The Landing
Located at the heart of Fort Wayne's downtown business and government sector, The Landing Historic District represents one of the few remaining clusters of 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings which still retains much of its integrity. The buildings that make up the district are primarily two-part commercial blocks, of brick construction, with decorative details in limestone, iron, and wood. Architectural styles include a blend of Italianate, Romanesque Revival, and early twentieth century commercial styles.
The district is compact, encompassing only about two city blocks, and is nestled in the arc of the railroad line which occupies the former Wabash & Erie Canal bed. The name of the district is derived from a feature of the canal, a docking and maneuvering bay known as the Orbison Basin, originally located at the northwest end of the present district. Although the canal was instrumental in the development of The Landing as the commercial center of Fort Wayne, no buildings directly related to the canal remain in the district.
With the development of the Wabash & Erie Canal, warehouses and commercial buildings sprang up near the basins to take advantage of the ease of shipping and receiving goods by canal boat. When the canal was no longer viable, the right-of-way was purchased by the Nickel Plate Railroad in 1880.
With the coming of the railroad, The Landing enjoyed the benefits of both passenger and freight transport. A freight depot for the Nickel Plate RR was erected at the along the tracks just west of Harrison Street. Merchants and wholesalers could move and receive shipments of merchandise quickly and easily. By 1885, four hotels were operating in the district. In 1901, Fort Wayne's first interurban electric railway station was located in the Randall Bldg. at Pearl and Harrison. Tracks along Columbia, Harrison, and Pearl Streets carried a consistent flow of traffic to points in Ohio and surrounding counties in Indiana. Circa 1915, two interurban freight depots were built west of the Randall Bldg., one of which still stands at 220 Pearl Street.
Listed as Fort Wayne's first local historic district in 1965, The Landing became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 for its association with regional and national transportation networks, local commercial development, and unique architectural character.
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