After the vintage base ball matches ended, I spent some time exploring the original Fort Wayne. (I took a quick drive around the rest of the property, but I spent most of my time inside the original fort.) Before I get to the photos from inside the fort, let’s get the less pleasant stuff out of the way. Be sure to read the whole post — the photos get happier, and I want to stress this: the fort is well worth a visit.

When you enter the grounds, you see a number of old buildings. A few of them are in good shape, but some of them look a lot like this one:

It’s sad to see such a fascinating part of Detroit’s history rotting away like that, but right now that’s the sad reality of a bankrupt city. More distressingly, even parts of the Civil War-era wall of the original fort — the historical centerpiece of the facility — are crumbling:

Let’s hope this piece of history is fully preserved before it crumbles too much.

Okay, on to happier photos. One of two buildings within the original fort walls is the barracks, seen on the right here:

That building has been well-preserved. Here’s a closer look at the limestone exterior:

A brick addition was constructed in 1861:

The only other structure within the original fort is the powder magazine. it’s built into the side of the hills that form the interior of the fort’s walls, with a gap and a second wall separating the magazine from the earth (and a gutter keeping moisture away from the magazine). To say it’s solidly built would be an understatement.

Quick, everyone say hi to Mike!

On either side of the magazine entrance, there are narrow stairs leading around the magazine up the hill. They’re not exactly OSHA approved, so they get their own signage:

Take another look at this photo, this time paying closer attention to the far corner. See the two tunnel entrances?

Those tunnels lead under the walls to gun emplacements. They’ve been around a while.

Here’s the ceiling of one of the tunnels:

And here’s how the gun emplacements look from the outside:

There are narrower ports, too.

The tunnels also lead outside the fort, and when I wandered through the very sturdy exterior doors, I saw some enterprising plant life finding a home in the exterior wall.

This was my first visit to Fort Wayne, and I hope it’s not my last. If you get a chance, please stop by and check it out — again, it’s well worth a visit. (Even better, check out the list of events at the fort and go to a vintage base ball game — the Early Risers are a friendly bunch!)