Editing Fort Wayne, Indiana (section)

===Modern history===
[[File:FortWayneIN 1868.jpg|thumb|A lithograph of Fort Wayne (1868)]]

At the turn of the 20th century, the population of Fort Wayne nearly reached 50,000, attributed to a large influx of [[German American|German]] and [[Irish Americans|Irish]] [[immigrants]]. Fort Wayne's "urban working class" thrived in industrial and railroad-related jobs.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 73}} The city's economy was substantially based on manufacturing, ushering in an era of innovation with several notable inventions and developments coming out of the city over the years, such as [[fuel dispenser|gasoline pumps]] (1885), the [[refrigerator]] (1913), and in 1972, the first [[Magnavox Odyssey|home video game console]].{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 350–355}}<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/usao/inn/division-ftwyane.html USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - Northern District of Indiana]. Retrieved on May 15, 2013.</ref> The [[Great Flood of 1913]] caused seven deaths, left 15,000 homeless, and damaged over 5,500 buildings in the worst natural disaster in the city's history.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Jarosh |url=http://egen.fortwayne.com/ns/projects/history/2000/1910/ind9.php |title=Heroism, tragedy color story of Fort Wayne's worst flood in 1913 |newspaper=[[The News-Sentinel]] |access-date=December 29, 2012}}</ref>

As the automobile's prevalence grew, Fort Wayne became a fixture on the [[Lincoln Highway]].{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 192}} Aviation arrived in 1919 with the opening of the city's first airport, [[Smith Field (Indiana)|Smith Field]]. The airport served as Fort Wayne's primary commercial airfield until Baer Field (now [[Fort Wayne International Airport]]) was transferred to the city in 1947 after serving as a military base during World War II.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 198, 202}}

[[File:Lincoln Tower by night, Fort Wayne, Ind (71527).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lincoln Bank Tower]], completed as Indiana's tallest building, in 1930]]

Fort Wayne was hit by the [[Great Depression]] beginning in 1929, with most factories cutting their workforce.<ref>Iwan Morgan, "Fort Wayne and the Great Depression: The Early Years 1929–1933", ''Indiana Magazine of History,'' June 1984, Vol. 80 Issue 2, pp. 122–145 [http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/imh/VAA4025-080-2-a02 online]</ref> The [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|stock market crash]] did not discourage plans to build the city's first skyscraper and Indiana's tallest building at the time, the [[Lincoln Bank Tower]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Connie |last=Haas Zuber |date=November 30, 2010 |url=http://fortwaynemonthly.fortwayne.com/?q=article/lincoln-tower-rises-above-its-times |title=Lincoln Tower rises above its times |work=Fort Wayne Monthly |access-date=December 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202113857/http://fortwaynemonthly.fortwayne.com/?q=article%2Flincoln-tower-rises-above-its-times |archive-date=February 2, 2014}}</ref> By 1935, the [[New Deal]]'s [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] put over 7,000 residents back to work through local infrastructure improvements, including the construction of new parks, bridges, viaducts, and a $5.2 million sewage treatment facility.<ref>U.S. Writers' Program, ''Indiana, a Guide to the Hoosier State'' (1941) p. 193</ref>

The [[economic history of the United States#Post-World War II prosperity: 1945–1973|post-World War II economic boom]] helped the city prosper once again. Between 1950 and 1955, more than 5,000 homes were built, many in large subdivisions in rural Allen County.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 107}} In 1950, Fort Wayne's first [[bypass (road)|bypass]], [[Indiana State Road 930|Coliseum Boulevard]], opened on the north side of the city, followed by the city's first arena, [[War Memorial Coliseum]], bringing new opportunities for suburban expansion.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 107, 109}} The Coliseum was home to the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]'s [[Detroit Pistons#1937–1957: Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons|Fort Wayne Pistons]] from 1952 to 1957. The opening of enclosed shopping malls and the construction of [[Interstate 69 in Indiana|Interstate 69]] through rural areas north and west of the city proper further drove the exodus of retail from downtown through the 1960s.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 117, 119}} According to the Fort Wayne Home Builders Association estimates, more than 80 percent of new home construction occurred outside the city proper in the 1970s.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 119}}

Like many cities in the [[Rust Belt]], [[deindustrialization]] in the 1980s brought [[urban blight]], increased crime, and a decrease in [[blue-collar]] manufacturing jobs.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 136}} Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods continued declining as residents and businesses [[urban sprawl|sprawled]] further into rural Allen County.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 132}} A 1982 flood forced an evacuation of 9,000 residents, damaging 2,000 buildings, and costing $56.1 million (1982 USD, $137 million 2015 USD), prompting a visit from then president of the United States, Ronald Reagan.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Leininger |year=1982 |url=http://www.maykuth.com/stories/recovery904.htm |title=The Fort Wayne flood of 1982 |work=The News-Sentinel |access-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Inflation Calculator |url=http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ |website=US Inflation Calculator |access-date=May 19, 2015}}</ref>

In the 1990s, the city began a turnaround. Local leaders focused on crime reduction, economic diversification, and downtown redevelopment. By 1999, Fort Wayne's crime rate decreased to the lowest levels since 1974, and the city's economy recovered, with the unemployment rate hovering at 2.4 percent in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |title=Economy at a Glance |url=http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.in_fortwayne_msa.htm |website=Bureau of Labor Statistics |publisher=United States Department of Labor |access-date=May 2, 2015}}</ref> 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. Fort Wayne celebrated its bicentennial in 1994.{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 138–142}}{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 418}}

The city continued to concentrate on downtown redevelopment and investment in the 2000s.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Leininger |date=December 16, 2008 |url=http://newssentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081216/NEWS/812160333 |title=Could nonprofit revitalize downtown? |work=The News-Sentinel |access-date=January 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213053914/http://newssentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20081216%2FNEWS%2F812160333 |archive-date=February 13, 2009}}</ref> The decade saw the beginnings of its transformation, with renovations and expansions of the [[Allen County Public Library]], [[Grand Wayne Convention Center]], and [[Fort Wayne Museum of Art]]. In 2007, the $130 million [[Harrison Square]] development was launched, creating [[Parkview Field]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Benjamin |last=Lanka |date=January 4, 2009 |url=http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/JG/20090104/LOCAL/901040401 |title=Delays encircle Harrison Square |work=The Journal Gazette |access-date=January 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610071446/http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2FJG%2F20090104%2FLOCAL%2F901040401 |archive-date=June 10, 2015}}</ref> Suburban growth continued, with the opening of Fort Wayne's first [[lifestyle center (retail)|lifestyle center]], [[Jefferson Pointe]], and the half-billion dollar [[Parkview Health#Parkview Regional Medical Center|Parkview Regional Medical Center]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ashley |last=Smith |date=October 1, 2008 |url=http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS/810010349 |title=Dirt turned on $536M Parkview Regional Medical Center |work=The News-Sentinel |access-date=December 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221215451/http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20081001%2FNEWS%2F810010349 |archive-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref>