names of the local war dead. When this was later removed in 1921 it was promised to the Gold Star parents that a permanent memorial listing the deceased would later be erected.
After the war, Lebanon, Indiana sculptor E. M. Viquesney designed a commemorative statue called “The Spirit of the American Doughboy,” an Army infantryman holding a rifle, of which over 140 copies were made and erected in public spaces throughout the United States, generally on a plinth with a plaque below the statue listing those locally lost. Later, Viquesney sculpted a second figure, a sailor called “The Spirit of the American Navy.” Only seven of these were ever made. In 1927, nine years after the end of World War I a committee formed of members of the American Legion Post No. 47, Fort Wayne City Council, and the Allen County Commissioners determined that these two statues would be the focal points gracing the long awaited war memorial. Chosen to hold the two sculptures and four bronze plaques was a design for a large triple-arched white marble structure conceived by Captain John K. Shawvan. The parks department then let a contract to the Muldoon Monument Company of Louisville, Kentucky to fabricate and erect the memorial.
On November 12, 1928, ten years after the war’s end, a dedication was made of the completed memorial that had been placed in Memorial Park on Glasgow Avenue just north of Maumee. A mammoth parade that took 35 minutes to pass formed on Clinton Street between Wayne and Berry. It then marched to Washington Boulevard and continued east completing the route to the park. The parade included policemen on motorcycles, firemen, floats and cars full of officials, the General Electric Band, Concordia College Band, News-Sentinel Boys Band, American Legion Buglers, a drum corps, active military and veterans, Boy Scouts, families of the deceased, nurses from Methodist (Parkview), Lutheran and St. Joseph hospitals, community service and patriotic organizations, hundreds of school children and thousands of everyday citizens. Many stores closed and factories in town allowed military veterans off to participate in the parade and dedication.
At Memorial Park an estimated 12,000 assembled for a program that in part included the unveiling of the memorial, music and singing of patriotic songs, firing of a military salute, flowers dropped from a plane flown from the municipal airport (Baer/Smith Field), and as its keynote speaker, Colonel David N. Foster. The ceremony at the park was broadcast live over radio station WOWO.
Now, 90 years later, the WWI Memorial is in need of repair and the replacement of some pieces. The City of Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation department has recently completed an extensive accounting of the required work and is committed to having it performed as funds become available.
(Image Courtesy 1929 Parks Department Annual Report/ACPL)
Randy Harter is a Fort Wayne historian and co-author along with photographer Dan Baker of the newly released book “Fort Wayne Through Time”.
Dear Photograph: "The Spirit of Flight" Arthur Smith Memorial, circa 1928 & 2014.
Sculptor: James S. Novelli;
Stonework: J.G. Birkmeier & Sons;
A pioneer in early aviation, Arthur Roy Smith, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1890. His desire to fly led him to build his first aircraft by the age of 16 with the financial help of his parents mortgaging their home. The plane crashed and was destroyed on its first flight. His many attempts earned him the nickname, "The Smashup Kid."
Smith eventually became a celebrated stunt pilot, perfecting the night skywriting with flares. His feats amazed the world from America to Asia raising the bar for his fellow pilots and inspiring countless future aviators.
When America entered World War I, Smith found his height and previous injuries prevented him from flying in combat. His experience was put to use testing aircraft and training pilots for World War I.
After the war, he worked for the United States Post Office flying between New York and Chicago. It was during an overnight delivery run in 1926 that he went off course and was killed in crash near Montpelier, Ohio--just weeks before his 36th birthday.
In honor of their "bird boy," the citizens of Fort Wayne had an approximately 33' tall monument dedicated to Art Smith in Memorial Park in August 1928. At a cost of $40,000, it is one of the city's finest pieces.
(B/W photograph courtesy of the Allen County Public Library)
The Art Smith Memorial at Memorial Park from the 1928 REPORT OF BOARD OF PARK COMMISIONERS. The World War Memorial and dedication from the 1929 REPORT. The Olin J. Pond Memorial Drinking Fountain and a page about Memorial Park from the 1930 REPORT. This is our "Throwback Thursday" for this week! BTW... A.K. Hofer was BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS Department Engineer in 1930!
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture of the dedication of the WORLD WAR MEMORIAL in Memorial Park. This is found in the TWENTY - FIFTH ANNUAL Report of Board of Park Commissioners in 1929. F.M. Randall was the Civil City Engineer in 1929, A.K. Hofer would become Department Engineer in 1930.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture of the dedication of the Art Smith monument at Memorial Park on August 13, 1928. A. K. Hofer would become the Park Engineer for the BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS in 1930.
A limestone tribute memorial to Mrs. Olen J. Pond and to those who served in World War I was dedicated November 11, 1930 in Memorial Park looking out over Maumee Avenue, from the south side of Memorial Park, near the basketball courts. It is one of several commemorative monuments on park grounds. The head was removed in the 1990s and never recovered. Photos shown on pages 20 of the 1953 Olen J. Pond Memorial Plaque in Franke Park and page 62 of the November 11, 1930 Olen J. Pond Memorial Monument in Memorial Park in FORT WAYNE MONUMENTS PLAQUES AND MARKERS IN CITY PARKS compiled in 2020. The statue head was replaced in 2022. Memorial Park statue her ‘whole self’ again -- finally! The restored statue of Mrs. Olen J. Pond at Memorial Park by Jonathan Shelley published June. 22, 2022 on 21AliveNews.com discussed June 4, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. An August 26, 2023 post on Facebook had over 20 photographs of the World War I Memorial.
Photos and discussion of memorials at Memorial Park dedicated 18 days after the signing of the armistice ending World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. The park was primarily designed to remember the local soldiers who died during “the war to end all wars.” In a larger sense, as the JG editorial board opined in the park’s centennial year, Memorial Park “honors all those who have given their lives in defense of America.” Copied from Veteran's Day commemorates those who have protected a grateful nation, Fredrick McKissack, November 11, 2023, The Journal Gazette newspaper.
