Fort Wayne’s Arts United Center earns historic status
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The heart of Fort Wayne’s cultural district—the Arts United Center—is now a nationally recognized historic site.
The National Park Service this week added the center to its National Register of Historic Places with National Significance, signaling the Arts United Center’s value to the community as a place “worth of preservation.”
In the official register, the building is called the “Fort Wayne Performing Arts Theater.” The designation comes as a $40 million expansion and modernization of the downtown Fort Wayne center is underway.
“It is a great honor for our community to have the Arts United Center recognized as nationally significant in the world of historic buildings,” said Arts United Center CEO Dan Ross in a press release. “This is a huge milestone and a result of several years of effort.”
Being listed on the national register opens Arts United up to receiving federal tax credits.
The expansion project is expected to take about 18 months to complete and is focused on bringing the facility in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The nonprofit arts agency has said the project will also provide needed theater technology upgrades and functional improvements for the organizations that utilize the space.
The building that now houses the Arts United Center was designed by architect Louis Kahn and opened in 1973. The facility serves as the home stage of the Fort Wayne Ballet and the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre. It regularly hosts a variety of performances and groups.
Arts United Center earning national historic status comes after the National Park Service also bestowed that honor to the Harrison Hill Historic District in south central Fort Wayne.