Harry Baals Leading Vote to Name New Government Building in Indiana

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Harry Baals

Many residents of Fort Wayne, Indiana, would love to name the new government building after the city’s longest serving mayor. Unfortunately, his name was Harry Baals.

Baals served three consecutive terms from 1934-1947, and later a fourth term from 1951-1954 before dying in office. He pronounced his last name “balls,” but his descendents have gone with “bales.”

Regardless of the pronunciation, the vast majority of respondents to an online poll have voted to name the new government center after Baals. As of February 10, Harry Baals Governement Center had garnered more than 11,330 votes. The next closest competitor, The Anthony Wayne Government Center, had received only 502 votes.

No matter how many votes Baals gets, the building won’t be named after him, says Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy. “We love Fort Wayne, too,” she told the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. “We’re not going to make any decisions that look bad.”

There is a street in Fort Wayne named after the popular mayor: Harry Baals Drive.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

Harry Baals Building Unlikely (by Benjamin Lanka, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

Name Our Building Forum (Feedback Fort Wayne)

Comments

jay dietz 13 years ago

and i forgot. i went to university of georgia and our athletic building housing all sports operations and hall of fame is named the "Butts-Mehre" building.

jay dietz 13 years ago

I agree with yo kelli. not from there but i can only assume 6th graders arnt voting. baals family, or harold baals if thats the real name. either one without giving to the juvenile side of society could proudly represent your great grandfather and what he obviously meant to the ft wayne community.

Kelli Badary 13 years ago

I am Harry Baals Great Granddaughter. His Son (94 years old) is still alive and well. I know we all understand that the pronounciation is (Balls) but who visiting the city would think that the spelling would be pronounced the way it once was. It is now (Bales) and all living in the area now know what it is. Not to mention everyone else now knows, as well, due to the media attention. Make the Baals family, residents of Fort Wayne and the nation proud by naming this building after a dedicated local official. It should be about the mans service and not the name.

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Harry Baals Leading Vote to Name New Government Building in Indiana

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