One Summit Square 1980 - 2008
Return to Fort Wayne IndexAll Photographs Copyright © 2004 - 2008 by Robert E. Pence 1980
One Summit Square, 442 feet tall, is Indiana's tallest reinforced concrete building.
It was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates and completed
in 1982. The initial proposal and renderings showed a gleaming tower cladded
with mirrored tiles, but construction delays put the owner in a bind to meet occupancy
dates in time to keep the mortgage rate locked in. Or at least that was the explanation
given to the public. The mirrored tiles went by the wayside. When initially completed
its surfaces were raw concrete. Because of leakage problems the concrete was
sealed with a gray stucco-like material in the 1990s. One Summit Square was erected on the site occupied until about 1960 by
Wolf & Dessauer, a locally-owned department store that stood on the northeast
corner at Washington & Calhoun Streets. The old 5-story W&D building was
where I first experienced revolving doors and escalators. The lighted Santa that graces the north wall of the National City Building and the
wreath that overlooks the plaza on the north side of One Summit Square originally
were displayed on the W&D building, and crowds used to gather on the sidewalks
to marvel at the animated window displays.
Windy Morning
People who haven't experienced the summer straight-line winds that occur rather often in Fort Waynehave no comprehension of how destructive they can be. This crane was being used to hoist concrete during construction
of One Summit Square. As July arrived, I commented to the facilities engineering manager in the factory where I then
worked that I was surprised the contractor didn't anchor the crane when it wasn't being used, by running a line out from
the boom and hooking it onto a dump truck full of stone parked a block or so to the west. His response was that those
s cranes are so heavy, and their booms so porous, that it "wouldn't be possible for wind to upset one. They could stand
through a hurricane with no problem." About two days after that conversation, I awoke in the morning to wind that was causing my house to vibrate. I couldn't
see out the bedroom windows because of the intensity of the rain and the leaves that were plastered against the window
screens. I reached over and turned on my scanner to see if I should head for the basement or just get under the bed right
away. The first thing I heard was the voice of a policeman talking to the dispatcher. It went something like, "It's swaying
pretty bad. Oh! There it goes!" That was followed immediately by a clattering crash. The wind episode probably didn't
last five minutes. Back at work, I thought better of mentioning the event, and the facilities engineering manager didn't bring it up.
After a boom has been damaged like this one, it can never be repaired andmade safe. The only thing to do with it is cut it up. Even that is dangerous work,
because it's hard to tell what's under stress and which way it might fly, or what
might collapse or shift when a cut is made.
Both tower cranes stood fast through the wind.
Old Glory in tatters, shredded by the wind probably in less than two minutes.That should give some idea what kind of velocity was involved.
A view looking south from the 26th floor of the National City Building showing the construction of One Summit Square.The cleared block in the center of the photo is where the Hilton Hotel and eastern part of Grand Wayne Center stand now.
Looking across the site of the Hilton Hotel and Grand Wayne Center, 1981. One Summit Square is at the extremeright edge of the photo.
