There is just one place

That can light my face.

Gary, Indiana,

Gary Indiana,

Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Rome, but--

Gary, Indiana,

Gary, Indiana,

Gary Indiana

From "The Music Man"

 

I usually just see Gary from the tollway. I've passed through on street level on occasion, and I've seen other UO threads. Still, I was not prepared for the ghost town I saw. Maybe it was the beautiful bones of striking structures, absurdly abandoned, against a crisp, clear, blue morning sky.

 

Handsome, even stately. Abandoned.

 

Across the side street, to the east -- not abandoned.

 

Not anymore

 

After the neutron bomb?

 

Decay has put its stamp on this Post Office.

 

Possibly the only occupied building downtown: The senior center.

 

The same, looking north toward the civic center and the steel mills

 

Non-functioning traffic signal in the heart of downtown, as if there were anybody to notice

 

Downtown commercial core

 

Close up

 

New residential, exactly one block west of the vacant storefronts

 

Abandoned building behind an abandoned lot

 

Abandoned farmhouse amid the megafarms of NW Indiana?

 

Nope. Context places it next to a skyscraper

 

... and another one, just to the west

 

Detail

 

Not much action at the new convention center next to the court house

 

Mirror-image City Hall across from the court house. The civic center looks impressive from the tollway; not so much on the ground.

 

Gary Works office, just across the tollway from City Hall

 

USS Gary Works

 

The South Shore trains pick up passengers from the platform along the tollway, just to the west, but the station is crumbling

 

Beautiful Downtown Gary, from the north.

 

Not sure what this lonely building is between City Hall and the tollway

 

Even the "new" buildings are vacant and crumbling

 

The grand lobby

 

Home of the independent minor league RailCats

 

... in the shadow of the Gary Works

 

 

That's just shocking. Horrible.

 

FYI, the station you photographed is a railroad station. It never served the South Shore Line. Instead it was a Union Station which served more than one railroad company, including the New York Central tracks on the north side of it, between Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York City and Boston. On the south side of it, the station serve the tracks belonging to the Baltimore & Ohio RR, linking Chicago, Akron, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

 

FYI-2, this was moved from the Ohio photos section for obvious reasons.

FYI-2, this was moved from the Ohio photos section for obvious reasons.

 

Imagine my embarrassment for clicking on the wrong section. Thanks.

Not at all. Great (albeit disturbing) photos.

 

At one time people probably considered this station to be of inferior materials.  Though, concrete instead of stone it's held up quite well.  I expect it will stay around with us for quite some time. 

 

Btw, that 60's / 70's hotel was to be quite the large revitalization project.  I think it was proposed when there was some pre-recession renovations going on downtown.  That all came to a grinding halt in the mid 2000's.  I believe the city has the money in hand to tear the hotel down.

Such great bones with so much waste.

^Exactly. Ohio does not have any cities decayed quite to the level of Gary or East Saint Louis.

Btw, that 60's / 70's hotel was to be quite the large revitalization project.  I think it was proposed when there was some pre-recession renovations going on downtown.  That all came to a grinding halt in the mid 2000's.  I believe the city has the money in hand to tear the hotel down.

 

There used to be a huge banner that covered the west facade of that building of sexy women models that said something like "Gary Style".  It was for when they hosted the Miss USA contest in 2001-2002.  Yeah they hosted that...if that is a big deal??  It was weird, the banner hung there for many years after...probably till it just deteriorated and fell off. 

 

Poor Gary.  NW Indiana in general has never been able to capitalize on the fact that it sits right next to Chicago (except as its industrial dumping ground).  Most of it is a schlocky dump, even though the commute (and taxes) would be so much easier than living in some of the far flung suburbs of Illinois (not to mention having a national park on lake Michigan in your backyard).  Even Gary airport could be the "third" airport instead of the Peotone debacle....it's like 30 miles from the loop and has train service. 

 

^Exactly. Ohio does not have any cities decayed quite to the level of Gary or East Saint Louis.

 

I think it speaks volumes about state government in Indianapolis, it's in a different time zone and not part of the state as far as they are concerned.  Indiana doesn't seem to have the wealth and resources to spread around as much as Ohio, and they spend it on the capital city IMO.  NW Indiana and Gary are the red headed step child of Chicagoland and Indiana.  People from Chicago go there to buy gas and cigarettes.

I think it speaks volumes about state government in Indianapolis, it's in a different time zone and not part of the state as far as they are concerned.  Indiana doesn't seem to have the wealth and resources to spread around as much as Ohio, and they spend it on the capital city IMO.  NW Indiana and Gary are the red headed step child of Chicagoland and Indiana.  People from Chicago go there to buy gas and cigarettes.

 

It's only a tiny slice, though.  Driving that section of the Skyway is post-apocalyptic, but Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton - from what I've seen these towns seem to get some investment and more or less thrive as far-flung suburbs of Chicago.  I haven't been to Michigan City, though.

 

I think the bigger issue is the city that ties itself so thoroughly to one industry.  When the industry is booming, good times.  But cheap foreign competition pulled the rug out from under Gary, and with it went the population and the tax base.

 

A city of industry, like your 401k, benefits greatly from diversification.

It's only a tiny slice, though.  Driving that section of the Skyway is post-apocalyptic, but Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton - from what I've seen these towns seem to get some investment and more or less thrive as far-flung suburbs of Chicago.  I haven't been to Michigan City, though.

 

Except that tiny slice is the state's second-largest metro area -- upwards of 300,000 people: Gary, Hammond, Munster, Merrillville, East Chicago, Highland, Valparaiso, etc.

 

And I totally agree with Metrocity about the Gary airport. It's already got runways and unused capacity; train service; highway service; a population and economy that needs jobs; better transportation access to Chicagoans who need jobs; it would avoid sprawl; and it would be billions of dollars cheaper.

Isn't Fort Wayne the second largest metro in Indiana?

 

Gary Airport is expanding, even though it has lost its regularly scheduled commercial passenger services. They are relocating rail lines from the west side of the east-west runway so it can be lengthened. Gary Airport is also proposed as the new suburban stop on the planned, high-speed South of Lake Bypass for 20 daily Amtrak trains to Michigan, East Coast, Southern Illinois and New Orleans (see: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2012/dot5012.html and http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/mdot_south_lake_route_analysis_rpt_354612_7.pdf). However, for the South Shore Line to serve the airport, it would have to be rerouted around the north side of it. Not impossible. Just expensive.

 

If you had an expanded Gary Airport with regular commercial air service served by the South Shore Line and the Chicago suburban stop for the Michigan and East Coast trains, that should be a more stable economic engine for Gary.

Isn't Fort Wayne the second largest metro in Indiana?

 

Allen County (Ft. Wayne) population: 355,000

Lake County (Gary, etc.) population: 496,000 (And that leaves out Porter County, where Valparaiso and Portage have almost 70,000)

 

UrbanSurfin is generally correct.  NW Indiana is the state's second largest urbanized area:

 

Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN CSA 1,984,644

NW Indiana 811,375

Fort Wayne-Huntington-Auburn, IN CSA 569,636

I think it speaks volumes about state government in Indianapolis, it's in a different time zone and not part of the state as far as they are concerned.  Indiana doesn't seem to have the wealth and resources to spread around as much as Ohio, and they spend it on the capital city IMO.  NW Indiana and Gary are the red headed step child of Chicagoland and Indiana.  People from Chicago go there to buy gas and cigarettes.

 

It's only a tiny slice, though.  Driving that section of the Skyway is post-apocalyptic, but Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton - from what I've seen these towns seem to get some investment and more or less thrive as far-flung suburbs of Chicago.  I haven't been to Michigan City, though.

 

I think the bigger issue is the city that ties itself so thoroughly to one industry.  When the industry is booming, good times.  But cheap foreign competition pulled the rug out from under Gary, and with it went the population and the tax base.

 

A city of industry, like your 401k, benefits greatly from diversification.

 

Good points. In no way would I lump Gary into the same sentence as other Region cities like Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton.

Driving that section of the Skyway is post-apocalyptic, but Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton - from what I've seen these towns seem to get some investment and more or less thrive as far-flung suburbs of Chicago.  I haven't been to Michigan City, though.

 

Michigan City is a dumpy, great semi-intact downtown grid that's pretty neglected with a big outlet mall on the periphery and a casino off the beaten path (and a nuclear cooling tower looming over it all).  The South Shore Metra runs down the middle of the street in the Downtown which is pretty cool.  There is lots of suburban sprawl big box stuff in those other areas with highway infrastructure investment from the state...I guess I was meaning the pockets of historical traditional parts that dot the area, it all seems very neglected with a high degree of disinvestment (or vision) by the state IMO.  Gary is just abysmal, it makes Ohio's version's of the redheaded stepchild (which I think of the Youngstown, Lorain, Sandusky type places) look like the emerald city.  Chicagoans flock to the east side of Lake Michigan in Michigan and bypass NW Indiana to vacation every summer weekend.  Everybody knows the "nice stuff" starts as soon as you cross the state line into Michigan.  It all seems like a huge missed opportunity, and bad planning and investment. 

 

 

Good points. In no way would I lump Gary into the same sentence as other Region cities like Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton.

 

Would you "lump" Dayton in the same sentence as Beavercreek? Really, I didn't lump Gary with Merrillville. It's a matter of geography, not arbitrary selection. Different as they are, Gary and Merrillville are absolutely part of the same region.

 

Actually, I think I'd rather live in Gary than Merrillville.

on a positive point, its great to see that new housing development in gary. keeps hope alive.

 

You'd guys might be surprised how many downtown Chicago office workers live in NW Indiana.  Gary gives it a bad rap and the views from the tollways are indicative of a wasteland.  But the reality is Northwest Indiana is a fine place to live, has some decent downtowns, and great neighborhoods.

Some Northwest Indiana towns belie the wasteland perception. Valparaiso is indeed a pleasant community with an attractive, active CBD and a Lutheran-affiliated university that features an architectural-landmark chapel; Crown Point has much of the feel and function of a county seat in farm country; East Chicago, surrounded by blighted and crumbling cities and experiencing financial difficulties of its own, still successfully maintains a valiant effort to keep order and attend to public services with progressive approaches to vital functions like wastewater treatment. That city was among the first to switch from chemicals to UV light as the final step in treating sewage plant effluent and has made water-quality improvement visibly effective. Trout have been seen swimming in the plant's effluent stream.

 

Chesterton, served by South Shore trains at heavily-used Dune Park Station, also site of the railroad's general offices. The town is cute and tidy and has a pleasant old-time downtown square. Dune Park Station is within walking distance of Lake Michigan beaches at Indiana Dunes State Park.

 

Michigan City is the easternmost stop for most South Shore trains, but a few each day run through to South Bend, 35 miles to the east. Washington Park features Lake Michigan beaches, a much-photographed lighthouse, and an interesting zoo built up the side of an ancient grassy dune. There's a vintage stone observation tower at the summit of the dune.

 

Driving that section of the Skyway is post-apocalyptic, but Merrillville, Valparaiso, Chesterton - from what I've seen these towns seem to get some investment and more or less thrive as far-flung suburbs of Chicago.  I haven't been to Michigan City, though.

 

Michigan City is a dumpy, great semi-intact downtown grid that's pretty neglected with a big outlet mall on the periphery and a casino off the beaten path (and a nuclear cooling tower looming over it all).  The South Shore Metra runs down the middle of the street in the Downtown which is pretty cool.  There is lots of suburban sprawl big box stuff in those other areas with highway infrastructure investment from the state...I guess I was meaning the pockets of historical traditional parts that dot the area, it all seems very neglected with a high degree of disinvestment (or vision) by the state IMO.  Gary is just abysmal, it makes Ohio's version's of the redheaded stepchild (which I think of the Youngstown, Lorain, Sandusky type places) look like the emerald city.  Chicagoans flock to the east side of Lake Michigan in Michigan and bypass NW Indiana to vacation every summer weekend.  Everybody knows the "nice stuff" starts as soon as you cross the state line into Michigan.  It all seems like a huge missed opportunity, and bad planning and investment.

 

A couple of notes:

 

The cooling tower is part of NIPSCO's (Northern Indiana Public Service Company) coal-fired power plant. The plant's unit coal trains are a major revenue generator for South Shore Freight, a separate entity from the commuter rail operation that shares the same tracks.

 

The South Shore/Metra affiliation ends at the Illinois line, with Hegewisch the easternmost station of that segment. Incidentally, the railroad's Gary station shares waiting-room and possibly ticketing facilities with intercity bus sevice in a space contiguous with the convention center and connected to the passenger platform via a skybridge. It's a heavily-used station serving commuters from a wide area.

I drove through here a few weeks ago on my way to see my brother in Kenosha, WI and it was almost like a really dark cloud was over my car the entire time and I was on the skyway. My wife even noticed it. These pics make me sad to see such a booming city (back in the day) falling apart like this.

 

I thought East STL was bad....this place might be worse

The only thing I saw in Gary when I went by it were all the gritty steel mills and the U.S. Steel Yard and a few houses. Surprised there was no Amtrak station there. I didn't see this part, and I would not want to check it out ALONE. Unbelieveable the wasted potential in that city's downtown. But I hope the best for that city. Never been to other cities like Hammond, Portage, or Chesterton, but I imagine they might be okay, as per NorthAndre's comment about NW Indiana natives working in Chicago.

 

Gary, Indiana, home of the Jackson family. One of the few places that makes Detroit look good.

Growing up during the dark ages of Michigan towns where pretty much every downtown commercial building was boarded up (things are much better now), many NW Indiana towns are in good shape in my perspective. 

 

These towns took a big hit with the shrinking steel industry.  But there's been plenty of industrial growth in other sectors and it still remains a viable area for new manufacturing.

Never been to other cities like Hammond...

 

I have a friend who grew up in Hammond (the daughter of Polish immigrants).  Its not really as nice as Valpo or Merrillville, but not as bad as Gary.  She told me also that it has some of the worst pollution in the country... its still a depressing place to drive through.

 

The thing that gets me the most about the post apocalyptic stretch of Tollway in NW Indiana is Wolf Lake.  Who in their right mind would want to fish/go boating in that lake?  You can see a captain planet villains hideout on the other side of it, tons and tons of very nasty industry - and yet I see people all the time on it.  Weird.