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What: #29 Visit Fort Wayne in Detroit

When: July 30th, 2016
Where: Fort Wayne (NOT in Indiana)
Why: Many years ago, I went to Fort Malden, and for one of the first times, I really found myself interested in a historic war. The intriguing part of it was that it was told from the British perspective, rather than the American viewpoint, and that gave me a deeper understanding of the War of 1812 (which, I think before that point, I probably thought had to do with Mexico or something; I'm seriously disinterested in war history, so neglected to ever brush up on it outside of memorizing dates for AP History in high school). Learning about the War of 1812 hit home more than the Civil War - altho I've seen my fair share of those hallowed battlegrounds and memorials and forts in my travels around the country. But this war happened here, and dictated borders I cross and gave rise to the nomenclature of places and roads that I encounter every day.

In 2007, a few years after my visit to Fort Malden, it became more difficult to cross the border to Canada and so for any continued interest in this time period of history, I would have to seek places on this side of the river, and that's when I learned about Fort Wayne. At the time, Fort Wayne was simply a piece of property owned by the City of Detroit as one of its parks, and it had fallen into disrepair. Only recently has it been open to the public for visiting the site, and after visiting dozens of other forts in my time, it was very interesting to see the level of decay and to feel more like it was truly 200 years old without much restoration over much of the property. The use of the fort has changed with the times, and as late as the Vietnam War, it was used for inductions (my uncle was inducted there).

For now, there are efforts being made to restore and preserve the complex of buildings and grounds, hopefully starting with the visitor center!

Visitor Center lobby...yes, it's empty