To celebrate National Historic Preservation Month, Fort Wayne is highlighting examples of the beautiful c.1940 to 1975 Mid-Century Modern (MCM) architecture found in Fort Wayne. MCM enthusiasts travel from around the world to visit some of the unique structures and settings found in Fort Wayne. There are also hidden gems that might be in your neighborhood!

Twice a week, through the month of May, we will share stories and photographs along with interesting information about Fort Wayne MCM homes and buildings. We also invite you to share some of your stories and photos!

This celebration is also a great way to spread the word about the upcoming Fort Wayne "Back to the Future: A Mid-Century Modern Home Tour" hosted by Indiana Landmarks on June 7th. The work of Wisconsin architect John Randal McDonald will be showcased on the tour, with two stunning homes he designed in Northeast Fort Wayne, along with other outstanding homes in the City.

The evening of Friday, June 6th, Indiana Landmarks is hosting a pre-tour event at Concordia Theological Seminary. A free presentation offered by Kevin Adkisson, Curator at Michigan’s Cranbrook Institute, will reflect on the impact of father and son architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen on Modern architecture. The Saarinens had unique connections to Fort Wayne. Eero Saarinen designed Concordia Seminary, as well as projects known worldwide, such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Registration is required for the free lecture.

The Saarinens often collaborated with Albert Wermuth, a Fort Wayne general contractor who helped build First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, considered the nation’s first Modernist church design. Separate registration is required for a private tour of the Wermuth House on the evening of June 6th. The home was designed by the Saarinens and completed in 1942.

Full details for both events will be shared once confirmed by organizers. Visit indianalandmarks.org/tours-events for more information.

Fort Wayne has a wealth of Mid-Century Modern homes; however, they tend to be scattered in neighborhoods across the City. Dense, centrally located neighborhoods full of early 20^th Century house styles, like Williams Woodland Park and the Lakeside area, were developed with available transportation modes in mind. At the turn of the 19^th Century the options were mostly to walk or to ride the streetcar.

The Mid-Century Modern (MCM) homes of Fort Wayne were designed for neighborhoods oriented to automotive transportation. Most of these neighborhoods are located in the vicinity of roads that were state and U.S. highways in the period of the 1930s to the 1970s. The automobile led to a less centralized and scattered suburban growth pattern, so to visit these neighborhoods and these striking homes we must usually use our cars. Among the key MCM neighborhoods in Fort Wayne are Woodhurst, Indian Village, and Kirkwood Park. Woodhurst was developed adjacent to the proposed Airport Expressway, Indian Village was located on State Road 1 and 3 (combined), and Kirkwood Park was adjacent to State Road 37.

The Indian Village Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was first developed in 1928, but much of the housing development occurred post-war. It contains numerous examples of MCM homes, mostly built by John Worthman. Woodhurst was developed in the 1950s by Worthman, and he built many of the homes in the neighborhood. Woodhurst is also home to three spectacular MCM places of worship. Kirkwood Park had a development period from about 1938 into the 1960s. Both the Kirkwood Park Historic District and the Woodhurst Historic District are awaiting listing in the National Register, sometime within the next year.

There are great examples of MCM homes that are within conventional neighborhoods. For example, the several Lustron steel prefabricated homes in Fort Wayne. Two are located in the Sherwood-Pettit area, and another near Harrison Hill. It is possible to find outstanding architect-designed MCM homes within neighborhoods of more conservative, conventional housing of the MCM period. The best example is the Hanselmann House, designed by the globally-recognized architect Michael Graves, and completed in 1971.

World War II shattered lives and changed the way we all do things in the United States and around the globe. Governments, manufacturing, transportation (and babies), boomed as a result of the war. Architects, designers, planners, builders, and so forth had all learned to do everything on an epic scale. This was the setting for Urban Renewal programs in the Mid-Twentieth Century. The Cold War was also a factor in encouraging dispersal of necessary government and business functions in case of a nuclear attack.

The most obvious illustration of Urban Renewal in Fort Wayne was the demolition of East Columbia Street, starting in the fall of 1966 (only months after West Columbia became a local historic district). The project removed scores of historic commercial buildings from Calhoun Street east to Clay Street, and from Main Street north to the rail elevation. This dense commercial zone was replaced by the City-County Building (Rousseau Center), Freimann Square, the Arts United Center, the Museum of Art, and Fire House 1. There was a plan for a more extensive arts complex that was not completed.

While we may mourn the loss of so much of the historic commercial fabric and heritage of downtown Fort Wayne, today we have the perspective to view our Mid-Century Modern buildings and public spaces as products of their own time. With perspective, we can appreciate them for what they are in the context of the City’s history and development.

The Rousseau Center (historically the City-County Building) was finished in 1970. The complex was designed by the local firm of Strauss Associates. It is an outstanding example of an architectural style that has become known as Brutalism. While some view this style as a brutal assault on the eyes, “Brutalism” is an extension of the Modern architectural movement. The name is from the French words "bréton brut" or “raw concrete.” Unfinished concrete was often exposed, and massive angular shapes were prominent. Government buildings were often raised on a plaza with the first floor recessed.

Freimann Square was completed in 1972. In 53 years, Freimann has become a well-loved public space. If it weren’t for the redevelopment of the area, the Arts United Center would not have been built. People travel from across the globe to see the raw concrete walls of the Louis Khan-designed theater, now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

If we have the honor of reaching the age of 50, our family and friends (and the AARP) begin to consider us as elders who have reached a milestone of a half-century. We begin to have perspective on what is important, and what might have been a passing fad. The same is true for homes, buildings, landscapes, and the built environment.

As a nation, 50 years provides us with historical perspective on what is significant in our history and our environment. This is why the National Register of Historic Places, and the Fort Wayne Historic Preservation and Protection Ordinance, consider that 50 years must pass for a property to potentially become historic. There is also the possibility of listing if a property has “exceptional significance.”

The National Register was created in 1966, and it provides the criteria for consideration of whether a property or district is “historic” or simply “old, but not historic.” The National Register criteria provides a framework for evaluation in four areas; significance in history, association with a significant person, architecture or design, and in archaeology.

With the listing of the Arts United Center on the National Register, completed in 1973, Fort Wayne now has a listed building that was built after the National Register was created! It has tremendous architectural significance as the work of the internationally significant architect, Louis Kahn. People visit Fort Wayne from across the globe to experience the genius of the building.

Though the Arts United Center is a masterpiece of Modern architecture (with a touch of the Brutalist style) it needs updates to serve our needs of today. It is an example of how buildings must continue to contribute to the needs of the community, or they may be lost.

Fort Wayne’s Mid-Century Modern (MCM) gems are scattered throughout the city, and they are mainly private homes. They have been (or will be) updated to the meet the needs of contemporary lifestyles, but with thoughtful changes they will keep their historic character. Examples are the Kirkwood Park and Woodhurst neighborhoods. Both of these areas are currently under consideration to be Fort Wayne’s newest historic districts, and both were platted and built primarily after 1940 and into the 1970s.

In 2025 Fort Wayne’s Division of Community Development and the Fort Wayne Historic Preservation Commission are celebrating 60 years of commitment by the community to Preservation of our heritage, and the places and buildings that reflect the City’s long history.

In 1964, Mayor Harold Zeis appointed the “Mayor’s Commission on the Preservation and Restoration of Historical Landmarks,” with Joan White as chairwoman. In 1965 the “Mayor’s Commission” worked with Mayor Zeis and Fort Wayne City Council to create the first ordinance “providing for the creation of Historical Districts” in the state of Indiana. The initial goal was to protect The Landing from demolition. Many blocks of the oldest downtown buildings were planned for demolition for redevelopment or parking lots. The preservation ordinance was signed by Mayor Zeis on September 13, 1965. Together, The Landing and the Chief Richardville House became Fort Wayne’s first local historic districts, in time to celebrate the Indiana Sesquicentennial in 1966.

In the next few years Joan White led a revival of The Landing as a destination. Buildings were restored and the streetscape was enhanced. The new focus on W. Columbia Street as the core of historic Fort Wayne led to the first Three Rivers Festival in 1969, with 60 events held on Columbia Street. Although sadly the Festival is memory, The Landing is better than ever as a destination, and the Chief Richardville House has been restored and recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

During the era of the U.S. Bicentennial in the 1970s more individual buildings were recognized as historic, such as the Embassy Theater and the Firefighter’s Museum. In 1984 an updated Preservation ordinance was approved, creating the Fort Wayne Historic Preservation Review Board. This was a prelude to creation of multi-property historic districts, such as West Central in 1984-1985, Williams Woodland Park in 1985, and dozens of single-site historic districts. The Preservation ordinance was updated again in 2008, creating today’s Fort Wayne Historic Preservation Commission.

In the past 60 years the City has recognized 90 multi-property (such as The Landing) or single-site (such as the Chief Richardville House) locations as local historic districts. Each of these listings is protected from alterations that are “subject to public view” that would harm the historic character of the property. This protection of the historic character yields benefits to the property, its neighbors, and to property values in neighborhoods.