I think “was” and “is” deaden sentences. I’ve written about this before (internal link). Here are some more examples with my suggested revisions.

The fort was built to guard against Indian attacks.

They built the fort to guard against Indian attacks.

What he really wanted to do was to eat ice cream

He really wanted to eat ice cream.

That was the first time he traveled there.

He traveled there for the first time.

Is this what we should be thinking?

Should we be thinking this?

The design of the road was to move large trucks.

The road moved large trucks by design.

This was a very interesting experience for them.

The experience proved interesting for them.

Is this the right time and place for basketball?

Basketball here and now?

Far up in the air was an object that looked like a balloon.

A far up object in the air looked like a balloon.

Was that his intention?

Did he intend that?

Is that really important?

Important, yes?