16 August 1929

Lincoln Tower Groundbreaking Shovel

Lincoln Tower: Indiana's First Skyscraper

Lincoln Tower was built as the home of the Lincoln Bank. It was originally founded by Theodore Wentz and Samuel Foster on 20 May 1905 as the German American National Bank. In 1918 the name was changed to Lincoln National Bank due to anti-German sentiments that spread with the onset of World War I. The name Lincoln was chosen for the American pride it garnered. After merging with the Lincoln Trust Company, the company president Charles Buesching commissioned a skyscraper to be built to accommodate the company's expansion.

Constructed from 1929 to 1930, the Lincoln Tower stands as a monument to the German immigrants who settled the Fort Wayne area at the turn of the twentieth century and formed the backbone of the investors, depositors and customers who helped build the company into the skyline titan seen today. It also stands as a testament to the perseverance of Fort Wayne residents as construction on the million dollar structure continued even after the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929, ushering the country into the Great Depression.

A fantastic example of the Art Deco movement, the tower rises twenty-two stories high (312 feet) and was for a time the tallest building in Indiana until 1962. Building materials range from hand-wrought bronze, Milford granite, Italian Travertine marble, several rare types of green Vermont marble and Indi-ana limestone. All these luxurious materials blended to form this iconic addition to the Fort Wayne city-scape.

This shovel was used to break ground for the Lincoln Tower on the eve of the Great Depression.