Allen County, Indiana Genealogy

Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County: Children's Dept., exterior, temporary quarters 1965-1968, 222 West Berry Street, plus Phonograph Room, 220 West Berry, Odd Fellows Harmony Lodge No. 19, Swingin' Gate Teen Club. News Sentinel, 13 April 1968 in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

Fort Wayne residents of a certain age (Ok Boomers, I'm looking at you) will remember The Swingin' Gate at 224 West Berry...

Posted by Bea Jonas on Monday, June 24, 2024

Monday, June 24, 2024 post by Bea Jonas on Facebook:

Included an Atlanta Journal Constitution, Saturday April 29, 1967 newspaper article mentioning this was a service wire article leading to searching the Newspapers.com finding more newspaper articles shown below. Comments included an image of a Local ad for The Who's appearance at Fort Wayne's The Swingin' Gate in November 1967.

The post was shared June 24, 2024 on Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne Private Facebook Group generating almost 100 comments the first day.

June 24, 2024 photo by John R. Scheele who has the front door.

June 24, 2024 photo of The Who ticket stub Friday, November 24, 1967 by John R. Scheele.

November 1967 - The Who at the Swingin' Gate by Garry Bruce posted June 25, 2024 in a comment by Dave Cox to the Facebook post.

1. On a Friday, November 24, 1967 the soon-to-be world famous rock band The Who played in Fort Wayne at the Swingin' Gate Teen Country Club, 224 West Berry Street.
2. November 24, 1967 The Swinging Gate, Fort Wayne, IN, US on the official Who's Previous Gigs - 1967 web page.
3. The address is from a Fort Wayne Sentinel Thursday, May 4, 1967 advertisement posted for the May 7th, 1967 appearance of the Electric Prunes at the Swinging Gate copied from The Electric Prunes Concerts & Performances web site.
4. Before the show of the 24th at The Swinging Gate in Fort Wayne, Indiana The Who go to local booking agent Linda Wren's home for Thanksgiving dinner. Copied from November 1967 on The Who This Month web site.
5. Rock n’ roll stories from Fort Wayne’s past Big names. Big events. Brushes with fame… by Michael Summers published February 6, 2011 on the Fort Wayne Reader.
6. The Boys Decision was the warm-up band. Copied from a Sunday, June 9, 2013 post The Boys Decisions - 1967 Ft. Wayne with a band photo and advertisement for their Swingin' Gate appearance on the Indiana-bands-60s blog.
7. Several Comments were posted to a discussion of this concert on November 24, 2017 on The Who Official Facebook page.
8. The date Fri, 24 November 1967 was posted on The Who Concert Guide, and with the Electric Prunes May concert date is listed on setlist.fm.
9. June 8, 2022 post on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

December 10, 2023 post by Psychedelic Lounge on Facebook:

The Who at the Swinging Gate Teen Club, Ft. Wayne, Indiana 1967

[ additional photos in comments to original post ]

Newspaper Articles

1967 - Honor Student to Open Teen-Age Club - Swingin' Gate

Article from Apr 16, 1967 The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Indiana) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - Honor Student to Open Teen-Age Club - Swingin' Gate The South Bend Tribune, South Bend, Indiana, Sunday, April 16, 1967, Page 33`

1967 - Youths Run A Country Club - Swingin' Gate

Article from May 31, 1967 The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - Youths Run A Country Club - Swingin' Gate The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, Wednesday, May 31, 1967, Page 23.

Teens in Fort Wayne, Ind., didn't have a place to call their own, and Stuart Block decided to do something about it.

The result is Block's new Swingin' Gate-the first, country club run exclusively by and for its teen-age members. The Swingin' Gate opened early in May and has already been pronounced a success by even the town's conservative citizens.

As for teens themselves, here's what member Pam Ash-ton says: "The club is great because it offers the kids something to do besides dance."

And 19-year-old Paul Austin, who drove down to the opening from Detroit, says: "I hope Detroit gets a place like this soon. Parents don't realize it, but kids spend $5 to $10 a week on sodas and food alone.

1967 - Fort Wayne's 'Swingin' Gate' Big Success - $115,000 Night Club for Teens

Article from Jun 22, 1967 The Waco Times-Herald (Waco, Texas) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - Fort Wayne's 'Swingin' Gate' Big Success - $115,000 Night Club for Teens The Waco Times-Herald, Waco, Texas, Thursday, June 22, 1967, Page 17

1967 - The Teen Nightclubs - They're Big in Small Towns

Article from Jul 1, 1967 The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - The Teen Nightclubs - They're Big in Small Towns The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, New Jersey, Saturday, July 1, 1967, Page 1

1967 - Teen continued The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, New Jersey, Saturday, July 1, 1967, Page 9

1967 - 'Swingin' Gate' Caters Only to the Young - Teen Country Club Offers 'Total Recreation'

Article from Jul 3, 1967 The Columbia Record (Columbia, South Carolina) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - 'Swingin' Gate' Caters Only to the Young - Teen Country Club Offers 'Total Recreation' The Columbia Record, Columbia, South Carolina, Monday, July 3, 1967, Page 10

1967 - Where the Action is-III - No-Booze Teen Clubs Change After-Dark Picture - Swingin' Gate

Article from Jul 8, 1967 The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, Virginia) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - Where the Action is-III - No-Booze Teen Clubs Change After-Dark Picture - Swingin' Gate The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Virginia, Saturday, July 8, 1967, Page 16

1967 - Total Environment Clubs Fun for Teens and Adults - Swingin' Gate

Article from Oct 15, 1967 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) 1967, Swingin' gate, Fort wayne, Indiana

1967 - Total Environment Clubs Fun for Teens and Adults - Swingin' Gate The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, Sunday, October 15, 1967, Page 26

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