The Giant American Flag

What started as an idea to celebrate our 20th Anniversary in 1999, grew into one of the largest continuously flying flags in the United States. After years of planning, set backs and actual construction; our "Giant American Flag" was raised 232 feet into the Fort Wayne Skyline on October 13, 2001.

Many people criticized this as a gimmick or publicity stunt due to the timing of its erection and the surrounding world events at the time. This was never the case. The raising of this flag was a heartfelt "Thank You" to the Fort Wayne community. Mr. McKibben once said, "Only in America can you start with nothing and build a business. It's all about Patriotism." So we fly it out of appreciation to our country, our community and to the customers we have had the pleasure to serve over the years. 

The flagpole was 43 inches in diameter. The pole itself weighed 35,600 pounds, and the base contained 400,000 pounds of concrete.

In late 2022, we had to stop flying our flag due to a malfunction in the mechanism to raise and lower the flag. We were unable to fly our flag on Veteran's Day that year for the first time ever. A costly repair was scheduled all but too late. What would happen next changed the trajectory for our store. On December 23, 2022 with low temperatures at -8° and wind chills reaching -38° our lone pole snapped into 3 separate pieces. One piece falling South into the parking lot and totaling several vehicles for sale. The second fell North into the parking lot. The third portion remained intact as a somber reminder of what was once such a great landmark for the city of Fort Wayne. Thankfully, no one was hurt during the incident.

We received an overwhelming amount of support and love from our community. Many people reached out in hopes of a resurrection of the flag. We are so grateful for all of the kind words and support of our flag. We love it as much as all of you. We know most of you, whether driving by on Coliseum Blvd, or driving around the city on I-69 loved to see it flying. 

On July 21st, 2023 the remaining flagpole was removed in 30 foot sections by crane. During that time, we had a crew using sonar technology inspect the concrete base. It was then determined a new flagpole could be easily installed using the current base containing 400,000 pounds of concrete.

        Our new flagpole made its way to our dealership and was carefully assembled for installation on June 28th, 2024. The remaining assembly and curing time led us to our Flag Raising Ceremony on July 2nd, 2024 at 10:00am. Veterans Groups from all over, and several members of our wonderful community were here to see the flag get raised once again into the Fort Wayne, IN skyline.     

        The new flagpole is 213 feet tall, painted red, and carries the same 80 pound nylon 50 foot x 80 foot flag we have always flown. The pole itself can withstand windspeeds of up to 130 mph. The wind plays a large factor in the changing of the flag. Wind speeds need to be under 10 mph in order to safely bring the flag down and replace it. We have several flags in rotation to put a new or repaired one up when the other needs to be replaced or fixed. They could last anywhere from 2 days to 2 months before they have to be changed. If you see it torn, please know we have already addressed it and will get it replaced as soon as it is safe to do so. We love it dearly and hate to see it tattered as well. We are thrilled to have our Giant American Flag back.

        From all of us here at Glenbrook CDJR - "Thank You"

 New Flagpole - Photo taken 7/2/2024