Facing financial trouble, the oldest American Legion Post in Fort Wayne closed its doors over the weekend, with plans to relocate to a smaller, more affordable location, post commander Bob Marshall said.
On Saturday night, people packed into Post 47 on St. Joe Road near Shoaff Park for a final chance to get a drink and hang out.
“If we’d have had crowds like that all the time, we wouldn’t have been in the shape we were in,” Marshall said. “It was like a farewell party.”
Marshall believes the economic downturn kept people from spending money at the post.
He also blamed the city’s smoking ban and the outlawing of Cherry Master gaming machines, which were a source of revenue.
“It’s all about economics, and our outstanding debt just outweighed what we were taking in,” he said.
The post’s 16,000-square-foot building had high overhead. Marshall said $1,500 electric bills were not uncommon.
With this in mind, he said, the post wants to downsize to a smaller, more efficient location.
Post 47, which has more members than any other in Fort Wayne, was established in 1919 and became the city’s first American Legion Post, Marshall said.
The post moved into the site on St. Joe Road in the mid-1970s. Despite the recent closure, the commander said the post will retain its charter and continue to hold meetings.
The post’s building and surrounding land are for sale, with an asking price of $799,000, according to the website of BND Commercial Real Estate Solutions.
