Early Twentieth Century (1900-1949)
The Second City
By 1915, the City of Fort Wayne had reached a population of almost 75,000 residents, surpassing Evansville by 2,000 residents and thus becoming the second largest city in Indiana, a status it has since retained [46, p. 83]. The city's industries were responsive during the years of World War I, with many factories reconverted to produce armaments and other war supplies [46, p. 84].
Fort Wayne experienced a building boom in the 1920s, which included the addition of structures such as the iconic Embassy Theatre, built by businessman W. Clyde Quimby, who owned a number of movie houses in the city [35, p. 1]. The city was also experiencing an industrial boom. From 1900 to 1930, the city's industrial output grew by 747 percent, and total employment increased from 18,000 to 48,000 [46, p. 89]. This new growth made it imperative to upgrade the city's infrastructure. Under Mayor Hosey, the Three Rivers Pumping and Filtration Station was constructed and proved immensely popular with residents who no longer needed to rely on well water [46, p. 87]. The innovation and growth of this period "culminated in 1929, when Lincoln National Bank broke ground for a new office building in what would become the city's first skyscraper and a major local landmark" [46, p. 90].
In 1930, most city neighborhoods had their own individual corner grocery stores; according to a historic city directory, there were 268 family-owned grocery stores in the city at the time – of this initial number, only 2 managed to remain open by 1974 [2, p. 299]. There was also an extensive electric trolley system, which began service in 1892 and ceased in 1947, and was replaced by a trolley coach system with lines that all met at one location downtown at Main St. and Calhoun St. known as “Transfer Corner” [2, p. 288-443]. |
Downtown Skyline in the Early 20th Century
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Three Rivers Pumping Station & Columbia Ave. Bridge in 1949
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