About Me My Portfolio My Exhibits and Publications Purchase My Work Commercial Photography Sign My Guestbook Contact Me

 

Waynedale by Christopher Crawford

Waynedale is an old part of southwest Fort Wayne, Indiana. Waynedale was originally a small town a few miles outside Fort Wayne, but as the city grew the small town was eventually swallowed up. Although Waynedale has been part of fort Wayne for more than 40 years, it still looks like a small town. Most of the businesses are locally owned; only a Walgreens drug store and a couple of restaraunts are part of big chains.

I grew up near Waynedale, so this small town in the big city has been important to me. I moved back to the Waynedale area a couple years before I moved to Santa Fe, and I returned to Waynedale after I moved back to Indiana in 2007. I wanted to photograph Waynedale before the small town feel is lost to the Wal-marting of america.

33 Photographs

 

Voors Jewelry store on lower huntington road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana

 

Fairoak Motel sign on Blufton Road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana

 

Waynedale Plumbing Supply store on Lower Huntington Road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana. Old brick building

 

Elwood's Appliance Store on Lower Huntington Road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana is famous for its flashing starburst sign with the GE logo

 

the office of Waynedale Mobile Homes, a trailer park on Blufton Road in the Waynedale section of Fort Wayne, Indiana. A coke machine, a Newspaper machine, and several mailboxes sit on the sidewalk in front of the building.

 

Karen's Kitchens donut shop and restaurant on Blufton Road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The sign is covered by a new sign saying Big Daddy's Diner. A USA Today newspaper machine and a Smoker's Outpost ashtray stand inside the foyer.

 

The ticket booth to the smaller track at Baer Field Speedway in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The little building has an enormous billboard covered in advertisements that stretches from the ticket building to the adjoining bleachers. Photographed at sunset.

 

Low Bob's Discount Tobacco Town store on Blufton Road in the Waynedale section of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The windows are full of cigarette advertisements and signs for Camel, Marlboro, and Basic cigarettes. An old toilet sits on the sidewalk in front of the building next to a newspaper machine and a flower box. Photographed at sunset.

 

Sandpoint TV service company on lower huntington road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The sign posts display signs for RCA, Whirlpool, and Zenith. Air conditioners are displayed in the front window and an arrow sign advertises Verizon FiOS television service.

 

Tires piled up next to the garage at Quest Tire and Auto on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. An old rusty oil tank stands next to the pile of old tires.

 

The starburst shaped General Electric sign outside Elwoods Appliances in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The sign has hundreds of tiny bulbs radiating out from the center with a lighted GE logo.

Shoppers World, an abandoned flea market in an old Walgreens store in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana with graffiti

 

entrance to the Fairoak Motel on Blufton Road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana. A neon sign that says "Office" hangs above the door

 

Meyer's Barbershop in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana. A little kid rides a bicycle next to the building in an alley

 

Something Old Something New Consignment Botique on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale section of Fort Wayne, Indiana

 

Abandoned house on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale district of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The house is a white woodframe bungalow surrounded by trees in front of an empty field.

 

The back side if the Elzey building on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale section of Fort Wayne, Indiana. A metal stairway leads to an ornate carved wood panel door on the second floor and a small American flag hangs below the window to show the resident's patriotism. An old brick commercial building on Waynedale's main street with apartments on the second floor.

 

Harvest Time Worship Center is a tiny storefront church on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale section of Fort Wayne, Indiana. An American flag hangs in the window behind a sign that says Pastor Dennis Cromwell, Come Worship With Us.

 

An abandoned car stripped of its interior and engine. The front seat lay on the ground next to the car and some old tires. Located in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana on Lower Huntington Road.

 

Quest Tire and Auto on Lower Huntington Road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. A rack of tires sits in front of the open garage doors.

 

A dumpster at Hickory Creek Apartments in Waynedale. Vandals have spray painted "Insert Politicians" on it as a political protest.

 

A naked doll stands by a stop sign at the corner of Old Trail Road and Belle Vista Blvd. A yard sale sign is nailed to a utility pole next to her.

 

 

 

See my photographs of the
little white church in the Prairie
Grove Cemetery on Old Trail Road
in Waynedale. These photographs
have their own page because it was
a large project in itself.

Thr front of the little white chapel in the Prairie Grove Cemetery on Old Trail Road in the Waynedale neighborhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

 

 

Christopher Crawford
Fort Wayne, IN

chris@chriscrawfordphoto.com

 

chriscrawfordphoto.com
and its contents are ©2008
by Christopher Crawford

 

 

Favory Auto Repair on Lower Huntington Road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana

 

propane tanks in front of Waynedale Plumbing Supply on Lower Huntington Road in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana

 

Elwood's Appliance Store in the waynedale section of fort wayne, Indiana is famous for its flashing starburst sign with the GE logo

 

Bumpers Tavern on Lower Huntington Road in the waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana

 

Dairy Queen in the Waynedale section of Fort Wayne, Indiana

 

The Faith Bible Missionary Church is a small storefront church in the Waynedale Area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Located in a brick building with wooden paneling on the front on Old Trail Road. The sign says the pastor's name is Charlie Williams.

 

The main entrance gate to the Baer Field Speedway in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Photographed in late evening at sunset on a rainy night. The ticket windows are closed but the gate is open to the empty stock car racetrack near Fort Wayne International Airport. The sign above the entrance says Welcome to Baer Field Speedway Fort Wayne's Family Track.

 

Pyromaniac Fireworks in the old Big-A Autopro store building on Old Trail Road in Waynedale. A flashing Arrow sign stands next to the entrance. Signs with the website address www.highqualityfireworks.com hang on the front of the store.

 

Mailboxes and a bulletin board hang in the entrance to an apartment building at a housing complex in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. One of the mailbox doors is open and a letter is visible inside the mailbox.

 

A 1956 Cadillac sedan parked on a gravel lot in front of a trucking company on Ardmore Avenue in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

A child sized plastic patio chair lies overturned in the snow next to a field full of thistles in the winter.