c. 1975

Public Services Projects: City Light ID Tag

One of the major responsibilities of City Council is to maintain or improve the quality of life for the citi-zens of Fort Wayne. Major public service projects serve this end. By the mid 1850s, a sewer system had become critically necessary, spurred both by the fear of disease and the need for flood control. In 1858 the first sewer line in Fort Wayne was completed. The first waterworks in Fort Wayne was built in 1880, drawing the water from deep wells and distributed from pumping stations. By the early 1930s, it became apparent that there were limitations on the capacity from the underground water supply. A twenty-five-acre tract of land east of Spy Run was chosen for the new water filtration plant, at the point where the St. Mary's River and the St. Joseph River come together. It opened in 1933.

A new municipal power plant, City Light and Power, opened in 1934 and served Fort Wayne for nearly forty years. The sale of City Light Utility to Indiana & Michigan Electric Company came after a referendum in the May 1974 primary. In September of that year, Mayor Ivan Lebamoff signed a thirty-five-year lease of the municipal operation to Indiana & Michigan Electric. Since 1995 the old City Light and Power Building has been home to Science Central.

City Light and Power used metal tags to identify each of the power poles to facilitate any repair that might be needed. I & M took over operations on 1 March 1975, and as a result this city light pole identification tag became obsolete.