Underground Fort Wayne
February 16th, 2010 | 
Author: Fort Wayne holds a special place in the hearts of those who’ve spent any time here. This is one of those rare midwestern cities that’s had to live under the shadow of the Norman Rockwell image of what a town was supposed to be like. The difficult part for most of these towns, is that they are a lot like the stereotype, or at least have elements that match the image. Whether or not life below the surface is as calm and wholesome as the images suggest is a whole other issue, and one that can’t be answered definitively. But it’s worth exploring, and for those who’ve been here, worth coming back.
With hotels like this, that cater to the desires for a homey getaway, along with some real cosmopolitan flair, there is a lot for the visitor here. It’s possible to tour the city and enter into any number of interesting realities and pockets of culture, but it’s also possible to stay safely nestled in the arms of an ideal. It doesn’t even matter that no one actually believes in that ideal, because we all know it’s still extremely potent, and sometimes even delightfully cozy. On the other hand, it’s also a great place to go to get in touch with a thriving underground art scene.
John Commorato, Jr., co-owner of the Brass Rail, seems to have been somewhere near the center of things at certain times. If these things can be said to have a center. In smaller towns or unlikely cities where experimental, underground art starts to flourish, it’s usually due to the efforts of a few like-minded individuals, people who get deeply involved and then try to distance themselves so that others might step up and begin to push. The hard and heartbreaking thing is that the push usually requires massive community efforts that are way beyond the resources of the individuals. But it does point out a fascinating movement that’s always here, just beneath the surface, and if we look close enough, we might discover that it was always here, even when Norman Rockwell was painting it.
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