bike ride we checked out the old Hazelwood LTV works they are developing. They left the superstructure of
one of the old mill buildings standing and are building condos and office space inside it. It's nice they are preserving some
of the steel industry history.

In the early 80's a devastating flood of the three rivers that converge downtown brought tax cutting Ronnie Raygun to the community. Large areas of the city had been flooded and the damage toll was huge. Citizens young and old had been up for days sandbagging and managed to prevent a major dike from collapsing.

Ronnie was there for a photo op. He filled a couple of sandbags got stuck in some mud, lost a boot and quickly left without a commitment of further federal help. Afterward a Democratic mayor started an ambitious plan to develop a large downtown Headwaters Park as part of a much larger flood mitigation program.

Republican leaders of course decried the plan as wasteful and unnecessary and resisted it. calling it a typical Democratic plan that wasted time, taxpayer money and real estate. They were more outraged when a Republican Mayor was elected who continued implementing the plan.

Over the years Headwater Park has grown into a large interconnected group of parks and trails that contain spring flood waters and then bloom into areas teeming with birds and wildlife and happy human beings. Even the rivers are being revitalized to allow more recreational activities on them. Quiet walkways wind through a large network of green areas, complete with playgrounds, fountains for children in the summer and ice skating pavilions in the winter. Rusted bridges and trestles have been repainted and repurposed for pedestrian traffic and connections to other parts of the park. There are even well lit parking areas that have relieved downtown congestion both on the streets and for parking. Electric scooters and bike rentals are also available.

This green area has attracted young and old to the downtown area in numbers not seen in years. Homes surrounding these areas have gone up in value and there are many signs that similar improvements are going on in other areas surrounding downtown. A few blocks to the south of the park complex, a first class minor league Ball Park was built near a restored old theater, a botanical conservatory and new convention centers.

Businesses old and new are now finding their way back downtown. Abandoned old warehouses empty for years are being converted into apartments, shops and office space to meet demands. Later this year a substantially sized grocery will be opening. Meanwhile there has been no substantial flood damages downtown or most of Fort Wayne.

In other areas of the city other parks are getting upgrades. A private foundation bought a large swath of old farm land on the southwest side of the city and restored it to protected wetland status. In short, these green areas can restore cities if developed properly (non commercially) and if brave politicians can ignore selfish demands from wealthy land owners living in rural estates and gated communities who are only interested in ever lower property taxes and bond issues that will mainly improve their lives.

Link to a google book on Headwater Park: https://tinyurl.com/ve42hdt

Now the Big Oaks NWR. 50,000 acres.

It was a munitions testing area, now it's crawling with critters.