This is the Downtown that I Remember (Kinda)

I'm going to go see my Grandma this week and whenever I think of Grandma, I think of our frequent trips to the downtown area (in the 70's). I don't have a picture of G.C. Murphy's from that exact time period, but this postcard comes pretty close to what I remember things looking like when I was a youngster.

Mention G.C. Murphy's to any child of the fort and the first thing they'll probably bring up is the donuts (machine now in place at Cindy's Diner). Yes, of course, those comments would roll off of my lips, but the first thing that always pops into my head is...the basement area.

I know, you think I'm crazy...the basement area? When you went in doors, you'd go down a couple set of stairs. It was like 10 steps and then room to rest ;). And then another 10 steps - something like that ;).

Anyway - what was in the basement? Clearance, my friends...clearance! Murphy's had these shallow bins with things marked down ridiculously. It always always always smelled like the rubber from the bottom of our tennis shoes in that place. The ceilings were low and the place was badly lit. Still, my grandma could sniff out a great deal and I was sure to leave with something new!

Another neat thing about Murphy's is that the PTC buses had their main hubs there. We might take the bus downtown, shop at Murphy's while waiting for our transfer out to say - Southtown or Park West (had to hit up Mr. Wiggs some days). And heck, if we missed our transfer - just more time to hang out in Murphy's! Plenty to do, see, and certainly eat.

When Murphy's - well the building - was demolished or redone or whatever - I was no longer living in Fort Wayne. Now, when I'm in the fort and I'm walking in this area, I don't even recognize much. Almost all of the "landmark" type of buildings or businesses no longer exist or have been changed to a point where they are unrecognizable. Sometimes I think, Fort Wayne might have been better off building that 465 type of a loop through Downtown (this was like back in the 40's? 50's?).

But back to Murphy's. There will never, ever be another place like it again. And I'm thankful that my grandparents immersed me in the experience of it.

P.S. If you want to see even MORE detail of the postcard, click on the picture and it will take you to my Flickr account. At the top, you'll see an option to see ALL SIZES. The details are pretty amazing!

More Downtown Spots from CONTENTdm

Azar's Downtown?
gasp

Really?! Yes kiddies, there used to be an Azar's downtown.

Can you tell - in this limited cropped photo - where it used to be?!








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And peaking out above this building - could this be...yes - could this REALLY be - Mike's Car Wash?!












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Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh.....The Hobby House Restaurant
















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Yep - there used to be a ton of gas stations downtown.




















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Can you guess what the building is in this last picture?! The PTC bus (love the Spring green color!) is sitting right next to it, getting ready to do a major pick up and drop off in the downtown area...

Wells and Third Street - Then & Before Then

PTC Bus Stop

Corner of Wells Street and Third Street

Fort Wayne, Indiana 46808

My Grandparents (my mother's parents) lived in Fort Wayne almost their entire life (with the exception of a few years where they lived in Jackson, Michigan).

My Grandpa was born and raised in Fort Wayne. He always lived in the downtown area - Main Street, Clay Street, DeWald, Union Street.

The last house that my Grandparents lived in (before Grandpa died) was on Third Street. They picked it because it was a duplex, it had a huge yard, and it was within walking distance of everything that they cared about.

I've mentioned before that my Grandparents didn't drive. Ever. They always got around on foot or - sometimes - we took the bus. When they lived on Third Street, this is the bus stop we used to stand next to in order to catch the PTC bus.

As you can see from this picture, it almost looks "park" like. It has two nice benches and beautiful shade trees. I remember when those shade trees weren't tall enough to shade anything. And one day, while waiting on the bus to pick us up, I mentioned to Grandpa that they should have planted bigger trees so we had some shade during the hot weather.

That's when he told me about why these trees were so brand new.

It turns out, that just a few years before, a Firehouse - specifically Firehouse #6 - used to occupy the space that we were standing on.

A Firehouse?! Neat!

Me: But what happened to the firehouse? Did it not have enough fires to put out?

Grandpa: The city needed to put that firehouse out on Coliseum Boulevard. People moved out of the inner parts of our city to the suburbs and in case there are fires out in the new parts of the city, they've got a fire house close by.

Me: How come there can't be both (fire stations)?

Grandpa: Sometimes, when you only have one pot of money to pull from, you have to make a decision - one or the other.

He told me that it was built in the late 1800's and that before there were shiny trucks - there were horses which used to take the firemen and their equipment to whatever establishment needed them.

Me: Wow! Horses used to walk on these streets?!

You can tell, I was easily fascinated as a child :).

As I drove by this spot this weekend, I stopped and took the picture you see at the beginning of this blog entry. I sat on one of the bench's and I thought about the time that I spent in this area as a child. You never think - in the moment - how much time you spend "waiting" for something (and back then - it was a bus) and how those moments are great pockets of opportunities that should never go to waste.

In my case, I was such an inquisitive child and I often wonder - if handheld games and other modern things were around then - would I have turned them off and had these types of conversations with my Grandparents (especially as we walked downtown or waited for the bus)?

Sadly - probaby not. So I guess I'm thankful that my Grandparents didn't drive. I'm thankful that the PTC bus program operated during that time, and I'm thankful that my parents let me spend oodles of time with my mom's parents.

1401 Wells Street - Firehouse No. 6 - 1920

1401 Wells Street - Firehouse No. 6 - 1975

Fort Wayne Public Transportation Corporation (FW-PTC)

I didn't get my driver's license until I was nineteen gasp.

Neither of my grandparents drove - EVER. My grandfather's eyesight was too bad and my grandmother just never felt the need. Living with them in downtown-ish Fort Wayne, our choices were to walk or to take the bus.

Yes, you read that right - the bus.

I don't know when my first PTC bus ride was however, I wouldn't be surprised if it was before I was able to walk.

There are things about the PTC that I remember like it was yesterday.

* The fishbowl-type shape of the front of the bus

* The changer located to the right of the bus driver (gosh! but I loved dropping the coins in!)

* Oh! And at one time, all of the bus drivers carried one of those silver coin changers on their belt too.

* The thick, silver-like string that I lived to pull. You know - it was the thing that made a ding - signaling to the driver that you were ready to get off at the next stop.

Now, about that string you pulled - there was quite an art to how you pulled it and a science to when you pulled it.

Seriously.

You had to be really mindful of giving the bus driver enough time to stop. Some of the bus stops though were close enough together that if you didn't time it right, you may have to get off at the wrong stop.

So are you wondering where we had the bus take us?

Everywhere.

To the mall (Southtown - yes - really!). To downtown. To Times Corner. To Franke Park. To McMillan Park.

When I was around eleven, I was allowed to board the bus by myself (as long as my mom or grandma knew where I was going).

I was never scared or intimidated.

People never bothered me.

I never bothered anyone.

Most of the time, I just looked out the window and took in the scenery.

It was quiet time for me.

I thought and reflected without knowing I was thinking and reflecting.

Wow! Those were the days...