West Central (Melting) Snow

February 12, 2011

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All Photographs Copyright © 2011 by Robert E Pence

I took this photo from my front stoop as snow fell densely and winds gusted to 45 mph. That only
lasted for a short while, and not for the several hours that had been forecast.

My patio. After my photo tour I dug out my trash cart and recycling bin and parked them in front of the garage where they'd be easer to use.

Views north and east from my corner.

Saint Marys River, looking toward Swinney Park across the street from my house.

River Greenway, diligently kept plowed by the parks department.

My street has been closed since last August and will remain that way for a while, pending
completion of riverbank and greenway work.

These houses were built by a businessman as a pair in 1919, the one on the left for him and his wife and the one on the right for their daughters.

Looking east on Wayne Street from Thieme Drive. The westenmost couple of blocks of Wayne
Street, between Thieme Drive and College Street, were developed beginning in 1911 after being
vacated by Fort Wayne College, the predecessor of Taylor University. Mostly these photos of Wayne
Street will be of houses on the north side of the street, because the snow and low southern sun
create harsh nearly-unmanageable backlighting in the opposite direction.

This home was built in 1911 by the Latz Family, then owners of Wolf and Dessauer, the Fort Wayne area's premier department store. They lived here
until 1937, I believe, when they built a palatial mansion on Covington Road. Since then the house has contained five apartments. Between 1967 and
1971 I lived in an upstairs apartment that ran the length of the right side of the house. I was told that the drive-out basement garage on the left side
originally accomodated an electric automobile.

Designed by architects Wing & Mahurin, this house was built in 1905 for Paul B. Mossman, then president of Mossman-Yarnelle, a heavy hardware
distributor. Mossman donated to house to the city in 1958, and from then until 1983 it housed the Fort Wayne Art Museum.
Now it is a private residence and art gallery.

Here's what I wrote originally:
"This house was built built in 1886 and was owned after 1910 by Winfield S. Bash, a salesman for Mayflower Mills. The third story of the tower was added
sometime prior to Mr. Bash's ownership, and the current front porch dates to around 1920."

Here's an update and a historic photo, courtesy of Don Orban, preservation planner for the city:
"The photo of 1128 W. Wayne is from a series of folios called “Fort Wayne Illustrated” published in 1889. Notice the name under the photo. This house was later owned by George H. Van Arnam
(Van Arnam Manufacturing – plumbing supplies). In the “Fort Wayne – With Might and Main” booklet published in 1911, the house is identified with Van Arnam’s name and shows the third floor on the tower.
At this point it’s purely guess work as to whether Bash made the additions toward the end of his ownership or Van Arnam at the start of his. My guess would be with Van Arnam."

Here's what I wrote originially:
"Right now I don't have any history on this house. I've seen old photos of it with all its original features including a wrap-around Queen Anne
porch, and without the frame addition on the back. In my earliest memory (1960s) it was a doctor's office (I think), and I believe it may have
been vacant for a while. The current owners appear to be doing a lot of work, and they've attended to important structural items like window
repair and replacement, probably quite expensive considering that several are curved."

Here's some updated info and historic photo from Don Orban:
"The other image is a scan from a reprint of a booklet called “Art Souvenir of the Fort Wayne Gazette 1894”. It shows the house at 1030
W. Wayne as the R.W.T DeWald house. Robert W.T. DeWald was the oldest son of George DeWald (George Dewald & Co. Dry Goods).
He started working for his father in 1876 at age 15 and eventually became president. He married in 1889 and built the house around 1893.
(info from the 2010 West Central Tour booklet)"

Note the Italianate house in the background of the historic photo. That's the Fleming house. I have vague memories of it from about 1960.
It was razed in the 1960s to create a parking lot.

This Queen Anne house is one of the few surviving wood-framed houses designed by Wing & Mahurin. It was built in 1887 for Ronald T. McDonald,
an electric lighting pioneer who founded Jenney Electric Company, a predecessor of the GE Broadway facility. The home later was owned by Myron
Dessauer, a partner in Wolf & Dessauer Department Store.

I lived here for about a year before I bought my first house in 1972. It didn't look that good, then; it was slathered with gray asbestos siding that covered
all the interesting architectural details, and suffered from lots of deferred maintenance. The kitchen floor had about a two-degree list from foundation
settling due to lack of functioning gutters and downspouts. At least if I dropped anything I knew which way it would roll.

Designed by Wing & Mahurin, this house was built in 1885 for successful businessman John Claus Peters. Peters started as a cabinetmaker, later
went into the fine hardwood lumber business, and then incorporated the Horton Washing Machine Company. Horton made the first mechanical
washing machines sold in the area, and by 1924 half the washing machines in the world were supplied by Horton. John C. Peters was the grandfather
of actress and Fort Wayne native Carole Lombard, whose birth name was Jane Alice Peters.

This house was built about 1872 for paint merchant James C. Wilmot, his wife, and their four children.
In recent years it was covered with aluminum siding and had faux-wrought iron porch supports.
Recent restoration has returned it to its cottage-like appearance.

Built pre-1855 for U.S. Congressman (?) Brenton. More information will follow.

Usually a great deal of care goes into my photos, but sometimes a picture just happens.

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