Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Places

Streets

Sections: 1953 book Streets of Fort Wayne, Address Number Changes, Allen County Roads, Alphabetical Street List, Anthony Wayne Parkway, Brick Streets, Bridges, Construction, Highways, Maps, Murals, Roads of Allen County, Social Media, Street Name Changes.

1914 - How to Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committee's Big Task

Article from Jul 25, 1914 The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1914, Traffic congestion, Calhoun street

1914 - How to Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committee's Big Task The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Saturday, July 25, 1914, Page 9.

April 21, 2024 post on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook Headline: "How To Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committe's Big Task" The Fort Wayne Sentinel - July 25, 1914, I thought this was kinda funny that even back then traffic congestion was a problem. Full Article: https://archive.org/.../fort-wayne.../page/n7/mode/2up.

Indiana Bridges Historic Context Study, 1830s-1965 INDOT CCNo. 050108 Report prepared by M&H Architecture, Inc. February 2007, a 193 page report.

The Fort Wayne Traffic Engineering Department web page has a bunch of useful maps and information worth checking out. https://www.cityoffortwayne.org/publicworks/traffic-engineering.html

Posted by Three Rivers Active Streets on Friday, March 22, 2024

Friday, March 22, 2024 post by Three Rivers Active Streets on Facebook:

The Fort Wayne Traffic Engineering Department web page has a bunch of useful maps and information worth checking out.

FW Public Works Traffic Engineering Department

[ See our Maps page for more maps ]

1912 - Fort Wayne Citizens Find Project of Uniting Three Sections of City By Street Openings Subways

Article from Jun 2, 1912 The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1912, Subway, Railroad

1912 - Fort Wayne Citizens Find Project of Uniting Three Sections of City By Street Openings Subways The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sunday, Jun 2, 1912, Page 15

Fort Wayne Citizens Find Project of Uniting Three Sections of City By Street Openings and Subways Momentous Ninth. Ward Residents Started Movement for the Opening of a Through Street Seven Years Ago and Have Not Ceased Working -The Height of N. Y. C. and St. L. Railroad Tracks Invites the Construction of Subways- A Plan for Connecting the Three Distinct Sections of Fort Wayne.

An increase in vehicluar traffic each year while traveling faster thanks to motorization made pedestrians crossing streets wherever they wanted more dangerous!

1913 - Traffic Rules for Pedestrians - Effort to Keep Roadways Clear of Walkers is Considered The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Saturday, July 19, 1913, Page 2
Unidentified Transportation Workers, Fort Wayne, 1929

A zoomable high resolution image Unidentified Transportation Workers, Fort Wayne, 1929.
Is one of over 1,000 images in the Panoramic Photograph Images at We Do History digital collection by the Indiana Historical Society.
Description: A row of workers pose with road graders and paving machinery, some horse-drawn and some gas powered, in Fort Wayne in 1929.

1910 horse drawn wagon paving crew

Street paving crew in Fort Wayne IN: showing horses with wagon, men spreading tar from the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.
A question about this photo's location was posted February 22, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
Brooks Construction has this same photo labeled Jackson Michigan, 1917 in a slide show on their Legacy page.

It's Wall of Fame Wednesday! Check out A.K. Hofer in 1929 as featured in the WILDWOOD PARK NEWS-LETTER.

Posted by Hofer and Davis,Inc. LAND SURVEYORS on Wednesday, March 6, 2019

March 6, 2019 post by Hofer and Davis,Inc. LAND SURVEYORS on Facebook:

It's Wall of Fame Wednesday! Check out A.K. Hofer in 1929 as featured in the WILDWOOD PARK NEWS-LETTER.

[ September 20, 1929 letter with photo shows the curing process to slow the curing of new cement in concrete streets covered with straw and wet daily ]

Have you ever complained about road work on Indiana roads? Imagine if you had to do that work yourself! On December 13,...

Posted by Indiana Historical Bureau on Monday, December 13, 2021

Monday, December 13, 2021 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

Have you ever complained about road work on Indiana roads? Imagine if you had to do that work yourself! On December 13, 1799, the Northwest Territory General Assembly passed the 1799 Road Law, which required signposts at important intersections, outlined road construction specifications, and dictated that all men between the ages of twenty-one and fifty must work two days per year on public roads.

Highway supervisors, who were appointed by the courts, notified all qualified men in a township three days before work was to begin. On the specified day, residents were to present themselves or a “substitute to the acceptance of the supervisor” at the given location with all required tools. If a man neglected his duty to appear or provide a substitute, he was fined 75 cents.

The image below, showing a road construction crew in Harrison County Indiana in the early 20th century, is courtesy of the Harrison County Public Library.

[Read about the law here: Laws of the Territory of the United States, North-west of the River Ohio By Northwest Territory, 1800 on Google books.]

2040 Transportation Plan NORTHEASTERN INDIANA REGIONAL COORDINATING COUNCIL, Adopted May 2018, Illustrations of the transportation network within the Metropolitan Planning Area. Areas include portions of Allen, Whitley, and Huntington Counties, the Cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven, and the Towns of Grabill, Huntertown, and Leo-Cedarville. At Purdue Fort Wayne.

4226 Werling Drive July 2007 Street View photo from Google Maps shows similar view of the first 2024 Facebook photo before they were torn down in 2011.
See McMillen Park Apartments Places section for more information.

January 1951 McMillen Apartments

February 6, 2024 post by the library seeking photo information on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook:
Here are four photos in the Library's collection all taken in January 1951. They were taken in the Fort Wayne area, but no place was given. Does this place look familiar to anyone? I expect it is very different today if the houses are still standing.
Notice the dirt roads with pot holes in photos taken sometime after World War II when these apartments were built.

Maps

1930s Transit Map  for any Direction in Fort Wayne by Street Car, Trolley Coach, Motor Bus

A 1930s era zoomable map: Transit Map for any Direction in Fort Wayne by Street Car, Trolley Coach, Motor Bus is in the Maps in the Indiana Historical Society Collections at We Do History digital collection by the Indiana Historical Society.

August 21, 1947 Calhoun Street trolley tracks

FORT WAYNE STREETS, CALHOUN CALHOUN SOUTH OF MASTERSON AUGUST 21, 1947 BEFORE RESURFACING OVER TROLLEY RAILS in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library. The contition of the brick street indicates it was probably a rough rolly polly kinda of ride for vehicles crossing over those tracks?

Construction

Brooks Construction Legacy History

Brooks Construction first paving job on existing dirt and gravel roads was in 1909 when John Foster Brooks convinced the City of Fort Wayne to construct Forest Park Boulevard using asphalt. Brooks Construction got its first big break when the Indiana state legislature passed a "three mile law" to encourage the construction of roads between communities. Doing all work by hand or with horses and steam driven pavers, Brooks Construction constructed a three mile stretch of concrete road between New Haven and Fort Wayne. This was the first concrete road in Indiana and is known as Old Maumee Road today. Their website has a slide show of early paving photos on their Legacy page. A Brief History of Brooks Construction Company, Inc. five page document discusses construction of the first paved streets with concrete, asphalt, and brick starting in 1909.

 

The Three-Mile Road Law - Its Uses and Abuses 4 page section starting on page 154 of the Purdue Engineering Extension Department Eighteenth Annual Road School at Purdue.edu.

Everyone's DYING to work in construction - but safety comes first even for the unliving. Happy Halloween from Brooks Construction!

Posted by Brooks Construction Company, Inc. on Thursday, October 31, 2024

Thursday, October 31, 2024 post by the Brooks Construction Company, Inc. on Facebook:

Everyone's DYING to work in construction - but safety comes first even for the unliving.

Happy Halloween from Brooks Construction!

The work doesn't stop. City crews were out early paving Sherman Blvd through morning fog.

Posted by City of Fort Wayne Government on Thursday, July 11, 2024

Thursday, July 11, 2024 post by the City of Fort Wayne Government on Facebook:

The work doesn't stop.

City crews were out early paving Sherman Blvd through morning fog.

Highways

Here's an oldie, but a goodie for #TBT! Sections of pavement are poured on a 10-mile section of I-69 in DeKalb County...

Posted by Indiana Department of Transportation: Northeast on Thursday, May 14, 2015

Thursday, May 14, 2015 post by the Indiana Department of Transportation: Northeast on Facebook:

Here's an oldie, but a goodie for #TBT! Sections of pavement are poured on a 10-mile section of I-69 in DeKalb County back in the mid-60s.

Gov. Matthew E. Welsh participated in a ribbon-cutting opening the new section on Sept. 19, 1964. At that time, the section was the newest and completed 33 miles of expressway from U.S. 24 west to U.S. 6. 

INDOT Indiana Department of Transportation has a website 511.org which has live cameras showing current incidents, road conditions, snow plows, and construction sites on major highways.

Social Media

Penny for your thoughts? This beauty is covered in Abraham Lincoln's and currently parked on Wayne Street waiting for photo ops!

Posted by Downtown Fort Wayne on Friday, May 22, 2015

Friday, May 22, 2015 post by Downtown Fort Wayne on Facebook:

Penny for your thoughts? This beauty is covered in Abraham Lincoln's and currently parked on Wayne Street waiting for photo ops!

What's your ride? A 1949 "Penny " Cadillac May 25, 2015 The News-Sentinel on YouTube.
Theresa and Larry Thompson talk about their custom ride. [ 38,295 pennies ]

Monday, June 15, 2015 post by Penny Car on Facebook:

Penny driving over MLK bridge after visiting Promenade Park, Fort Wayne is a wonderful place to live!

Posted by Penny Car on Saturday, August 10, 2019

Saturday, August 10, 2019 post by Penny Car on Facebook:

[ "Penny" is a 1949 Cadillac Series 61 completely covered in pennies- 38,295 to be exact! ]

Penny driving over MLK bridge after visiting Promenade Park, Fort Wayne is a wonderful place to live!

A different kind of paint job: Family covers car in more than 38,000 pennies — SEE IT Contributed Content August 14, 2014, UPDATED: January 9, 2019 New York Daily News

The FRA has a BLOCKED CROSSING website where you can report a train blocking a crossing for more than 10 minutes. Report a blocked crossing at https://www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings/

Posted by Indiana Department of Transportation on Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 post by the Indiana Department of Transportation on Facebook:

The FRA has a BLOCKED CROSSING website where you can report a train blocking a crossing for more than 10 minutes. Report a blocked crossing at PUBLIC BLOCKED CROSSING INCIDENT REPORTER

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Report: Federal Law Preempts State Crossing Reg, U.S. Solicitor Tells U.S. Supreme Court Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor November 29, 2023 Railway Age

September 5, 2023 post by Smithsonian Magazine on Facebook:

Roads are both logistical essentials and cultural artifacts. They epitomize freedom—​the “architecture of our restlessness,” per Rebecca Solnit, the “two lanes [that] take us anywhere,” per Bruce Springsteen.

How Roads Have Transformed the Natural World A brief history of road ecology, the scientific discipline that is helping us understand our impact on the environment and how to diminish it

If you think modern roads are bad!

November 22, 2013 post by Unique Cars and Parts on Facebook:

Maybe there is some truth in the saying, "they don't make 'em like they used to". Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Unique Cars and Parts

January 1, 2023 post by Three Rivers Active Streets on Facebook:

Would you like to see new trails created that follow existing rail and electrical transmission rights-of-way (marked in black on this map)? Would you find any of these particular routes useful?

America's Rails-with-Trails Report A Resource for Planners, Agencies and Advocates on Trails Along Active Railroad Corridors

Trails and Utilities

Fort Wayne Trails Activetranspfw

February 7, 2024 post by the Indiana Department of Transportation: Northeast on Facebook:

It's fair to say that nobody likes a pothole. But, they happen, and below is an explanation of why they form. We've got teams ready to help fill and prevent them when they do pop up. Help us out by reporting them at INDOT4U.com!

Would you be interested in helping to map the heat of our neighborhoods this summer? Fort Wayne Neighborhoods

Posted by Three Rivers Active Streets on Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 post by Three Rivers Active Streets on Facebook:

Would you be interested in helping to map the heat of our neighborhoods this summer?

NOAA Urban Heat Island Mapping 2024 Campaign 

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