The Pennsylvania Produce Terminal Historic District, a compact group of commercial warehouses in the 400 block of East Brackenridge Street, is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
News release from the City of Fort Wayne:
Pennsylvania Produce Terminal District listed in National Register
Second National Register listing in East Central NeighborhoodFort Wayne, Indiana (September 15, 2025) – The Pennsylvania Produce Terminal Historic District, a compact group of commercial warehouses in the 400 block of East Brackenridge Street, is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is the second National Register listing in the East Central Neighborhood. In February 2022, the Turner Chapel AME Church, 836 E. Jefferson Blvd., became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Historic District was built from a single design by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1929 as four large fresh produce warehouses combined in one unit. The architect was Fort Wayne’s Alvin M. Strauss. One earlier warehouse was built in 1925, likely with anticipation of the larger project to come. The property is the home of MKM architecture + design and is owned by a group of MKM owners.
MKM and ARCH, Inc., a local historic preservation nonprofit, worked with the City of Fort Wayne’s Historic Preservation Commission and the Indiana State Historic Preservation office to nominate the area to the National Register. MKM used the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit program to adapt the oldest warehouse into their new offices.
“This National Register designation of the Pennsylvania Produce Terminal Historic District – Fort Wayne was the final step required to complete our rehabilitation project,” said Dodd Kattman, principal of MKM. “Modern interior building improvements complement the exposed brick and concrete manufacturing character of the building, creating a high-tech work space that enhances our own creativity.”
The district is significant for its associations with the development of transformational commerce and transportation systems, especially in the local grocery market. Cold-storage warehouses allowed the grocery industry to provide fresh food to customers year-round. These buildings had a role in the rapid change from neighborhood markets devoted separately to baked goods, dry goods, produce and meats to full-service grocery stores, and on to what later became supermarkets.
The combination of improved storage technology, with improvements in transportation technologies (refrigerated rail transport, modern highway development and truck improvements), resulted in Fort Wayne shoppers enjoying fresher produce from farther away during more months of the year than ever possible before. The warehouses were used for the original purposes from 1925 to c.1960.
The City of Fort Wayne’s Community Development Division works to enhance economic opportunity, build strong neighborhoods and ensure a dynamic framework for growth and development. The Division’s departments include Neighborhood Code Compliance, Neighborhoods, Office of Housing and Neighborhood Services, Redevelopment/Economic Development, and Planning and Policy. Visit CityofFortWayne.in.gov/CD for more information.
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