Fort Wayne in Allen County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Early Effort To Build A Park
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 30, 2008
1. Early Effort To Build A Park Marker
Inscription.
Early Effort To Build A Park. . Around the turn of the century, the nationwide “City Beautiful” movement found local expression through the efforts of Charles Mulford Robinson and nationally known landscape architect George Kessler. Seeking to reclaim the natural beauty of our rivers, Mr. Kessler incorporated them into a sweeping plan of riverside drives and parks that would bring the Indiana landscape into the heart of the city. Proposed in a report presented to the City's Park Board just days before the devastating flood of 1913, the plan was permanently delayed by the advent of World War I. Despite the lesson of the 1913 flood, no further efforts at natural reclamation of this site were seen until 1929. In that year, Robert B. Hanna, acting as a consultant to the City Plan Commission, published a vision for “A Great River Park.” This park would extend, in his words, “up and down the St. Joseph, St. Mary's, and Maumee Rivers, for many miles within and beyond the city, including the development...of the region about the confluence of the rivers and known in history as the ‘Gateway to the West’.” Central to his vision was the scenic landscaping of the site on which we stand. Eighty years previously this land had been owned by his grandfather, Samuel Hanna; seventy years later, his dream would be realized by the generation of his grandsons.
Around the turn of the century, the nationwide “City Beautiful” movement found local expression through the efforts of Charles Mulford Robinson and nationally known landscape architect George Kessler. Seeking to reclaim the natural beauty of our rivers, Mr. Kessler incorporated them into a sweeping plan of riverside drives and parks that would bring the Indiana landscape into the heart of the city. Proposed in a report presented to the City's Park Board just days before the devastating flood of 1913, the plan was permanently delayed by the advent of World War I. Despite the lesson of the 1913 flood, no further efforts at natural reclamation of this site were seen until 1929. In that year, Robert B. Hanna, acting as a consultant to the City Plan Commission, published a vision for “A Great River Park.” This park would extend, in his words, “up and down the St. Joseph, St. Mary's, and Maumee Rivers, for many miles within and beyond the city, including the development...of the region about the confluence of the rivers and known in history as the ‘Gateway to the West’.” Central to his vision was the scenic landscaping of the site on which we stand. Eighty years previously this land had been owned by his grandfather, Samuel Hanna; seventy years later, his dream would be realized by the generation of his grandsons.
Location. 41° 5.137′ N, 85° 8.352′ W. Marker is in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in Allen County. Marker is one of a series that ring the Great Meadow in Headwaters Park. This marker is about 100 feet east of Clinton Street and about 200 feet NNW of the Fountain Plaza. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 333 S Clinton Street, Fort Wayne IN 46802, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 30, 2008
3. Great Meadow in Headwaters Park
Several markers along path circling the Great Meadow, looking north with Clinton Street on the extreme left and the Hamilton Women Plaza on extreme distant right of photo. Fountain Plaza area is in right foreground.
Photographed By Craig Doda, May 1, 2022
4. Early Effort To Build A Park Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on August 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,693 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on March 15, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 2. submitted on August 21, 2023, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. 3. submitted on March 15, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 4. submitted on May 3, 2022, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.