Fort Wayne, IN

Fort Wayne is a city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Allen County, United States. Fort Wayne is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. The city is within a 300-mile (482.803 km) radius of major population centers, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington, and Milwaukee. 

Fort Wayne was built in 1794 by the United States Army under the direction of American Revolutionary War general Anthony Wayne, the last in a series of forts built near the Miami village of Kekionga. Fort Wayne’s economy in the 21st century is based upon distribution, transportation and logistics, healthcare, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and financial services. 

The 1990s marked a turnaround for the city, as local leaders focused on crime reduction, economic diversification, and downtown redevelopment. By 1999, Fort Wayne’s crime rate decreased to levels not seen since 1974, and the city’s economy recovered, with the unemployment rate hovering at 2.4 percent in 1998. Clearing blighted buildings downtown resulted in new public greenspaces, including Headwaters Park, which has become the premier community gathering space and centerpiece in the city’s $50 million flood control project. During the 19th century, Fort Wayne was dominated by Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Italianate architecture. Examples of Greek Revival architecture remain in the city, with one being the Richardville House (1827), a National Historic Landmark. 

Fort Wayne lies in the humid continental climate zone (Köppen: Dfa), experiencing four distinct seasons.Typically, summers are hot, humid, and wet. Winters are generally cold with moderate snowfall. Severe weather is not uncommon, particularly in the spring and summer months; the city experiences an average of 39 thunderstorm days and about 10 severe weather days annually. 

Fans of the arts and theater flock to the  Embassy Theater is a 2,471-seat performing arts theater which hosts over 200,000 patrons annually. Another notable place for theater fans is the University of Saint Francis Robert Goldstine Performing Arts Center, located on its Downtown Campus. It contains a 2,086-seat auditorium. Other tourist attractions include Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, lauded as one of the nation’s foremost zoos. Covering 40 acres and containing 1,000 animals of 200 different species, the zoo is the largest regional attraction, regularly drawing over 500,000 visitors annually