Pay your respects to an American legend by visiting Johnny Appleseed Park alongside the St. Joseph River. A gravesite visible through a steel gate displays a tombstone for John Chapman, or Johnny Appleseed, and the park also boasts some pretty fields, forests and campgrounds.
Fort Wayne's sporting history includes hosting the first major league baseball game and serving as home to the NBA Pistons before their move to Detroit. Today, you can enjoy professional soccer (the Fever), arena football (the Fusion), minor league hockey (the Komets) and minor league baseball (the Wizards).
Enjoy a night out on Columbia Street, the city's main drag for dance clubs and cool bars. Columbia Street West is the undisputed hot spot for rock and roll, but Flashbacks on the Landing can't be beat when it comes to the blues. Elsewhere, Pierres on St. Joseph Road is a sprawling joint with nine big dance floors, numerous televisions for sports watching, and a mechanical bull.
Savor the wonders of the outdoors at the Botanical Conservancy on South Calhoun Street. A trio of indoor gardens covers more than 25,000 square feet and displays more than 500 plant species. Outside you'll discover everything from ornamental grasses to trees and shrubs.
Shoppers can choose from two excellent retail centers. Glenbrook Square, at Coldwater Road and Coliseum Boulevard, is an enclosed mall that serves as a great place to beat the heat or sleet, with stores running the gamut from Abercrombie & Fitch to Zales Jewelers. Jefferson Pointe Shopping Center on Jefferson Boulevard is an open-air, Mediterranean-style shopping village that also boasts an 18-screen multiplex cinema.
See the renowned Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra or a headlining pop or rock group at the historic Embassy Theatre, a classic performing arts venue dating to 1928 on Jefferson Boulevard. Famous comics and Broadway musicals are also showcased here.
Anyone with even the slightest interest in American history will relish a visit to the Lincoln Museum on East Berry Street. Its renowned permanent showcase on Abraham Lincoln displays hundreds of fascinating items from Abe's life and times and several interactive options include the chance to review his mail and his plan strategy for a Civil War skirmish.
