| City of Gary, Indiana | |||
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| — City — | |||
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| Nickname(s): City in Motion, City of the Century, GI, Magic City of Steel, The Steel City, The G | |||
| Motto: We Are Doing Great Things | |||
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| Coordinates: 41°34′51″N 87°20′44″W / 41.58083°N 87.34556°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Indiana | ||
| County | Lake | ||
| Founded | 1906 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Council-Strong Mayor | ||
| - Mayor | Rudolph Clay (D) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 57.26 sq mi (148.3 km2) | ||
| - Land | 50.23 sq mi (130.1 km2) | ||
| - Water | 7.03 sq mi (18.2 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 577 ft – 600+ ft (175.87 m – 180+ m) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 99,516 | ||
| - Density | 2,045.6/sq mi (789.8/km2) | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| ZIP codes | 46401-46411 | ||
| Area code(s) | 219 | ||
| FIPS code | 18-27000[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0434979[2] | ||
| Website | http://www.gary.in.us/ | ||
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population was 102,746 at the 2000 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state. Gary was once the second largest city in Indiana, behind Indianapolis, a position now held by Fort Wayne. It borders Lake Michigan and has large steel mills.
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The city was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant. The city was named after the lawyer and founding chairman of U.S. Steel, Elbert H. Gary.
Among U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more, Gary has the highest percentage of African Americans, 84% (as of the 2000 U.S. census). Gary had one of the nation's first African-American mayors, Richard G. Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention. At the same time, Gary suffered from many affluent and middle-class residents leaving Gary and relocating to the surrounding towns and cities. Because of the loss of jobs in the city, many people left the area altogether for regions with employment.
Gary's fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry. In the 1960s, like many other American urban centers, Gary entered a downward spiral of decline. Gary's decline was brought on by the growing overseas competitiveness in the steel industry, which had caused U.S. Steel to layoff many workers from the Gary area. Crime increased, including use and trade in illegal drugs.
U.S. Steel continues to be a major steel producer, but with only a fraction of its former level of employment. While Gary has failed to reestablish a manufacturing base since its population peak, two casinos opened along the Gary lakeshore in the 1990s. Today, Gary faces numerous difficulties, including unemployment, major economic problems, and a high rate of crime, though the city has made some progress in addressing these issues since the 1990s.
Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man featured the song, Gary, Indiana, describing Gary Conservatory as the alleged alma mater of lead character Professor Harold Hill ("Gary Music Conservatory, Class of '05!"). The joke in Hill's claim, of course, is that the City of Gary wasn't founded until 1906. Wilson's musical, set in 1912, later was the basis of a film (1962) and a made-for-television film (2003).
Parts of the never-completed Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad were built in the vicinity of Gary and used as interurban transport.
Three-term Democratic Mayor Scott King resigned from office in March, 2006, citing a desire to return to private law practice.[3] Then-deputy mayor and former Calumet Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen Jr. became acting mayor, pending a formal election by local Democratic party officials. On April 4, 2006, local officials chose former Lake County Commissioner and King rival Rudolph Clay to fill the remaining 21 months of King's term.
The Gary Chicago International Airport has recently secured nearly 100 million dollars in grants and private donations. The FAA approved GYY's master plan which includes the expansion of runways, land acquistition for a larger terminal, an integrated transportation center, and provision for a third runway. The first part of the plan requires that the EJ&E line, which runs at the end of the runway, be relocated.
Gary was rated the 17th most dangerous city in the United States according to Morgan Quitno's 2007 analysis of crime rates (City Crime Rankings, 14th Edition), down from 10th highest in the 2006 edition. This is indicative of the progress Gary has made in reducing crime since the 1990s.[citation needed] The city recorded 51 homicides in 2006, a 13.5 percent decrease from the previous year. In 2007, Gary had 71 homicides — almost a 40 percent increase over 2006.
Dallas-based HomeVestors of America released their "Top 10 Markets for Real Estate Investing" list on December 9, 2006. Gary earned the number one position on this list, which represents activity of investors who purchase homes below market and then sell.[4] Also, Forbes Magazine recently listed Gary 39th on their Top 100 Best Cities for Jobs in 2008. The ranking was up from 89th in 2006 and 84th in 2007.[5]
In March, 2008 the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief and a police sergeant were all indicted by the federal court for violating the civil rights of a Gary resident.[citation needed]
After celebrating its 100th year in 2006, the city of Gary finally shows evidence of rebound from years of economic depression. Many buildings that have been left vacant for years are now finally slated for demolition and development.[6] Many new homes have been built through the HOPE VI grant from HUD. In 2009, the old town section of the city, still littered with deteriorating buildings and roads which have not been occupied or used for three decades, was featured in episode 2 of The History Channel's series Life After People, as an example of how quickly Chicago might deteriorate after human beings had vanished off of Earth, thanks largely to the effects of Lake Michigan on steel and reinforced concrete structures.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57.2 square miles (148.3 km²), of which, 50.2 square miles (130.1 km²) of it is land and 7.0 square miles (18.2 km²) of it (12.25%) is water. The city sits on the southern end of the former lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Chicago, and the current Lake Michigan. Most of the city's soil nearly one foot below the surface is pure sand. The sand beneath Gary, and on its beaches, is of such high quality that in years past it was mined for the manufacture of glass.
Gary is "T" shaped, with its northern border on Lake Michigan. At the Northwesternmost section Gary borders Hammond and East Chicago. Miller Beach, its easternmost neighborhood, borders Lake Station and Portage. Gary's southernmost section borders Hobart and Merrillville.
Aetna is located on Gary's far east side along the Dunes Highway. Aetna predates the city of Gary. It was a company town founded in 1881 by the Aetna Powder Works, an explosives company, which closed with the end of World War I. The Town of Aetna was annexed in 1928 around the same time Gary annexed the Town of Miller. A building boom happened shortly afterward in the late 1920s and early 1930s making Aetna home to an impressive collection of art deco architecture. The rest of the community was built through out the 1950s after the Korean War in a series of phases. The eastern edge of Aetna is marked by wilderness and borders Miller Beach and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Ambridge is located on Gary's near west side along 5th Avenue. Ambridge was developed for workers at the nearby steel plant in the 1910s and 1920s, and is named after the American Bridge Works, which was a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. The neighborhood is home to a huge stock of prairie style and art deco homes. The Gary Masonic Temple is located in the neighborhood along with the Ambassador Apartment building. Located just south of Interstate 90, the neighborhood can be seen while passing Buchanan Street.
Black Oak is located on the far southwest side of Gary, in the vicinity of the Burr Street exit to the Borman Expressway. It was annexed in the 1970s. Prior to that, Black Oak was associated with Hammond, and the area has Hammond telephone numbers. The community was convinced by Mayor Hatcher that its residents would benefit from better services, provided by the city, than those provided by the county.
Brunswick is located on Gary's far west side. The neighborhood is located just south of Interstate 90 and can be seen from the expressway. The Brunswick area includes the old Tri-City Plaza shopping center on West 5th Avenue (U.S. 20). The area is south of the Gary Chicago International Airport.
Concord is located on westside of Gary located between Burr St. and Clark Road. It's one of the smaller neighborhoods in the city.
Interstate 90 divides downtown Gary from the United States Steel Plant. Downtown Gary was developed in the 1920s and houses several pieces of impressive architecture, including several structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. A new office building was constructed in the downtown in recent years, as was a new baseball stadium for the Gary SouthShore RailCats. A significant number of older structures have been demolished in recent years, but a number of abandoned buildings remain in the downtown area, including historic structures like Gary's Union Station and City Methodist Church.
Glen Park is located on Gary's south side, made up mostly of mid-twentieth century houses. Glen Park is divided from the remainder of the city by the Borman Expressway. The northern portion of Glen Park is home to Gary's Gleason Park Golf Course and the campus of Indiana University Northwest. The far western portion of Glen Park is home to the Village Shopping Center.
Glen Ryan is a subdivision located on Gary's far east side along the Dunes Highway north of the South Shore Rail Road. The subdivision was built in phases between the late 1950s to the mid 1960's. The eastern edge of Glen Ryan is bordered by Miller Beach and the southern edge is bordered by Aetna.
Ivanhoe was a housing project located on Gary's west side along 11th Avenue west of Chase Street. Closed in the summer of 1965, the facility was "sealed off" by a chain link fence.
Marshalltown is a subdivision located on Gary's east side along Central Avenue and 21st Avenue to the east of Martin Luther King Drive. It was developed in the mid 1950's.
Midtown is located to the south of Downtown Gary, along Broadway. This was, traditionally, the original "black" neighborhood in the pre-1960's days of segregation.
Miller Beach also known through the years as Miller Station or just simply as Miller, is on Gary's far east side. The Town of Miller predated the city of Gary by more than half a century, however Miller was forcibly annexed by the city of Gary in the early 1920s. Miller developed around the old stagecoach stop and train station known, as early as the 1840s, as Miller's Junction. Miller Town Hall stands on the corner of Grand Boulevard and Miller Avenue at Old Hobart Road. The Historic Miller Schoolhouse is now the South Shore Center for the Performing Arts and it stands in Miller on Lake Street near the Miller South Shore train station.
Tarrytown is a subdivision located on Gary's west side between Whitcomb Street and Clark Road.
Tolleston is one of Gary's oldest neighborhoods, predating much of the rest of the city. It was plated out by George Tolle in 1857, when the railroads came to the area. The area is to the west of downtown Gary and south of the Ambridge area.
Westbrook is an apartment complex on the west side of the city between Taft and Chase Streets, adjacent to the old Pennsylvania Railroad tracks, and the neighborhood surrounding that complex. It lies to the north of Tolleston.
Although Gary is located on similar latitudes as New York City, the climate is colder in the winter because of a more continental influence. In July and August, the warmest months, high temperatures average 84 °F (29 °C) and peak just above 100 °F (38 °C) and low temperatures average 63 °F (17 °C). In January and February, the coldest months, high temperatures average around 29 °F (-2 °C) and low temperatures average 13 °F (-11 °C), with at least a few days of temperatures dipping below 0 °F (-18 °C). The weather of Gary is greatly regulated by its proximity to Lake Michigan, as it sits at the lake's southernmost point. Weather varies yearly. Tornadoes strike annually, though the city has generally avoided major damage. In summer months Gary is humid. The city's yearly precipitation averages about 40 inches. Summer is the rainiest season, with rainfall of short duration and very loud, drawn-out thunderstorms. Winters vary but are predominantly snowy with regular blizzards. Snowfall in Gary can average 24 to 36 inches per winter, but sometimes large blizzards hit because of "lake effect snow," a phenomenon wherein large amounts of water evaporated from the lake deposits onto the shoreline areas inordinate amounts of snow.
| Climate data for Gary, IN | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 30.4 (-0.9) |
35.1 (1.7) |
46.6 (8.1) |
57.6 (14.2) |
69.8 (21) |
79.8 (26.5) |
83.9 (28.8) |
81.3 (27.4) |
75.6 (24.2) |
63.8 (17.6) |
48 (8.9) |
35.7 (2) |
59 (15) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 13.9 (-10) |
17.7 (-7.9) |
28 (-2.2) |
37.5 (3) |
47.8 (8.8) |
57.5 (14.2) |
63 (17.2) |
61.3 (16.3) |
53.5 (11.9) |
42 (5.5) |
30.8 (-0.6) |
20.4 (-6.4) |
39.5 (4.2) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.9 (48.3) |
1.52 (38.6) |
2.73 (69.3) |
3.58 (90.9) |
3.92 (99.6) |
4.47 (113.5) |
3.52 (89.4) |
3.76 (95.5) |
3.64 (92.5) |
2.97 (75.4) |
3.49 (88.6) |
2.52 (64) |
38 (965.2) |
| Source: [7] 2008-07-28 | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 15,802 |
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| 1920 | 55,378 | 250.4% | |
| 1930 | 100,666 | 81.8% | |
| 1940 | 111,719 | 11.0% | |
| 1950 | 133,911 | 19.9% | |
| 1960 | 178,320 | 33.2% | |
| 1970 | 175,415 | −1.6% | |
| 1980 | 144,953 | −17.4% | |
| 1990 | 116,646 | −19.5% | |
| 2000 | 102,746 | −11.9% | |
| Est. 2007 | 96,429 | −6.1% | |
| U.S. Census Bureau[8] | |||
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 102,746 people, 38,244 households, and 25,623 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,045.5 people per square mile (789.8/km²). There were 43,630 housing units at an average density of 868.6/sq mi (335.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.03% African American, 11.92% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.97% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 38,244 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.2% were married couples living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,195, and the median income for a family was $32,205. Males had a median income of $34,992 versus $24,432 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,383. About 22.2% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.
Property tax limitations implemented for the entire state of Indiana have left Gary in a financially difficult situation [1]. The city is one of the few in the US that uses cash based accounting, a system usually limited to use in very small businesses and not municipalities with budgets greater than 80 million dollars [2]. Gary currently is under temporary reprieve from full implementation of the state tax caps, an implementation that is scheduled to be applied to Gary in 2012. At that point Gary's property tax revenue of approximately $60M is projected to be cut to approximately $30M. The budget changes necessary at that point are widely viewed to be devastating [3].
Due to its cash accounting system, there is difficulty determining what Gary's one time liabilities are. In late 2009, they are at least $34M in debts and unpaid judgments by the city to various parties in addition to the upcoming projected structural deficit due to mandatory tax caps.
In 2009 scenes for the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street were filmed in Gary.[9]
The following sports franchises are based in Gary:
This information is documented in the 1958 World Book Encyclopedia.
There are three school districts serving the city as well as multiple charter schools located within the city.
Most public schools in Gary are administered by the Gary Community School Corporation. The other public schools within the city are administered by Lake Ridge Schools Corporation. Some Gary residents in the outskirts attend schools administered by the River Forest Community School Corporation.
Gary Charter Schools operates several charter schools.
Gary is home to two regional state college campuses:
The Gary Public Library System consists of the main library at 220 West 5th Avenue and several branches: Brunswick Branch, W. E. B. DuBois Branch, J. F. Kennedy Branch, Tolleston Branch, and Ora L. Wildermuth Branch.[10] Lake County Public Library operates the Black Oak Branch at 5921 West 25th Avenue in the Gary city limits.[11] In addition Indiana University Northwest operates the Indiana University Northwest Library on its campus.[12]
Gary is the hometown of The Jackson Family, a family of musicians who influenced and shaped the sound of popular music. Joe and Katherine Jackson originally moved into their two-room house of 2300 Jackson St. in Gary, Indiana, after they got married on November 5, 1949.
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Gary [1] is a city in Lake County, Indiana.
Founded in 1906 as a company town for U.S. Steel, it once had the nickname "The Magic City". More recently, it has been described by writer Jessica Hopper as "the Pompeii of the Midwest, a city of ruins where life can seem to have just suddenly stopped".
Gary is both famous and infamous. It's the "just one place that can light my face" and "home sweet home" effusively described in the song of the same name from the 1957 musical The Music Man. It's the childhood home of Michael, Tito, Jermaine, and the rest of the Jackson family. It's also home to an unattractive and often industrial-smelling stretch of highway east of Chicago, and has repeatedly ranked first in the nation among large cities for homicides per capita.
When designing the city, the U.S. Steel Corporation bragged that its engineers "took for their guidance the motto that hangs in the office of the big company's chief executive, "It can be done," and made Gary at least an attractive, if not a beautiful, residential town," and posited Gary as evidence that "management has always shown its realization of the fact that "not by bread alone does man live"; that the mere paying of employees a living wage is not sufficient, and that even the least educated worker has an aesthetic sense, even though often uncultivated, that should be developed and pandered to within reasonable limits if the best good of the worker and the employer is to be achieved." As U.S. Steel began to struggle in the late 1960s, the city's economy followed, and it has yet to recover.
Two casinos, legalized in Gary out of sheer desperation, make it a destination for gamblers on short trips and locals on pay-day . Its crumbling architectural heritage also makes it a favorite — and dangerous — destination for urban exploration.
The Gary/Chicago International Airport [2] is located at the northwest corner of the city. Alas, there's no commercial air service at present, but the casinos run occasional charter flights.
Take the Indiana Toll Road from Illinois ($3 from Chicago) or Ohio to exit 14A (Gary West) or exit 17 (Gary East). Exit 17 intersects with Interstate 65 and U.S. Routes 12 & 20.
Greyhound Buses stop in Gary. Their offices are at 100 W 4th Ave, Ste. 106 in Gary; tel. 219-886-3041.
Lake Michigan and the Grand Calumet River are nearby.
There is a limited local bus service. The depot is two blocks west of the baseball stadium, and it's quite easy to walk around the four-five blocks of downtown Gary (including the City Methodist Church ruins). However, while visiting Gary, use of a car is strongly advised, both due to limited transport, and relatively high levels of violent crime, (even downtown, at night).
Gary was once a thriving city, and it has the architecture to prove it — intact or otherwise.
There are two casinos along the lakeshore, both of which have plenty of fake-Vegas glitz and few traces of the city outside.
The city is not widely renowned as a shopping destination, and with good reason. There's little to buy here that you couldn't buy elsewhere, and most (budget) shops are located in strip malls outside the city center. Gary is, however, perhaps ground zero for Michael Jackson and Jackson Five memorabilia. An easy (and, it must be said, cheesy) spot to pick up the goods is the small indoor marketplace at 487 Broadway, which also boasts a good collection of over the top celebratory Obama tees.
Gary is extremely short on sit-down eateries. Take out is much easier to find if you have a car—look in and around the run down strip malls along 5th Ave outside of the city center. Lake St, on the way from the city proper to Marquette Park, has about two blocks that look incongruously charming, and there you'll have no trouble getting a slice of pizza. Otherwise, turn to Bennigans!
There are bars and lounges all over Gary. The trouble is, they're all shuttered, having closed or burned down in years gone by.
You'll probably want to day-trip from Chicago, which is about 45 minutes away; Hammond (about 20 minutes) has some reasonably non-decrepit discount options.
As above, Gary has repeatedly ranked first in the United States for murder rates per capita, so take care. Due to the economic depression, many businesses close in the evening, so call ahead to confirm that wherever you're going is still open, and don't set out at night without a destination in mind. If you're tempted to do some urban exploration, bear in mind that the poverty of the city means that much more potential danger from people squatting in abandoned properties. Make sure someone knows where you're going, and check in with them as you go.
| Chicago ← Hammond ← | W   E |
→ Lake Station |
| Chicago ← Hammond ← | W  E |
→ Lake Station → South Bend |
| END ← | N  S |
→ Hobart → Lafayette |
| This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow! |
Category: Usable articles
GARY, a city of Lake county, Indiana, U.S.A., at the southern end of Lake Michigan, about 25 m. S.E. of Chicago, Ill. Pop. (1910 census) 16,802. Gary is served by the Baltimore & Ohio, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, the Michigan Central, the Pennsylvania, the Wabash, and (for freight only) the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern, and the Indiana Harbor Belt railways, and by several steamship lines plying the Great Lakes. There are about 21 sq. m. within the municipal limits, but the city lies chiefly within a tract of about 8000 acres composed at the time of its settlement mainly of sand dunes and swamps intersected from east to west by tha Grand Calumet and the Little Calumet rivers, small streams respectively about and 3 m. S. of the lake shore. In 1906 the United States Steel Corporation bought this tract to establish on it a great industrial community, as direct water connexion with the Lake Superior ore region was possible, and it was comparatively accessible to West Virginia coal and Michigan limestone, with unusual railroad facilities. The Steel Corporation began the actual building of the town in June 1906, the first step being the installation of an elaborate system of sewers, and of mains and conduits, for the distribution of water, gas and electricity. The water-supply is taken from the lake at a point 2 m. offshore by means of a tunnel. These public utilities the Steel Corporation controls, and it has built about 500 dwellings, two hotels, a bank, and its own plant. A small patch of land, now within the limits of the city, has been from the beginning in the hands of private owners, but the remainder of the lots (except those already sold) are owned by the Steel Corporation, and are sold under certain restrictions intended to prevent real estate speculation, to guarantee bona fide improvement of the property, and to restrict the sale of intoxicating drinks. Between the Grand Calumet river (which has been dredged out into a canal) and the lake lies the plant of the Steel Corporation, covering about 1200 acres. All the machinery in this great plant is driven by electricity from generators whose motive power is supplied by the combustion of gases from the blast furnaces. From the same sources is also supplied the electricity for lighting the city. The rail mill is operated by three-phase induction motors of from 2000 to 6000 horse-power capacity. The city was chartered in 1906 and was named in honour of Elbert Henry Gary (b. 1846), chairman of the board of directors and chairman of the finance committee of the United States Steel Corporation.
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Medieval short form of Germanic compound names beginning with gari (“‘spear’”)/geri (“‘spear’”), such as Gerard, Gerald, or Gerbert. Cognate with the Scottish and Irish Gaelic name Garaidh.
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