An arts campus downtown: the Kahn plan and what grew from it

1959–1973, and after

The idea: The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission, founded in 1959, made the clearance of a worn downtown tract — between Clinton and Lafayette streets, Main Street and the railroad — its first project, and the Fine Arts Foundation set out to fill it with a cultural district modeled on New York's Lincoln Center. Published accounts of the clearance differ on the count: a PBS Fort Wayne documentary put it at 140 buildings; an account of ARCH's lecture on the center put it at 180. After a nationwide search, the foundation hired architect Louis I. Kahn to design the complex — Arts United's campaign history dates the hiring to 1961; its campus history says 1962. Kahn envisioned nine structures. One was built.

The one building: Construction of the Performing Arts Center began in 1970, and the theatre opened in 1973, with Kahn in attendance at the opening ceremonies; he died the following year. The building — the only performing-arts theatre Kahn ever realized, as the building's record is carried in Architecture — was renamed the Arts United Center in 2005. Freimann Square, the park beside it, was dedicated with a posthumous gift from Magnavox president Frank Freimann: Arts United's timeline dates the dedication to 1972; the city's parks list says 1971.

The district fills in: The History Center moved onto the campus in 1980 and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art into its own building in 1984; both institutions are carried in Museums. The campus then grew by adoption of older buildings. The Hall Community Arts Center — a 1916 Western Newspaper Union building at 437 East Berry Street — was purchased and donated to Arts United by the Foellinger Foundation in 1990, renovated, and dedicated in 1992 in memory of William and Sarah Niezer Hall; Cinema Center and the Fort Wayne Dance Collective made their homes there. The Auer Center for Arts and Culture, purchased and renovated by Arts United in 2010 and named for a major gift of the Edward D. and Ione Auer Foundation, took in Artlink and the Fort Wayne Ballet in 2011 and, from 2023, the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. The Arts Campus Fort Wayne brand was launched in June 2018, and in September 2021 the campus's designation as a state-recognized Indiana Cultural District was celebrated. By Arts United's 2018 annual report, thirteen organizations were headquartered on the campus and served some 527,000 people across the region.

Sources:

1. Arts Campus Fort Wayne, "A Soaring Vision" campaign booklet (artscampusfw.org) — Kahn hired 1961, nine structures planned, one built; Hall Center purchased 1990/dedicated 1992; Auer Center purchased 2010; campus timeline.
2. Arts United, Arts Campus Fort Wayne history (artsunited.org) — Kahn hired 1962 (variant); Arts United, 2018 Annual Report — construction began 1970, brand launch June 2018, thirteen headquartered organizations, 527,000 served.
3. Whatzup, "Gem of city arts scene shines again" — the 140-building count (PBS Fort Wayne documentary) and the Lincoln Center model; Whatzup, "Preserving the center of our arts" — the 180-building count (ARCH lecture); List of parks in Fort Wayne — Freimann Square dedicated 1971 (variant).
4. Arts United press release, September 8, 2021 — statewide designation of Arts Campus Fort Wayne as a cultural district, celebrated September 25, 2021.