The Fort Wayne Bottling Works Building on Hake Block along Wells Street will soon become a local historic district. The Fort Wayne Bottling Works on Hake Block – which sits across Wells Street from the Fort Wayne-Allen County Police and Fire Memorial – was built in 1884 and 1885 as a brick commercial building. 2024 owner James Markey statements: it was built on a parallelogram-shaped block. It has many interesting angles and was built the same year as the Wells Street Bridge and made with the same limestone and materials used for the foundations. The Hake Block was built by Frank Hake, who lived in the building with his family after immigrating to Fort Wayne from Germany. Hake operated his beer factory – Fort Wayne Bottling Works – in the building before it was converted into other uses, including a hotel. He died in 1894. The upstairs of the building used to be “Hake’s Hall,” which hosted various meetings and concerts. From the mid-1880s to the early 1900s, the second floor served as the meeting place for a local political party, the Ninth Ward Democrats.
It's the THIRD installment of FUN FACT FRIDAY where we take you back in time to learn some history about some of your favorite buildings in Fort Wayne!
Today, 1441 Wells Street! This building, located within the famous Historic Wells Street Corridor, was built in 1900 and soon after was home to the Palace Theatre. In 1917, the name was changed to the Wells Theatre, which opened on April 10th of that year and boasted 275 seats.
In 1920, ownership of the Wells Theatre changed hands to Alfred Borkenstein, who announced that the building would be extensively remodeled.
Throughout the next few decades, the Wells Theatre continued its business providing entertainment to the people of Fort Wayne, but it unfortunately closed in the 1950s.
Much later, 1441 Wells Street was home to Koehlinger Kruse Security as an office, and then was transformed into warehouse space.
The Miller’s Drug Store Building c. 1910/1968, 2135 Wells Street, is a good example of a nearly unaltered 20th Century Commercial style building. Now home to Moring Floral, it’s not necessarily architecturally notable but is important because it is relatively unaltered and an asset to the community. Few of these neighborhood retail stores are still standing as modern commercial districts and neighborhoods have surrounded them. The building has rectangular massing, variegated yellow brick walls, original wood display windows and 3/4 glazed door. The building has an interesting retail background. In 1927 the building was a Piggly Wiggly Store, but by 1930 the Miller Family had turned it into a drugstore. It remained a drugstore until 2015 and is currently the Moring Florist Shop. ARCH is proud to present this edition of Throwback Thursday, part of its work as the historic preservation organization serving the greater Fort Wayne area, made possible by ARCH members and donors. Thank you.
FACT
This building, located within the famous Historic Wells Street Corridor, was built in 1900 and soon after was home to the Palace Theatre.
In 1917, the name was changed to the Wells Theatre, which opened on April 10th of that year and boasted 275 seats.
to the people of Fort Wayne, but it unfortunately closed in the 1950s.
as an office, and then was transformed into warehouse space.
Big Eyed Fish,
Hyde Brothers, Booksellers,
and Klemm's On Wells!
