Some new photos from Fort Wayne

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This house is on the north side of Lower Huntington Road, just east of Coverdale Road, in rural Allen County, Indiana. It is down the road from the House At The End Of The Long Drive that I have photographed many times over the years.

On the day I made this photograph, there was dense fog in the Fort Wayne area from early morning until the evening. I made this photograph in the late afternoon. It is one of several that I made on that beautiful day.

1-21-18

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Another photo of the house from my last post.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This house with a giant American flag painted on the side is on Delaware Avenue, west of Crescent Avenue, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is one of many large old houses in that part of Fort Wayne that have been subdivided into apartments.

The house's owner, Andy Ankenbruck, told me that he painted the flag when he was repainting the house in early 2019.

I also photographed the blue apartment house next to this one.

4-11-19

Update: In February, 2025 I drove past the house and found that the American flag has been covered up with new brown siding.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

This house with a giant American flag painted on the side is on Delaware Avenue, west of Crescent Avenue, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is one of many large old houses in that part of Fort Wayne that have been subdivided into apartments.

The house's owner, Andy Ankenbruck, told me that he painted the flag when he was repainting the house in early 2019.

I also photographed the blue apartment house next to this one.

4-11-19

Update: In February, 2025 I drove past the house and found that the American flag has been covered up with new brown siding.

Brown siding??!! Vigilance! Enemies of the state are everywhere!

 

[dexdog]

This is the abandoned Gilead Township District #3 School on the northwest corner of Snow Prairie Road and Southern Road in rural Branch County, Michigan. Built in 1908, it is unusual in that it has four classrooms. Most small town and rural schoolhouses from that time period were one-room schools. It closed in 1945.

This placed acquired some notoriety in 1990 after a local man named Dennis DePue murdered his wife and dumped her body behind the old schoolhouse. The building was shown on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, which aired a story on the case in hopes that viewers could help police locate DePue.

In 2017, someone set fire to the school, but it was not damaged badly as firefighters reached it quickly. When I photographed it at the end of 2024, there were for sale signs from a real estate agent in front of the building.

12-27-24

I used to know someone in southern Indiana that converted a similar old school building into a house. Ripped out a couple of interior walls and added a couple more in different locations. It was a cool house. Helped that he was an architect!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I used to know someone in southern Indiana that converted a similar old school building into a house. Ripped out a couple of interior walls and added a couple more in different locations. It was a cool house. Helped that he was an architect!

I've seen a lot of schoolhouses that have been converted to houses. There's one down the street from my house; but they were always the small one-room schools, not big ones like this. I think this one would make a gorgeous house. Its too bad it is in the middle of absolute nowhere!

 

[dexdog]

I've seen a lot of schoolhouses that have been converted to houses. There's one down the street from my house; but they were always the small one-room schools, not big ones like this. I think this one would make a gorgeous house. Its too bad it is in the middle of absolute nowhere!

Yeah, these can be really cool spaces if converted properly. My friend even hung a fake bell in the cupola to complete the look.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Markle 66 is a gas station and auto repair shop at the corner of Clark Street (State Road 3) and Morse Street (State Road 116) in Markle, Indiana. Markle is a small town that straddles the border between Wells and Huntington Counties. The mural of an eagle and the American flag on the side of the building next to it says "Pride, Strength, Freedom."

This used to be a Philips 66 gas station, but now it is a Marathon station. Despite changing the brand of gasoline they sell, the business is still called Markle 66.

5-14-24

 

[slpricemd]

I lived a couple of miles from there for 10 years, Marv and Tom were fantastic mechanics, I think they both retired. When I used to take my cars there, there was a group of old retired guys who would meet there every morning and sit in the waiting area and talk and drink coffee. I wonder if they still do that?

 

[sojournerphoto]

Markle 66 is a gas station and auto repair shop at the corner of Clark Street (State Road 3) and Morse Street (State Road 116) in Markle, Indiana. Markle is a small town that straddles the border between Wells and Huntington Counties. The mural of an eagle and the American flag on the side of the building next to it says "Pride, Strength, Freedom."

This used to be a Philips 66 gas station, but now it is a Marathon station. Despite changing the brand of gasoline they sell, the business is still called Markle 66.

5-14-24

Just seen this Chris and it’s lovely. What a sense of place.

Mike

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Just seen this Chris and it’s lovely. What a sense of place.

Mike

Thanks 😺

I lived a couple of miles from there for 10 years, Marv and Tom were fantastic mechanics, I think they both retired. When I used to take my cars there, there was a group of old retired guys who would meet there every morning and sit in the waiting area and talk and drink coffee. I wonder if they still do that?

I don't know, I didn't go inside. I should next time I make it to Markle. I haven't gone out shooting much over the last year and a half; I've been sick a lot and haven't felt up to working much. I'm hoping this year will be better.

 

[slpricemd]

Thanks 😺





I don't know, I didn't go inside. I should next time I make it to Markle. I haven't gone out shooting much over the last year and a half; I've been sick a lot and haven't felt up to working much. I'm hoping this year will be better.

I ended up driving by there yesterday on my way to Blackford High School for my son's track meet. I snapped a pic too, it did not turn out as good as yours! Being from the Fort Wayne area, is there anywhere around here to get film developed other than the usual drug store offerings?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I ended up driving by there yesterday on my way to Blackford High School for my son's track meet. I snapped a pic too, it did not turn out as good as yours! Being from the Fort Wayne area, is there anywhere around here to get film developed other than the usual drug store offerings?

There isn't a single E-6 lab left in Indiana. For C-41, Gene's Camera in South Bend is decent. There is not a single pro-level lab left in the state. Last one folded 15 yrs ago. Do NOT get film developed by Roberts in Indianapolis; they WILL ruin it. The film will be unevenly developed with splotches on the film from poor agitation of the developer because their minilab machine isn't working right and they refuse to have it serviced, claiming it is working fine, It is NOT.

 

[robert blu]

Thanks 😺





I don't know, I didn't go inside. I should next time I make it to Markle. I haven't gone out shooting much over the last year and a half; I've been sick a lot and haven't felt up to working much. I'm hoping this year will be better.

Hi Chris, as always I like both your pictures and the descriptions which are interesting for someone like me living in a different country, on the other side of the ocean. Wish your health will be better soon.

 

[CMur12]

Wishing you a year of better health, Chris!

- Murray

 

[slpricemd]

There isn't a single E-6 lab left in Indiana. For C-41, Gene's Camera in South Bend is decent. There is not a single pro-level lab left in the state. Last one folded 15 yrs ago. Do NOT get film developed by Roberts in Indianapolis; they WILL ruin it. The film will be unevenly developed with splotches on the film from poor agitation of the developer because their minilab machine isn't working right and they refuse to have it serviced, claiming it is working fine, It is NOT.

Thanks for the heads up on Roberts! I grew up in Indy and have been going to that store since I was 13 and bought my first SLR there, in 1970, something. I was planning to try them out but will avoid them for processing based on your recommendation. I am just getting back to film and have been using Walgreens here in FW but hate dealing with the CD's and slow turn around. I would love to hear where you get good results for prints and high res scans.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Thanks for the heads up on Roberts! I grew up in Indy and have been going to that store since I was 13 and bought my first SLR there, in 1970, something. I was planning to try them out but will avoid them for processing based on your recommendation. I am just getting back to film and have been using Walgreens here in FW but hate dealing with the CD's and slow turn around. I would love to hear where you get good results for prints and high res scans.

Film Processing & Scanning | First Roll Free | Mail in & Drop-Off

Mail in or drop off for high-quality film processing and scanning. Get your photos developed with care and fast turnaround. Get your first roll on us!

gelatinlabs.com

This is where I go for color negative processing and scans. I do my own B&W negative and color slide scans, but getting good color is hard with a home scanner. The Noritsu scanner Gelatin Labs uses gives scans with good color that are easy to edit. They are expensive, but they offer 16 bit tiff files with the option of getting raw scans with no correction so you can edit them yourself.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The downtown skyline in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I made this photograph at night looking south from the north side of Promenade Park near the old Wells Street Bridge. Visible are Fort Wayne's four tallest buildings: The Allen County Courthouse, The Lincoln Tower (Indiana's first skyscraper), The PNC Bank Tower (Originally called the Fort Wayne National Bank Building), and the Indiana-Michigan Power Center (Originally called One Summit Square).

3-14-25

 

[slpricemd]

The downtown skyline in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I made this photograph at night looking south from the north side of Promenade Park near the old Wells Street Bridge. Visible are Fort Wayne's four tallest buildings: The Allen County Courthouse, The Lincoln Tower (Indiana's first skyscraper), The PNC Bank Tower (Originally called the Fort Wayne National Bank Building), and the Indiana-Michigan Power Center (Originally called One Summit Square).

3-14-25

Beautiful work! Love the bridge lights.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Beautiful work! Love the bridge lights.

Thanks. They've done a lot to fix up that bridge in recent years. It was built in 1884, and was only wide enough for one lane of automobile traffic to pass at a time. The city closed it in 1982 and built a new bridge a few hundred feet to the west, rerouting Wells Street to pass over the new one. I still remember driving over the old bridge when I was very, very young. I was 7 years old when it closed. It sat abandoned and deteriorating for years. About 10 yrs ago, the city had it analyzed by engineers and repaired so it could be reopened as a pedestrian bridge. They also found old photos and re-created missing decorative elements. Today it is part of the new riverfront park the city built a few yrs ago, and people can rent the bridge for weddings and other events.