Some new photos from Fort Wayne

9-21-23-mansplace1.jpg


This old house is on Spy Run Avenue, just north of Anderson Avenue, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There is an American flag hanging over the front porch; and a blanket colored like the American flag hangs over one end of the porch.

Someone has written a long statement on the concrete slabs that top the brick porch walls. It says: "I want a man to be proud of the place he lives. I want a man to live so his place can be proud of him."

9-21-23
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
9-21-23-spyrun-castle-1.jpg


This beautiful old house looks like a little castle. I've always liked it, even when I was a child. It is on Spy Run Avenue, just south of Tennessee Avenue, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Over the years, it has been home to several businesses, including a law office. I think someone lives there now.

9-21-23
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I love this old house. Would love to live there. Have you ever seen inside?
 
9-8-23-smokys1.jpg


The old Smoky's Records building on the corner of Wells Street and Sixth Street. The store opened in 1960 and closed in 2006 when owner Charles "Smoky" Montgomery passed away at the age of 84.

The store sat untouched, with the records still in their racks, until 2019. His family then finally sold the more than 20,000 vinyl records and other items to another record dealer.

9-8-23
 
smoky-montgomery1.jpg


Charles "Smoky" Montgomery, was a local icon in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For fifty years, he spent his days behind the counter at Smoky's Records on the corner of Wells Street and Sixth Street. His store was filled with thousands of old vinyl records; while Smoky was a walking encyclopedia of music knowledge. He also sold guitars, organized bus tours, and sold concert tickets.

He passed away in 2006 at the age of 84. When he died, the store closed. It sat untouched, with the records still in their racks, until 2019. His family then finally sold the more than 20,000 vinyl records and other items to another record dealer.

January, 2004
 
Retro-Grouch said:
The part of the USA that Chris documents, the "fly-over" country between the coasts and away from the big urban centers, may well represent the larger part of this country, socially and economically. I will not fall into the trap of calling it the "real" America, as so many Populist pundits do, but I will say that it's a part of America that's under-represented in the popular media. As someone who lives in a rural, fly-over area, I deeply appreciate the job that Chris is doing in documenting his corner of this big country.
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It’s interesting. I’ve never visited the USA but it always feels to me that there is more than one America. The rural areas, the ‘fly over’ country as you describe it has interested me for years and I really appreciate Chris’ pictures here.

I wonder whether there is something in common with some of the areas of South Africa that I visited in 1995 - small settlements in rural and primarily agricultural landscapes. Very different from the coastal cities?
 
12-10-23-taylor-service1.jpg


This tiny building is a former auto repair garage, located on the corner of Taylor Street and Brooklyn Avenue in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The service bay is barely large enough to fit a car inside!

Over the years, it has been home to a number of short-lived car repair businesses and a couple of auto detailing shops. It was sitting vacant when I made this photograph, though it was recently repainted blue. The building had been white for as long as I can remember.

This is the first of two photographs that I made of it that day. The other shows the entrance to the garage's little office.

12-10-23
 
12-10-23-taylor-service2.jpg



A hand painted sign that says "Service" hangs above the entrance to the office of a former auto repair garage, located on the corner of Taylor Street and Brooklyn Avenue in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Over the years, this tiny building has been home to a number of short-lived car repair businesses and a couple of auto detailing shops. It was sitting vacant when I made this photograph, though it was recently repainted blue. The building had been white for as long as I can remember.

This is the second of two photographs that I made of it that day. The other shows the little service bay next to the office.

12-10-23
 
9-9-23-albion-jail1.jpg


This is the front of the former Noble County Jail, located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Oak Street in the small town of Albion, Indiana.

The front half of the building front looks like a large home or mansion, as it was also the sheriff's residence and the offices for the county police department. The back half of the building is the actual jail. The jail was built in 1875-1876 for $27,000 and was used until 1968. It is now a museum.

9-9-23
 
9-9-23-albion-jail2.jpg


This is the east side of the former Noble County Jail, located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Oak Street in the small town of Albion, Indiana.

The front half of the building, on the left, looks like a large home or mansion, as it was also the sheriff's residence and the offices for the county police department. The back half of the building, on the right, is the actual jail. The jail was built in 1875-1876 for $27,000 and was used until 1968. It is now a museum.

9-9-23
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
9-9-23-albion-jail1.jpg


This is the front of the former Noble County Jail, located on the northeast corner of Main Street and Oak Street in the small town of Albion, Indiana.

The front half of the building front looks like a large home or mansion, as it was also the sheriff's residence and the offices for the county police department. The back half of the building is the actual jail. The jail was built in 1875-1876 for $27,000 and was used until 1968. It is now a museum.

9-9-23
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If I had to go to jail ;), I'd like it to be here!
 
10-29-23-bush.jpg


This large bush grows next to my garage. The leaves turned a pretty yellow in the fall, but they only stayed on the bush for about a day before falling off. I made this photograph on a rainy morning in late October; by the afternoon, all of the leaves had fallen.

10-29-23
 
12-24-23-loneoakfarm.jpg


You don't see many wooden silos in Indiana. This one is attached to a red barn; and it has the name "Lone Oak Farm" painted near the top. It is located on the northwest corner of County Road 1100N and US-24 in rural Huntington County, Indiana.

12-24-23
 
10-16-23-trump-bear.jpg


A hand-carved wooden bear sculpture holding an American flag and an "Elect Trump 2024" sign in front of a house on Wayne Street (State Road 5) in the small town of Warren, Indiana. The bear also has bikes for sale!

10-16-23
 
12-15-23-realradios.jpg


This now-closed business, called Surplus Supplies, is on the east side of High Street (State Route 49 and State Route 2) in the small town of Hicksville, Indiana.

I found the sign on the front of the building amusing: "Real Radios Glow In The Dark." There's an ati-President Biden sign laying on its side in one of the upper-floor windows. It says "Biggest Idiot Degenerate Ever (the fifth word is hidden)." The hidden final word presumably starts with the letter N, so that the first letter of each line spells "BIDEN."

When I photographed this place several years earlier, there were anti-Obama slogans painted on the windows!

12-15-23
 
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