Art of the City
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Art
Clint Voris captured artist Robert Landis, self-taught and painting for over a decade, painting the newly remodeled Allen County Public Library in downtown Fort Wayne.
Fourth of July Fireworks
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Events
The public celebration of Independence Day in Fort Wayne will officially begin at noon on Friday at IPFW near the tennis courts. Festivities will include a car show and concerts followed by the Centennial Wireless Fireworks Spectacular at dusk. For more information click here.
Additional information about fireworks displays throughout northeast Indiana can be found at these sites:
4th of July Fireworks Schedule - Indiana’s Newscenter
July 4 Fireworks in the Region - Journal Gazette
Also, if you plan to purchase and use fireworks privately, please review the local laws and regulations governing fireworks usage.
The Waynedale Green Alliance
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Miscellaneous
April Brewster Smythe of the Waynedale Green Alliance is in the process of bringing together interested persons in the Waynedale area to help increase environmental awareness and to promote “green” principles of sustainability.
From the WGA website:
WGA wishes to bring the citizens, businesses, churches, schools, and community organizations of Waynedale together in an effort to ‘go green’. Utilizing projects such as planting trees, pilot programs in area schools and churches, and supplying a series of green links of area members who pledge to instill the following ten principles of greener living in the Waynedale area.
WGA also seeks to provide recognition for those residents, businesses, schools and churches that are ‘going green’ in a series of collaborative efforts.
April recently used our blog’s contact form to enlist our help in this effort and we are pleased to assist by promoting the initiative. I’d suggested that she contact the Mayor’s office to get in touch with the Green Ribbon Commission, but April informed me that the commission has disbanded.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in this initiative, or have suggestions for resources, please leave a comment in this post or visit the Waynedale Green Alliance website for more information on how to contact April directly.
The Ron Venderly Family Bridge
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Miscellaneous
On Monday IPFW held a ground breaking ceremony for a new pedestrian bridge that will cross the St. Joseph river. The bridge will connect IPFW’s main campus with the new Holiday Inn, Memorial Coliseum, and the Hefner Soccer Fields.
According to this article in the News Sentinel, the bridge will costs $2.8 million and is scheduled to be completed next summer. It will be paid for with state and federal tax dollars and a $1 million donation from the Venderly family Foundation.
Renderings Courtesy of IPFW
Between Liberty and Main
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Night Photos
From Disneyland to the Sinclair Lewis novel, everyone has a Main Street. Everett White captures ours with Miss Liberty atop the courthouse keeping watch.
Fort Wayne Film Noir
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Buildings, Guest Photos, Night Photos
This downtown Calhoun Street photo by Eric Fetcho is reminiscent of a Hollywood film set for a typical film noir production. ‘Film Noir’ is generally defined as “a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.”
Some examples for film noir productions include The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity and The Big Sleep.
“So you’re a private detective. I didn’t know they existed, except in books, or else they were greasy little men snooping around hotel corridors.” - Vivian, The Big Sleep
Art of the City
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Art
Nightshift by Eldon Horner is an interior painting of the lobby of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (now Lincoln Financial Group) building on South Harrison being cleaned at night.
One Tank Trips
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Miscellaneous
Cleveland, OH
Photo Source: Robert Pence’s “Thirty Years of Cleveland” collection
FortWayneHomepage.net features a special section titled “One Tank Trips” which recommends vacation destinations that are within short driving distance of Fort Wayne. The list includes recommendations for amusement parks such as Indiana Beach, Cedar Point, and Kings Island. A couple of State Parks (Indiana Dunes and Turkey Run) are also featured on the site along cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Ann Arbor.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH is also mentioned but I’m sure that Robert Pence would agree that Cleveland has much more to offer than just one attraction.
What destinations would you add?
Headwaters to Host Country Concert
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Events
On August 10th downtown Fort Wayne will be filled with the sound of music. Local country radio station K105 FM is sponsoring an outdoor concert at Headwaters Park. Headliner Gary Allan will be joined by James Otto, Luke Bryan, Julianne Hough, and The Lost Trailers.
Gary Allan has been recording albums and performing concerts since 1996 while the other acts are relative newcomers - though readers might recognize dancer-turned-singer Julianne Hough from the ABC hit series Dancing With The Stars.
General admission tickets are available for $10.00 through ticketmaster here.
Photo Source: GAC
Price’s Pride
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Buildings, Transportation
Architect William L. Price designed the Baker Street Station, originally known as the Pennsylvania Station, which opened in 1914.
“The Station attests to Price’s national recognition as a premier Arts and Crafts style architect and stands as a unique representative of Craftsman-style architecture in the City.” - Baker Street Station.com
The photo above was taken by Eric Fetcho.
Bridging Communities
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Transportation
Photo Source: Maplecrest Road Extension Project Presentation
The photograph above shows an aerial view of the Maplecrest/Adams Center Rd. corridor and was featured in a presentation made several years ago by American Consultants Inc. Shortly before noon today the Allen County Council voted in favor of a $25 million construction bond to help finance the proposed Maplecrest Extension. The project will provide a continuous north-south corridor for the east side of Allen County, bridging the communities of New Haven and Fort Wayne.
Regardless of whether someone might be in favor of, or opposed to, this project it is interesting to view the corridor and see the gap that will be filled by the extension.
You can read more about the council meeting and the project through these related articles:
$55 Million Maplecrest Extension Approved
Maplecrest Work May Start in ‘09
Fire In the Sky
Posted by John McGauley | Filed under In the Sky, Sunrise/Sunset
For the past few weeks, the weekend weather around Allen County could be summed up as: blue skies during the day, weird weather in the evening. This weekend was no exception.
The combination of a setting sun and exploding thunderstorm clouds combined to create this sight, visible Saturday evening off of Long Road near the Shordon Estates neighborhood.
Signs of the City
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Blogs/Bloggers, Miscellaneous
Fort Wayne bloggers / photographers Everett White and Eric Fetcho capture some of the ’signs of the city’:
You can find more of their local images at their Flickr sites: Everett at Flickr / Eric at Flickr.
Art of the City
Posted by Joe Taylor | Filed under Art
To me, when it comes to the “Art of the City” series, there is only one thing more interesting than seeing Fort Wayne represented in various art forms - and that is seeing the piece of art being created! When I saw Dan’s photo, I was immediately captivated by the woman sitting at the river’s edge … her art, her day, her story.
“The photo was taken exactly one year ago today [June 19] at the Mayesville entrance to the River Greenway. There were about 6 artists spread along the banks of the Maumee. They were taking a 6 week class in painting for personal enrichment that was sponsored by Fort Wayne Community Schools, I believe.” - Dan, aka dvgphoto at Flickr.
Summer Means Drive-In Restaurants
Posted by Kevin Whaley | Filed under Food
Today is the first day of Summer 2008! When most people think about the warmest season of the year, things like swimming pools, backyard BBQ, fun on the lake, and vacations easily come to mind. For me, drive-in restaurants are right up at the top of the list.
Unfortunately Fort Wayne fails miserably in the “nostalgic drive-in” department (although I highly recommend the “Java Chiller” at Sonic.) However, we do have the good fortune of being surrounded by several options.
If you take a short trip across the state line over to Antwerp, OH you’ll find the A&W Root Beer Stand pictured above. So far this is probably my favorite in the area. The winning combination of great food and good prices keeps me coming back every summer.
Arnold’s Fabulous Fifties drive-in in Decatur is another that quickly comes to mind. There is also Bummie’s located on Highway 1 in Bluffton. There are others scattered around northeast Indiana and we’d like to know if you have a favorite.
