The first Masonic lodge in Indiana was established in the city of Vincennes in 1809. Soon, other lodges were built throughout the state; by the start of the Civil War there 270 of them. By 1870, there were three lodges in Fort Wayne. For 40 years, the hall stood next to a Scottish Rite Cathedral, which was built in 1924. It was torn down in 1960 and replaced by the parking lot.&nbsp;

Freemasons Hall was built in 1926 and is one of the city's most historic structures.

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At ten stories tall, Freemasons Hall is one of Fort Wayne's most iconic landmarks. Built in 1926, it has been home to the masons, a fraternal order of men who used the building to gather, socialize, and form friendships. Local architect Charles R. Weatherhogg designed the stately building in the Classical Revival style. As such, the building features numerous elements of this style, most notably the five-story tall Ionic columns on the front facade. The building was erected in 1926 and is available to rent for weddings and other events. Available spaces include the ballroom, which features a mezzanine, an auditorium, and a social room. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Freemasons Hall

This short walk through Fort Wayne begins at the site of the original fort which was constructed in 1815. After touring the replica of Fort Wayne, residents and visitors will be led to the John Brown Stone Warehouse, Fort Wayne's oldest commercial building. The tour continues on to the Allen County Courthouse and other landmarks such as the statue of Major General Anthony Wayne, the McCulloch-Weatherhogg Double House, Freemasons Hall, and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The tour also includes several museums such as the History Center in the former City Hall building and the African/African American Historical Society Museum. Be sure to also visit the Firefighters Museum a few blocks west of this tour and Baker Street Station. 

The first Fort Wayne was built in October 1794. It is named after Major General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who led the American force that had recently defeated a confederation of Native American tribes and a contingent of British soldiers at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, which occurred on August 20th near Toledo, Ohio. At the time, there was a Native American settlement in what is now the city of Fort Wayne. It&nbsp;was abandoned following the battle and Wayne ordered a fort to be built there to establish a permanent American presence in the region. It appears that it was located at the intersection of Clay and Berry Streets. During the War of 1812 (1812-1815), Native American forces besieged the fort from September 5-12. Despite their best efforts, they failed to capture the fort and retreated on the 12th. That same day, Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison, who would become the 9th President of the United States, arrived with a large relief force and officially ending the siege. The fort remained garrisoned until 1819 as it was no longer needed.&nbsp; <div>Historic Fort Wayne was originally established in 1964 and opened the site in 1976. After disbanding in 1989, then it reformed again, this time as a volunteer organization in 2004.</div>

The Old Fort is a historic site featuring a replica of Fort Wayne, which was built in 1815 and the third fort that protected and secured this strategic area from Native American tribes. The site is a public park so anyone can visit at any time. Historic Fort Wayne operates the site, offering a variety of educational, interactive programming year round. The fort consists of several structures: the commander's quarters, a hospital, blockhouses, the main gate/enlisted quarters, and the officer's quarters. There is also a complex of structures that comprise a village where a Blacksmith shop, woodworker shop, bakery, and homes and shops of Indian traders. A modern building has restrooms and meeting space. Old Fort volunteers dress up in period clothing and perform various demonstrations, such as woodcarving. 

The Old Fort

Brown sold the building in 1862 to another merchant, Henry Drover, who continued to use it as a warehouse. The building was associated with the canal until 1881 when the canal ceased operating (it could no longer compete with railroads). The&nbsp;New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company bought it in 1885. The railroad deeded the building to&nbsp;the city in 1971. A local preservation group restored it in 1976 then the organization, what is now called Arts United, moved in the next year. Arts United remained here until 2011 and the building has been unused since then.

This historic stone building is Fort Wayne's oldest commercial building still standing and the last in the city associated with the Wabash & Erie Canal. Stonemason and building supplies merchant John Brown constructed it in 1852. A native of Scotland, Brown used it as his warehouse and it was located a mere 50 feet from the canal and the towpath (the path that runs alongside a canal on which horses and mules pulled boats). Currently, it appears that the building is vacant and not being maintained. A historical marker is affixed on next to the front doors and another marker is located just a few feet away.

John Brown Stone Warehouse

After the war, Wayne moved to Georgia where he was awarded land for his service. However, in 1792 he was called back to military duty to lead the army in the Northwest Territory against a confederation comprised of Native American tribes—who were fighting against settlers from moving into their lands—and their British allies. Wayne successfully defeated them at the Battle of Fallen of Timbers near Toledo, Ohio, on August 20, 1794. In the aftermath of the battle, Wayne ordered the construction of a fort—Fort Wayne—in an Indian settlement called Kekionga, which was located nearby. It is unclear where the exact location is but a replica of the fort built in 1815 is located across the St. Mary's River at Historic Old Fort.

This statue, which is located in Friemann Square and accompanied by two interpretive signs, depicts prominent colonial-era military officer Major General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) astride a horse. Wayne was a celebrated officer in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving in and leading a number of campaigns against the British. He earned his nickname after he led a nighttime raid called the British at the Battle of Stony Point on July 16, 1779. It was a decisive battle and his men appreciated his boldness (he also possessed a fiery personality). Wayne also led the fledgling U.S. Army in the Northwest Territory in the early 1790s (see below). The statue was sculpted by Chicago artist George E. Ganiere in 1918 and placed in another park before being moved here in 1973.

Major General Anthony Wayne Statue

The museum's origins originate in informal art classes taught by artists&nbsp;J. Ottis Adams and, later, by William Forsyth in 1888. In 1897, these classes were formalized into a school called&nbsp;The Fort Wayne Museum of Art School. Then in 1921, the museum was added when&nbsp;prominent local citizen&nbsp;Theodore Thieme donated a collection of art and his home. The museum moved to another residence that was donated in 1949, giving it its own space for exhibitions and collections. The school and museum parted ways in 1977 and the museum moved into its current location in 1984. The building was expanded in 2010.

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art is the premier art institution in the city. Its mission is to collect, preserve, and display fine and decorative American art. Established in 1921, its collection 1,400 works of art including paintings, photographs, drawings, sculpture, and prints. The Notable artists represented here include Janet Fish, George Rickey, Chuck Close, and Mark di Suvero. Much of this art is on display in the permanent galleries but the museum also presents changing exhibitions throughout the year as well. 

Fort Wayne Museum of Art

The house remained in the McCulloch family until 1957, when Charles' niece Betty Hiscox assumed ownership. The Hiscox family owned it until 1982 when she and her husband died. After a series of owners, the house fell into disrepair. Finally, it was restored in the mid-2000s and&nbsp;the United Way of Allen County moved in in 2006.&nbsp;

Now the headquarters of the United Way of Allen County, the 1881 McCulloch-Weatherhogg Double House is the only and a very fine example of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the county. Fort Wayne architect Thomas J. Tolan designed it for banker Charles McCulloch, whose father Hugh McCulloch served as Secretary of Treasury under Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Chester A. Arthur. It was built in 1881 with east and west house units. The other person associated with the house is Charles Weatherhogg, who took up residence around 1908. He, interestingly, was an architect and made changes to the house including the two-story porch. The house was restored in 2003 and in 2005, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. 


McCulloch-Weatherhogg Double House

The&nbsp;Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society was founded in 1921 and has been located in the Old City Hall since 1980. The Society also manages&nbsp;the historic Barr Street Market, which takes place next&nbsp;to the building and is the oldest public space in Fort Wayne,&nbsp;and the 1827 home of Miami Chief&nbsp;Jean Baptiste de Richardville, which is a separate Clio entry.

Housed in the historic Old Fort Wayne City Hall building, The History Center is a museum dedicated to the history of Fort Wayne and Allen County. It is operated by the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, which is also located in the building. The museum's exhibits showcase the area's history from the Ice Age to today, covering a wide range of subjects including Native American culture and the city's founding and development. Many items and artifacts from the museum's collection are on display in the exhibits. As for the building itself, it was constructed in 1893 and is a fine example of Romanesque architecture. Interesting features include rough-hewn stonework, semi-circular arches, and ornamental roof ridges.

The History Center

Engine House No. 3 was built to accommodate the needs of the growing city. The building became the largest fire station in the city when a two-story wing and a bell tower were built in 1907. Another addition was built in 1909. The station closed in 1972 and was leased to the&nbsp;Fort Wayne Firefighters’ Museum, Inc.&nbsp;in 1975, which began collecting items for the museum. As stated above, the museum opened in 1981 and later assumed ownership of the building 1987.

Housed in the historic Engine House No. 3, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Fort Wayne Firefighters Museum is dedicated to the preserving the legacy of the city's firefighting history. It was established in 1974 and opened on a limited basis in 1981. The station itself was built in 1893 and designed in the Romanesque Revival style. Visitors will learn about the growth and development of the city's fire department and see firefighting equipment, artifacts, hoses, old fire engines, photographs, and even a replica of a fire chief's buggy on display.

Fort Wayne Firefighters Museum

What makes the Embassy so significant to theatre history, in addition to its participation in the vaudeville movement, was how it withstood the changes in theatre throughout the decades. When it was founded, critics raved about the theater’s “sumptuous beauty… its atmosphere of luxurious comfort… [and its] inaugural entertainment program” (DeVoe). The Embassy easily adapted from film and vaudeville performances to feature the integrated musical, which audiences eagerly flocked to see. The integrated musical adapted from vaudeville performances and similar shows to create a fluid narrative throughout the show. The songs in this new style of theatre are “integrated” into the story and are essential to advancing the plot or character development. Among the most popular playwrights to bring notoriety to this style of performance were Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Their shows became characteristic of the “integrated” or “book” musical which flourished during the golden age of theatre in the 1940s. The Embassy Theater achieved significance in the realm of theatre history as it adapted its performances to meet popular trends of the time. In the 1940s, the theater shifted from showing variety and vaudeville performances to producing a greater number of integrated musicals. In the 1940s, it featured popular book musicals such as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. Tragedy struct in 1972, when the beloved theater was faced with demolition lest a significant amount of funds could be raised. The theater had been struggling for the past two decades, as all theaters across America were with the rise in popularity of in-home television. Luckily, a man named Robert Goldstine led a group called the Embassy Theatre Foundation in raising the funds necessary to reopen the theater. After years of hard work and labor, the theater reopened in 1975 for a benefit concert played by organist Buddy Nolan. The theater slowly rose back to prominence up to its major renovation and expansion in 1995. Many were thrilled with the advancements made during the renovation, gushing over the, "new mechanical systems, new structure, [and] new finishes" but noting, "at the same time... it looks like it [did] in 1928 after the big renovations, we brought it back to its historic nature" (Glaros). Today, the theater is still thriving and producing large scale mega musicals to appeal to the present day theatergoers.

The Embassy Theater, formerly referred to as the Emboyd, was a performance venue which opened on May 14, 1928 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This theater became a crown jewel of the city, featuring Black and white films, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Through the 50s and 60s, the theatre struggled to keep its doors open, however in 1972 the theatre was saved by the Embassy Theatre Foundation. Today, the Embassy is still thriving, and it is well attended by patrons for a variety of featured performances. It was recently renovated in 1995 to expand the stage and create seating capacity for up to 2,471 patrons. 

The Embassy Theater

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1860. The parish was established 24 years earlier and the parishioners built the Cathedral of St. Augustine which served the congregation between 1840 and a fire in 1859. In 1860, Rev. Julian Benoit erected a third church and named it the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is also a small museum housed in the basement of the adjacent MacDougal Chapel a few blocks north of Cathedral Square.


Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The church is the congregation's third house of worship built on this site (the second was constructed in 1847). Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the church in 1903, leaving just the foundations and walls intact. The congregation rebuilt it and work was completed in 1905. Over the ensuing decades, the church was renovated and modernized. The congregation also built a school in 1913, which was renovated in 2000.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Home to the second oldest Lutheran congregation in the state, Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church is one of Fort Wayne's most recognizable landmarks. It was built in 1889 and is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in northern Indiana. For this reason, coupled with its association with the congregation, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Its most prominent feature, the tower, reaches a height of 214 feet. The church also features vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. The congregation itself was founded in 1837 and was one of the first of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The congregation has owned this site since 1839 and built its original church at that time. 

Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

The African/African American Historical Society Museum is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of African and African American histories and cultures. It features the largest collection of original African art—over 130 works—in northeast Indiana. These include wooden statues, spears, shields, masks, drums, and other musical instruments. The museum, which is located in an old twenty-room house built in 1890, was founded by its Executive Director Dr. John Aden. The first floor contains the art and the other rooms are dedicated to specific topics including sports, "firsts" in the community (i.e. the first Black men and women police officers), and accomplished local African American figures. The museum was founded in 1999.

History of Fort Wayne, Indiana Walking Tour

Freemasons Hall

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information