Harrison Square - Fort Wayne, Indiana's Downtown Revitalization Project

The city of Fort Wayne has recently announced a revitalization downtown project that will change the face of the downtown area as it has been known. This vision has been named Harrison Square.

Forty years ago the downtown area had people traffic galore. Not because we had a baseball diamond in the middle of it, or because a condominium area sat on the side of it. The crossing of Calhoun and Wayne Street housed an Azar's restaurant, and a Murphy's Department store. The bus stops ran along Calhoun Street where transfers took place to other sides of the city. There were several other department stores in the area such as L.S, Ayres. A Hook's Drug Store was located alongside Wayne Street. A newspaper stand was located across the street from Azars, where passerby stopped to get the news of the day.

This was all a different time -another era! Malls had just started to become a part of the scenery. People congregated to the downtown areas because that is where the business and shopping action took place. Parking was not that big of a problem - because the buses ran downtown and people really did not make the trip unless it was a necessity.

Mayor Graham Richards and the companies that want to change the area are going to do what they want to do with the area. Martin Luther King Montessori Preschool has already been bought for 1.5 million dollars. The interim director, Mary Mussom, said she wants the school to "not be out in left field when the building begins"! Soon, the Fort Wayne downtown will be an area of consternation, noise, and building crews.

And it's about damn time! It is exhilarating to see blogs being written, press releases being sent out, and yes, even grumpy people condemning the event!! That is all a part of change and creation.

This bold project is the most exciting event to have happened in this old town in a long time. We need it! Fort Wayne has to start to come up for air and look for new and stimulating ways to bring our city forward. Yes, there was a time when the city took on a life of its own. That was because the city of Fort Wayne, forty years ago was a part of the 1960's. Our technology, business, and transportation was current to its times. That has stopped in the last decade and we must move ahead. Let's pass the torch!