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!

Anthony Wayne Bank - That's MY Bank

Anthony Wayne Bank and Office Building
East Berry at Clinton Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46801

Photo: Virgil V. Marquart
(Approximate date of postcard - 1950's)









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There was a career path that existed in Fort Wayne in the 80's.

Let me rewind and tell you how it went.

During high school, if you wanted a part-time job, one of your options (if you were lucky) was to work at Scott's or Rogers.

If you worked at Scott's or Rogers in high school, you started out as a cashier and if you were extremely lucky (aka - you kissed enough butt and you were good at what you did) you might just MIGHT have the opportunity to work in the "office" area.

The office was actually the spot where you took care of customers - cashing their payroll check, dispensing stamps, taking their utility bill payments. You also checked cashiers in and out, offered feedback to the head cashier about the people on the floor, and generally, you got to wreak havoc with peoples schedules (if you so desired).

The only time one of those coveted spots ever opened up (and mind you - they were only part-time) was if someone left. And people didn't leave unless they climbed to the next level of their career - a job as a bank teller at Lincoln National, Fort Wayne National, or Anthony Wayne Bank.

If you thought it was difficult getting a position at Scott's or Rogers, the jobs at the banks were nearly impossible. Usually, you had to be good friends with someone who already worked there or your parents had to be good friends with someone who was "someone" at the bank.

In 1985, I decided to apply for an opening at Anthony Wayne Bank. How did I know about it? I read about it in the Journal Gazette. There was a very modest sized ad in the help wanted area. Anthony Wayne Bank was looking for experienced cashiers to fill a part-time role in their downtown branch.

Downtown was always neat - but scary to me. Crowded...difficult to find a parking spot. The important types worked downtown. I wasn't sure that I would fit in. I sent in a resume and within two weeks, I was called by Human Resources. Could I come downtown for an interview and to complete the "required testing". Of course I could! I made sure to have my resume printed out on the nice, heavy, lightly colored parchment-type paper (3 copies - just in case) and I made sure that I took the day off from work and school so that everything could be perfect for my trip downtown.

I know exactly what I was wearing for my interview. I had on a just-below-the-knee, navy blue skirt (because everybody knows - navy blue is the color to wear to interviews), a nicely pressed white blouse with a feminine collar (and it complemented my face), and the icing on the cake was my blue patterned bow which brought my whole look together.

Side note: those of you who weren't my age in this era - no fair if you laugh. Believe me, you'll look back at what you were wearing when you were 18-19 and you will wonder...what the?!?!

The testing was SO easy. Let's see, I had to show I could add and subtract and divide and multiply. Woo Hoo! I also had to complete an application (which was four pages long) and which seemed to ask for the exact same information that my resume provided. 

Side Note: Anyone else ever annoyed at how redundant all HR processes are?!

After the testing, I was ushered into a "waiting" room and I sat there for a good 30 minutes. HR came out, called me into one of their nice, windowed offices and just like that - they went into their list of questions.

Of course I was very charming but business-like and I could tell that the HR chick thought I was all that and a bag of chips.

Hmmmm.....I bet I had that job in the bag....

But no - she called me early afternoon and asked if I would be interested in a full-time teller position at one of their Freedom Branches (aka banks located in department stores). I calmly, but excitedly said YES! And the next day, I put on a similar interview outfit and made my way out to the Parkwest Shopping Center. Inside Heck's Department Store, I met up with the manager of that branch - Gloria.

Gloria was blond, pencil thin, harsh-looking, smoked like a chimney, and had one of those raspy voices. She wasn't very personable. In fact, I didn't think our interview went well at all. She was very monotone and offered me no feedback as she went through her list of questions.

An hour later though, I was offered the position.

I nabbed my first, full-time job and it was at Anthony Wayne Bank. The hours were squirly. I worked 11 am - 7:30 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday; 2:30 pm -7:30 pm on Friday, and 8 am - 5 pm on Saturday. (Psssst....anything over 35 hours was considered "full time")

My starting salary was $16,100. I thought I was RICH.

The Parkwest Area

During my quick in-and-out trip Sunday, I stopped through the Parkwest area and captured some pictures of the places that "used to be". Mind you - my point of capturing the stuff wasn't to tell you that what exists there today is crap and what used to be there was much better.

Nope. I'm just tellin' you what it used to be. Commentary for what may or may not be current and past crap may be alluded to within each individual blurb next to the photo. Otherwise - no sweeping generalizations on the current state of this strip mall area.

For all of you young'uns, believe it or not - at one time - Parkwest - used to be a thriving suburban-like area - just around the bend from downtown (via West Jefferson). I wish I could tell you the history of this place. Sadly, I know - well - not much. I know that it existed in the early 70's. But none of my Fort Wayne history books give this stripmall the time of day (except to acknowledge that it existed). If anyone knows the history of this place - speak up and share!

Confession - the place has always struggled with establishing and maintaining its own identity. I'm not sure why. Maybe cause we folks on the southwest side, didn't have the money you northsiders had ;) ahem.

Picture #1, 2, 3:

This is the front, main entrance to a place that used to be a department store. In the 70's - it was Mr. Wiggs. In the 80's - it was Heck's. Both were very generic department stores - something like a KMart or a Walmart.


I worked inside of here during 1986 as a teller for Anthony Wayne Bank. If you walked into Heck's, we were located in our own area, to the left.

Or basically, in the area where this door is now located.


Picture #4:

This is the back corner of what used to be the location of International Business College. I took a couple of courses there in the 80's.

Picture #5:

This used to be Godfather's Pizza. My husband (boyfriend at the time), really like GF Pizza. Me - not so much.

Always heavy on the stuff that I wasn't fond of and their cheese had that non-descript, generic taste.

Picture #6:

This used to be Scott's Parkwest. It was quite the place. In fact, it was my official, first job after graduating high school and it changed my life in many ways.

In a series of six degrees of separation (at least I'm guessing that's how many there were), I can trace back meeting my husband to the hiring of me at Scott's - and in particular - me being assigned to the Scott's at Parkwest.

Side note: before you start thinking that this was as easy as him coming into the store - think again. I don't think the man ever stepped south of the Mason-Dixon line (i.e. Main Street) in his life. He barely crossed over Coliseum Blvd. - and then - only for special occasions like O'Sullivans and Coney Island. But more on all of that LATER.

This was a thriving store, undergoing massive remodeling in mid 1985 (I was hired during the grand re-opening!). Dave Burkhart was the store manager. He was a cool dude. I think this Scott's ended up closing around 2000. I blame the adhd development of Coventry (and Jefferson Pointe) on the demise of this particular store.

Since I'm diagressing...Coventry was quite the controversy in the mid-80's. I remember the citizens of Aboite fighting with the developer (Zehr?) and with the then - Allen County Commissioners. Lots of back and forth over the 100 + acre re-zoning - but as we know - the developer won. And now, that area is like its own little city. Too bad people didn't have the forethought to take all of the energy and put it into revitalizing the downtown area 20 + years ago...

Picture #7:

Not really "Parkwest" - but more like the Time Corners area - was this building which is a combination Office Depot and Fresh Mart. It used to be Cub Foods. I worked here part-time.