A Lake, a Stage, and Miles of Wooded Trails
Ask ten Fort Wayne families about Franke Park and you will get ten different answers about what it is for. One family goes for the sledding hill every winter. Another spends summer evenings at outdoor concerts. Others come for the fishing at Shoaff Lake, where anglers with a license share the water with herons and ducks, the BMX track, or simply the quiet of walking under tall trees on the north side of the city.
That range is the whole point. Franke Park has grown to more than 339 acres, which makes room for a working day camp that has run since 1946, a network of wooded hiking and biking trails kept up by the 3 Rivers Velo Sport bicycle club, playgrounds for the youngest visitors, and the Foellinger Theatre, an open-air venue under a distinctive dome. The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, which opened inside the park in 1965, draws visitors from across the region.
Few city parks anywhere pack in this much. For the north side of Fort Wayne, Franke Park is the shared backyard everyone grew up in.
Surrounding Areas
- Glenbrook Square: The shopping mall on Coldwater Road that has served Fort Wayne since 1966.
- Allen County War Memorial Coliseum: The city’s biggest event venue and home ice of the Fort Wayne Komets.
- University of Saint Francis: A wooded campus wrapped around Mirror Lake on Spring Street.
- Wells Street Bridge: An iron truss bridge from 1884 that now carries walkers and cyclists toward downtown.
Other Nearby Points of Interest
- Foster Park
Is a 255-acre riverside park on the south side with flower gardens, a two-mile walking loop, and a century-old municipal golf course along the St. Marys River. The Foster brothers gave the first stretch of land in 1912, and a WPA pavilion from 1938 still hosts gatherings today. - Johnny Appleseed Park
Preserves the gravesite of America’s most famous orchard planter on the banks of the St. Joseph River, alongside a popular campground. Visitors still leave apples at the simple stone marker, and the annual Johnny Appleseed Festival fills the grounds with pioneer crafts and costumed reenactors. - Lindenwood Cemetery
Invites quiet walks beneath some of the oldest trees in Fort Wayne. The 1859 garden cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. - Historic Old Fort
Recreates the military post that gave the city its name, rebuilt log by log from the original 1815 drawings on the riverbank near downtown. Volunteer reenactors cook over open fires and drill on the parade ground at free events all year.
History of Franke Park
In 1921, John B. Franke, president of the Perfection Biscuit Company, gave Fort Wayne 80 acres of land to create the park that carries his name. What started as one businessman’s gift kept growing for the next century, from those first 80 acres to well over 300 today. Franke Park gained another 54 acres in 1952 when Fred B. Shoaff donated the ground that made room for a bird and wildlife sanctuary and, later, the children’s zoo.
The Foellinger Theatre arrived in 1949 as a gift from Helene Foellinger in honor of her father Oscar, a Fort Wayne newspaper publisher. After a fire in 1972, the theatre was rebuilt with the open-sided dome and new stage that concertgoers know today, completed in 1976 with support from the Foellinger Foundation.
Through all the additions, the park has stayed true to its wooded character. The old growth around Shoaff Lake still sets the tone, and generations of day campers have learned their first outdoor skills under those same trees. The camp’s focus on nature education has barely changed since the 1940s, and that is exactly why families keep sending their kids.
Tree Services in Fort Wayne, IN by OnSite Tree Services
The big oaks and maples that make Franke Park feel like a forest need care, and so do the ones shading your own street. OnSite Tree Services is a licensed tree service company offering Tree Services in Fort Wayne, IN, including tree trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, lot clearing, and emergency storm work.
Whether you are near the park on the north side or anywhere else in the Fort Wayne area, our team shows up with the right equipment and the training to handle tall, mature trees safely. Call our team at (260) 508-6657 to schedule a free estimate. Your trees will thank you, and so will your neighbors.