FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Fort Wayne’s Kirkwood Park neighborhood is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Neighborhood leaders learned of the listing on May 19, 2025.
“When we learned our neighborhood was eligible for the National Register, we were excited to pursue that distinction,” said Laura Stronczek, Kirkwood Park president. “This designation helps highlight our neighborhood’s heritage and builds community pride.”
The City released the following on behalf of the Kirkwood Park Neighborhood Association:
The neighborhood reflects the need for middle-class housing that developed after World War II, and the trend for suburban development with amenities, such as larger lots and the large park located in the center of the development. The district consists of the original plat created in 1938, and five subsequent plat additions between 1940 and 1950 designed by H.K. Gottschalk and noted Fort Wayne planner, Adolph Hofer. The district features over 150 mostly mid-sized homes in the Colonial Revival and Ranch styles.
The neighborhood began working on the designation in the summer of 2022, when they requested a determination on the district’s eligibility. With a positive finding, the neighborhood association contracted with K.W. Garner Consulting to submit the National Register nomination to the state, after it first passed through the city’s Historic Preservation Commission in 2023
The process at the state level takes about 18 months to work through reviews, the final one occurred on April 16, 2025, when the district received a recommendation for listing to the National Park Service, keeper of the National Register.
The National Register of Historic Places is a function of the National Historic Preservation Act, established in 1966, to recognize sites and buildings that are important to our heritage. The program provides access to rehabilitation tax credits and grants for qualifying work to homeowners and for-profit and non-profit entities, including churches and municipalities.
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