Some buildings sell goods. Others sell a feeling. Long before I ever thought about retail architecture and history, one anchor at Fort Wayne’s Glenbrook Square managed to do both: without me ever setting foot inside, Sears was a true landmark.
Fort Wayne’s Glenbrook Mall was built as Glenbrook Center in 1966. Sears and L.S. Ayres signed on as the original anchors, but there was one glaring absence: downtown powerhouse Wolf & Dessauer. The longtime retailer had the chance to make the move, but passed1. That proved a terrible idea for the local retailer, which sold to City Stores the same year Glenbrook opened and then to L.S. Ayres three years later2. Oops! Ayres shuttered the downtown store in 19793.
Now known as Glenbrook Square, the mall has expanded dramatically over the last sixty years. Today, it sprawls more than 1.2 million square feet- big enough to be one of the three largest malls in Indiana4. I’ll write up a whole history of the center later since I’m sort of a step-child of the Fort, but I want to concentrate on Sears today.
I can’t say I ever entered the Glenbrook Sears during my time in Fort Wayne. Still, of all the anchors -by my time Macy’s, Carson’s, Sears, J.C. Penney, and Barnes & Noble- it was the store that demanded a second look. There was something almost theatrical about it; an echo of Moorish design filtered through the lens of mid-century New Formalism.
The arches, the symmetry, and the subtle ornamentation didn’t just house a department store, they framed it. Even if you never walked through the doors, you still experienced the building. To me, it was a reminder that malls once aspired to be more than just collections of stores. Looking back, that’s what sticks with me most: not what was sold inside, but the building itself.
At any rate, Sears closed in 20185 and the building was demolished the following year. The plan was to build a new wing featuring Dave & Buster’s, Home Goods, and Portillo’s for 20206, but the project was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic7. Eventually, a sprawling strip center with Bob’s Discount Furniture, Home Goods, Five Below, Boot Barn, Queen’s Lounge, and Verizon rose on the site, along with Portillo’s as an outparcel.
In the end, the Glenbrook Sears says as much about what we’ve lost as anything else. Retail has become faster, leaner, and more disposable, while places like the old Sears remind us of a time when architecture still tried to look unique.
Despite the owners of the moribund Muncie Mall recently snapping it up, Glenbrook Square is still very much alive. Still, a small piece of its soul disappeared with that building. Maybe that’s why it still sticks with me all these years later: not because I ever shopped there, but because it made me look twice.
Sources Cited
1 Cavanaugh, J.P. (2025, January 3). It’s Still True – Being Raised By Germans Is A Thing. J.P.’s Blog [Indianapolis]. Web. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
2 Harter, R. (2016, September 15). Wolf & Dessauer Building C. 1964. Fort Wayne Reader [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
3 Barron, J. & Barron, K. (2011). Wolf & Dessauer: Where Fort Wayne Shopped. The History Press [Charleston]. Book.
4 Slater, S. (2018, April 21). Carson’s closing after 4 years. The Journal Gazette [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
5 Beatty, B. (2018, August 22). Sears closing 46 store locations, including Fort Wayne. WOWO [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
6 Development plan: Sears to be demolished; Portillo’s to rise (2019, February 6). WANE 15 [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
7 Dave & Buster’s, HomeGoods planned at Glenbrook Square (2019, August 22). Wane 15 [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
Ooh, I spent a fair amount of time in that place. In the 1970’s there was almost nothing you could not buy at Sears. I mostly patronized the tools/hardware/automotive sections, but it was also the place for clothes, furniture, appliances and electronics. I now know that Sears was at its peak then. I did not appreciate the architecture at the time, but I do now, so thanks for this.