Some new photos from Fort Wayne

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Its been a while since I photographed the "Emoji Chair" that sits in front of Fire Station #10 in Fort Wayne. Since 2017, the firefighters have been changing the face on the chair periodically using magnetic eyes and mouths. I made this photograph of it with a kissing face a couple of days ago.
 
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The old light fixture on this barn casts an unusual shadow. The barn is on Stellhorn Road, between Spanish Trail and Wheelock Road, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
 
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I see a lot of basketball hoops mounted on barns in rural Indiana, but this is the first time that I have seen one on a silo. It is on Irving Road, between Ricker Road and Bruick Road, in rural Allen County, Indiana.


I photographed it last week.
 
Reminiscent of Hoosiers! (The movie, that is.) Well observed, and from a technical standpoint, you managed to have largely avoided "tilt." Well done.
 
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New spring buds grow on the branches of the dogwood tree growing in the front yard of my house. The tree was planted by my grandfather, John Westerfield, when I was in college 20 years ago.


The house I live in used to be my grandparents' house, and it is the house where my mother grew up.
 
Rob-F said:
This is how I feel a theater front ought to look. It makes me want to go in and see the movie! A theater like this ought to be up and running.
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It was a neat place to go, and the lobby was very opulent. It sat empty for 20 yrs before it was reopened. They don't show movies there anymore though, its a music venue now.
 
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This is the former fire station on Line Street in the small town of Churubusco, Indiana. It is now home to the Churubusco Utilities office. Churubusco has a newer fire station located on the northwest side of the town.
 
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A few days ago, around 9:30 in the morning, I stopped to photograph a building on Wells Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I parked my car on the street across from the place I wanted to photograph, and walked to the other side of my car to get my camera bag. On the sidewalk next to my car was this broken, melted ice cream cone!


It can't have been there long, and it seemed rather early to have ice cream; but whoever had it must have agreed, since it was thrown down on the sidewalk!
 
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This old garage is on Washington Street, between Pleasant Street and Mill Street, in the small town of Churubusco, Indiana.


It has siding made from asphalt shingles; and it has a basketball hoop over the doors.


I'm still working through my huge backlog of images I've shot but not gotten edited. This one is from 2018.
 
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American Legion Post 377 is located on Main Street (State Road 101) in the small town of Woodburn, Indiana.


The American Legion is a social club and political lobbying group for American war veterans. Nearly every small town in the American Midwest has a Legion post; and most of them are plain, unadorned buildings like this one.
 
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One Hour Cleaners is a dry cleaning shop on Washington Street, north of the Lincoln Highway, in the small town of Van Wert, Ohio. I photographed it in February, last year.
 
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The former Home Guards of America building on Main Street in the small town of Van Wert, Ohio.


The Home Guards of America was a Fraternal Benefits Society founded in Van Wert in 1899 by Dr. George Eblen. The organization later merged with a company called the American Insurance Union, which went bankrupt and folded in 1934, during the Great Depression.


The Home Guards Temple was built in 1905 at a cost of $75,000. After the organization closed down, the building was used for many years as a clothing factory. The Van Wert Overall Company made denim jeans, bib-overalls, and jackets there. The building has been vacant since the early 1980s and has deteriorated to the point that it is in danger of being demolished by the government of Van Wert.


I photographed it at the beginning of 2019.
 
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Down On Main Street Bar And Grill is located on Main Street (US-35) in the small town of Greentown, Indiana. A typical small town Indiana tavern, with neon beer signs in the window.


I found it interesting that the bench on the sidewalk in front of the building was donated by Monsanto, the big agribusiness company best known as the manufacturer of Roundup, a herbicide used by farmers to control weeds in their fields.


I photographed it last year.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
The former Home Guards of America building on Main Street in the small town of Van Wert, Ohio.

The Home Guards of America was a Fraternal Benefits Society founded in Van Wert in 1899 by Dr. George Eblen. The organization later merged with a company called the American Insurance Union, which went bankrupt and folded in 1934, during the Great Depression.

The Home Guards Temple was built in 1905 at a cost of $75,000. After the organization closed down, the building was used for many years as a clothing factory. The Van Wert Overall Company made denim jeans, bib-overalls, and jackets there. The building has been vacant since the early 1980s and has deteriorated to the point that it is in danger of being demolished by the government of Van Wert.

I photographed it at the beginning of 2019.
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Chris, great shot as usual, but what really grabbed me was the comprehensive history behind the image. Fascinating!

In Yokohama when they demolish a historical building they’ll often save the facade or some other feature of the building like a domed roof or stone columns or whatever feature that makes it historically recognizable and then incorporates that part into the new building construction. By doing this the city makes progressive steps forward while maintaining its original and historical charm.

Just thought I’d share that.

All the best,
Mike
 
Yokosuka_Mike said:
Chris, great shot as usual, but what really grabbed me was the comprehensive history behind the image. Fascinating!

In Yokohama when they demolish a historical building they’ll often save the facade or some other feature of the building like a domed roof or stone columns or whatever feature that makes it historically recognizable and then incorporates that part into the new building construction. By doing this the city makes progressive steps forward while maintaining its original and historical charm.

Just thought I’d share that.

All the best,
Mike
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Thanks, Mike. I'm telling the stories of the places I visit through my photographs and through writing. I think of myself as a visual historian, and I love researching the places I find. Some places are 'forgotten,' meaning I can find little or no historical record; all I have is a building.

I also photograph a lot of interesting people and also businesses that are still in operation, and their stories are important to preserve too. Ordinary people like the ones I meet in my journey are often very interesting, and their stories should be preserved. Historians usually ignore such people; they don't "make history" the way that politicians, military commanders, rich men and celebrities do.
 
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