This abandoned factory got turned into a sweet hangout spot in Fort Wayne

The thing I love about writing for Saving Places/The National Trust for Historic Preservation is that the stories I get to pursue show me a really specific part of American history that I wasn’t aware of before. Most recently, I got to learn about the early history of electric companies in the U.S. and how the presence of these factories can make or break a town.

For this article, I talked to folks in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about the new Electric Works development where a once-booming General Electric factory was abandoned as jobs went by the wayside and how the city reclaimed the space into a school, business incubator, restaurants, offices, retail, and innovation depot. Give it a read!