Gary, Indiana, ghost town

Pat - I remember Dickerson's drugstore well. Another fond Gary memory!

Yes, It was Karl Malden.

It wasn't Gary native Gene Hackman who just died -- it was Karl Malden. He was born and raised in Gary. He died yesterday, I believe, at the age of 97.

I loved your comment SmartCookie. Thank you. :-)

To Dave K, Karen T and Danny Malone- that drugstore was Dickerson Drugs and I knew it very well as it was owned by my Father-Chuck Dickerson. I just found this web site (5 hours ago) and have been mesmerized. As many people on here, I was also born at Methodist hospital (downtown) and baptized at City Methodist. And, went to Webster and Wallace-which was also a middle school when I went. (But, I think I'm a little older than most of you.)So, I have long time Gary ties. But, I also left a long time ago. I don't know what exactly it is, but there is something very special about being from Gary, Ind. Somehow, it never leaves you. As evidenced by being such a part of Michael Jackson's deal. Also, it was just announced that Gene Hackman passed away today and it was mentioned that he was from Gary. I don't remember even hearing where Farrah came from. Something about Gary stays with us forever. It was a great place to be from!

Gary would probably be better compared to Flint, MI, except Flint is doing somewhat better. As for all the Michael Jackson comments, I agree, who cares? He knew growing up in Gary was tough and the shape the city was in and never contributed anything! Not many Gary residents shed a tear of his dropping dead, most of the ones on the news or in the papers are from other towns. Only a matter of time until Rudy finds a way to make money off of it, for himself of course.

smart cookie, detroit will never be like that due to the fact that their population is high, gary's population was never that high.

as about cleveland.. I don't know where your thinking comes from, its' main industry right now is the medical field and that will always be a good industry, I doubt you've ever even been there so what's your problem?

Reading over all the posts regarding Michael Jackson's death just shows how much people think they knew about the man. What I do know is that he was a humanitarian, pop star, father, brother and son. I agree with Bobo, he never was convicted of any crime. I feel it's up to the individual if they want to give back to their community, and I think he did give back to society as a whole. My sympathies go out to his family and friends. People seem to want to believe the negative about others without "really knowing" the truth. Maybe that's why the Enquirer and the Globe are in business; people can be so naive and believe what they read in print. I don't profess to know MJ, but I do know that I loved watching him perform and I will miss that!

Two years ago I was assigned to work on a project in Gary. I traveled there monthly and stayed for a week each time. I'd stay in Merrillville, as there is no where to stay in Gary.

The first time I was there I was absolutely horrified. The area I worked in was near the City United Methodist Church. On my first visit I climbed through the wreckage and went in. I was drawn to the place as it was nearly a carbon copy of the beautiful cathedral United Methodist church I have attended for 25 years in my hometown. Minus the ruins that is. I just could not get over how this beautfiful building was left to silently decay and drop to the ground.

Gary is an unfortunate example of the decay in America that will probably ultimately come to all the former steel and auto industry towns - Detroit, Cleveland, Youngstown to name a few. Jobs go away, people go away, and all that is left is the crumbling infrastructure and very poor who can't leave. There's no way to bring it back, once the jobs are gone.

For those of you unfamiliar with Gary, this youtube will give you a good tour. It isn't just certain areas, the whole place looks like this. iF you go to this youtube you'll see a couple other videos about the history of Gary, some of which are pretty interesting.

www.youtube.com

I think the only hope Gary has is if people in Chicago decide to buy up some land and start building there. It really isn't that far and thre is a railway system and an airport, so it is possible. But the local government is so corrupt it will probably be too much trouble for a lot of people to bother with.

POP SISTRUNK - You're a racist. Entertainers who want to "give back" should be doing it for EVERYONE. It's also important to note that the black community of Gary did NOTHING to help the Jacksons gain success. There's no reason to "give back" if nothing was "given" in the first place.

Gary and other cities have decayed because the citizens didn't want to elect leaders who could bring in new industry. You're just another example of the "gimme gimme" mentality that's destroyed so much of this country.

Danny Malone, there's no evidence that MJ was a child molester. Only people with limited intelligence still hold onto that lie. MJ's strange behavior made him a convenient target - all celebrities experience something like this at some point.

Vincent Banks, you're a punk and a racist. You'll never amount to anything in life.

Turn the old theater into a Michael Jackson memorial???????? You think Gary has a bad reputation now? Put up a shrine to a child molester. That will do alot to help the towns reputation. Wouldnt it??

Now that Michael Jackson has died I hope some investor will come in and refurbush the old Theater to make it into a museum for MJ. Political Leaders should lower taxes to allow new companies like solar panel makers to come in and set up shop. With the expansion of the airport things could really pick up for this town. Come on Obama!!! get some stimulus money down to the people that really need it and since its so close to Chicago its like your neighbor. I wish the people of Gary , IN all the luck and hope someone is listening.

I am very sad to here about the death of Michael Jackson. He was and will always be "The King Of Pop". The Jackson family left 2300 Jackson Street a long time ago. The mark that was left to Gary, Indiana was nothing but the bugalow 2300 Jackson St. When you become rich and famous you have to give back. Michael and his family made close to a billion dollars. There is not one Jackson business to show for anywhere in Gary. Michael Jackson died 400 million dollars in the hole. He was broke and he ended where he started with nothing. We as Black Americans must learn to invest in our home towns. When we hit the Lottery's or make it big in music, TV, business, or movies. The big cars, big houses, never-never lands are immaterial. Black America has many millionaires but here is one question. How many of them have invested in Black America's future? There are many Gary, Indiana's in America. Michael Jackson's legacy and death should be a wake up call.

POP

We'll I will be back in Gary for 9 days and will definitel enjoy my stay......Gayr could of been improved a while back when they got all that money from casinos and Trump. Remember they had 2 Miss America pageants in Gary in 2001 and 2002....I am not sure what they did with all the money but it did not help the people of Gary.

Theh could of tore all the bad buildings down to make the city look better and me personally I would of tried my bets to remodel the Palace to look good.....If Chicago can do it to their old theatres Gary could of done that with all the money they made

However politics and company corruption caused alot of things gnot to get done...The Mayor paid alot of people to get things done who were his close friends and they never got done, but lots of people including Scott King got paid...oh well??

I live in gary and let me tell youit is not all that bad! I mean you couldn't expect much more from a city of which steele was the only industry.Let the truth be told, it was the greed of the white steele mill owners that wouldn't let any industry in on gary's rising economy. Steele can't carry a city forever. If we had only-(scratch that.)If only they had not been so greedy we'd be up there with chicago. For the record, Gary Indiana will make a comeback If I have to do it myself.

To rainerv, I am Vincent Banks a citizen of gary I am 14,Though I am fascinated and well knowledged when it comes to the history of gary. I'd be happy to give you a tour.

I fear if we don't start making things again in this country a lot more cities will look like this. I am not a fan of globalism, free trade etc. We need to produce something and stop buying cheap Chineese made garbage. Pictures like this make me afraid for my son's future. We can't all be bankers and insurance brokers.

i am an european photographer stayinbg and working these days in chicago. i have spent a huge amount of time in the last 2 years to shoot a exhibition work about left spanish copper and iron mines. i am staying at the moment till end of july in chicago.
i passed by gary and it touched me deep. i think the story of the downgoing of cities as gary is not so far away from the work i did in europe.
i would like to make a photoshoot for exhibition purposes.
is here someone who would like to help me to do this and who can show me some of the historic places which are left now?

I lived in the Chicago area for a number of years and have been to and through Gary quite a few times. No two ways about it, the place just keeps getting worse. Some depressed cities can and do recover, but Gary is way beyond hope. City government is as corrupt as any you could find in a Third-World hell-hole and any “Recovery” efforts, if you can even find them are more than outstripped by the crime and accelerating deterioration that is everywhere you look. Oh, and quit blaming the departure of “Whitey” for the sorry state of this urban septic tank, he left as a simple act of self-preservation which has nothing whatsoever to do with racism and Whites were by no means the only ones with enough smarts to get out. A whole lot of Black people have also put Gary in their rear-view mirrors and called it “Good Riddance” and the only one who was ever criticized for it was Michael Jackson. (And he was still Black when he left) They should just let the Army use this festering landfill for bombing and artillery practice until there’s nothing left but a big mound of gravel to bulldoze into Lake Michigan –problem solved.

Danny - OMG: GREAT GRANDKIDS? How old ARE we? ROTFL!

The first street south of the RR tracks on Kentucky was 43rd Ave - the street Riley School was on. My house was one more block south. I was a blonde tomboy growing up in the 'hood. (Still blonde, but with a few grey streaks now!) Your crush might have been on Gayla K, who lived in the house on the SW corner of 43rd & Kentucky. But if it was me, I'm flattered! ha

Glad to hear you settled down in your old age. Post-college years and the reality of responsibilities seem to do that to ya. I never was a wild and crazy girl - a boring rule-follower, actually - but managed to have fun, albeit tame, throughout my school years. College was great. Ah, so long ago . . .

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Gotta run!

PS - Is this called blogging? Believe it or not, I've never done this before - corresponded with people via a web site. Don't really have much time to mess around on the PC except for work. (Biz is slow right now because of the rotten economy, so I've had a little down time the past couple of weeks.) I was actually doing some research for work when I stumbled across this web site. I found the comments intriguing. *chuckle*

PJ--As a matter of fact wouldnt 44th and Kentucky be just south of "the woods" and the RR tracks? I wonder if you were that girl whose house I used to walk by just so maybe I could see her? I know she was older than me by a couple of years and I had the biggest crush on her but was too afraid to do anything about it! I wonder if that was you!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey PJ! How you doing? To answer your previous question--No. I didnt have a sister named Marsha. I had 3 sisters. All older than me. Tommie Jean, Susan Denise and Bobbie Lynne. How about those Southern names huh? The kids at Lew Wallace referred to me and my group of buddies as "The Pool Boys" because we hung out at the pool on 39th and would try our best to drive away the guys from West Glen Park! we had some good battles! Then we would all have a beer together! East and West! Those were the days. I got out of Wallace and Gary in 1974 by the way. Went to California and and college and put my wild days behind me. Heck! I'm so tame now I am just waiting on the upcoming birth of my 2nd GREATGRANDAUGHTER!!

OMG, Danny - I can picture you driving a backhoe down the middle of 39th! Naughty, naugty boy. Too funny! I still drive down 39th occasionally, right past that spot - the old pool; the old little league park. Of course, everything's now destroyed and boarded up, but a few remnants are still there to jog the memory.

Pj and Dave K. --I remember a 1969 summer night. Me and my buddy Joey, who lived on the corner of 39th and Indiana, were riding our mini bikes. It was about midnight. We were sitting on the sidewalk by one of the back doors of Riley School smoking our very first doobie. Just as we finished it and it was kickin in 2 Gary cops came around the building shining flashlights right at us! We hopped on the mini bikes and took off toward Bailey School. About halfway down the trail the front wheel of my mini bike hit a little stump coming up out of the trail and over the handlebars I went!! Was probably the doobie but I thought it was so funny at the time! The Gary cops could never catch us. Then when they were building the city pool on 39th, about 6 or 7 of us were out roaming the streets at 2:00 am and decided to take the heavy equipment they were using to build the pool for a spin! So here we are in the middle of the night driving front end loaders and steam rollers down 39th avenue! Of course the cops came. But we knew which back yards we could cut thru and which ones had dogs in them. What the cops never figured out was that the dogs knew us but not them. The dogs let us go thru but the cops just werent sure. So they hesitated just a second too long before hopping the fence. And Whooooosh! We were gone! We were quite mischevious as teenagers but not downright dangerous as the youth of today seem to be. Man! Glen Park was a GREAT place to grow up!!!

Wow, what a rich city of vibrant celabratory diversity!

I was born in Gary in 1944 at Methodist Hospital. Moved shortly after to Anderson, Indiana. Anderson was a General Motors town and has declined economically. There seems to be a pattern. Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan are all in a rapid state of decline. When was the last time you were in Detroit?

My house in Gary and Anderson have been leveled.

Solution?

Lower taxes, promote small business, create jobs.

I got out at a good time. Wallace, '72. Lived on campus at Valpo U because I didn't drive yet. Dad stayed in Glen Park till he died in Jan 98. Four BR brick cape cod house on corner lot with trees. I had to unload the house for $6,500 and was happy to get that. Others in our subdivision, all brick cape cods, were going for $4,000 to $5,500. Isn't that pathetic? Location, location, location! The house was neglected for several years, was boarded up and falling apart, and then last summer someone had it completely renovated and it looks lovely once more. Too bad so many others on the block are boarded up, crumbling or burned. The streets and sidewalks are covered with trash all the time, and it looks like a war zone.

Another memory: going to Scarsdale Pharmacy to buy cigarettes for my parents when I was just a little kid. Boy, times sure have changed! Mom would let me have a nickel from the change so I could buy 5 pieces of penny candy with it. Lordy, I'm old! ha

I occasionally drive through your old neighborhood, and things are really bad there. It's a pretty frightening place now. I recall countless good times with kids in your 'hood, especially my buds in the 4000 block of Tennessee. And lots of friends in Riley Village, too. We had such a blast.

pj: I grew upon 40th and Louisiana... would have been wallace '75, except we moved right before my Senior year. After MY brother class of '70 and my sister class of '73 finfished there... I could not. Part of me wanted to stay, and part of me KNEW it was time to go.
Even though my diploma says, "Kankakee Valley High School", I'll still refer to Lew Wallace has MY school. I know my life would have been a drastic change, probably for the worse, if I had stayed to finish. Way to much hate.
But that is in the past, just as our 'old stompin grounds'.
I also used to make regular bb gun patrols at procks ditch, hang out at Stanley's IGA/ joes corner store/ and every once in a while we would upgrade to Scarsdale.
I remember riding my bike to my girlfriends house, down near 35th and Mass. (+/- 1973) and being shot at while riding home... bike as in Bicycle. Being rammed by an albino hillbilly in my mom and dad's car (1974+/-) while driving home from another friends house, on 41st and Kentucky....It was just time to move on.

Yep, Danny - It appears you and Dave and I all grew up in the same neighborhood. Those were the days, huh? I remember so well playing in the field behind Riley - kite flying, catching butterflies, hiking over to Prott's Ditch and later getting a spanking from my mom because I wasn't supposed to go there. Ha. It was always worth the spanking - she didn't hit that hard!

It seems strange now, driving through downtown Gary every day to and from work. I took my present job just a couple of years ago. My office is in the far NW corner of Gary, not far from the airport. As I drive through Miller and downtown on US 12/20 every day, I see a lot of awesome architecture. Unfortunately, many of those beautiful, old buildings are abandoned, boarded up and crumbling. It takes a lot of imagination to picture them in their glory days. Some have been restored, though, and they do look great - even some of the old apartment buildings on 5th Ave look pretty nice.

Hey, Danny, it just occurred to me that I went to school with Marsha Malone. Your sister, perhaps?

PJ, wouldnt 44th and Kentucky be right by Riley School? I grew up with Dave K. I lived on Indiana St. Between 40th and 41st. I went to Riley,Bailey and Lew Wallace.

Dave K - I grew up in 4400 block of Kentucky. How 'bout you?

Went to a Railcats game last week--what a great place. But a few blocks in either direction was just a sad, sorry wasted and scary no-man's land. Gov't has poured money into this city with no results. I grew up there and just completely disgusted with the way the citizens of this once great town have let it go completely to hell and don't care.
OK there are some people and sections of the city that are trying to pull themselves up and make a life for themselves, but no one really cares--from City Hall on down. Rudy Clay--get out of your Hummer and look around. Do something. Junkies, gangs, crime. That's Gary.

pj... You must have been close to my neighborhood, as I was Riley/ Bailly/Lew Wallace also, and have spoke about the village and some of the other places you mention.Yes it is ashame our 'hometown' feeling, is no where to be found.
Richard you should be as proud as you are. If you could have only seen it 20 years earlier, than your class of '93 you would understand our continued sadness.
jon... WAY TO GO... you nailedit

I notice Richard mentioned the casino money and where does it go? Gary doesn't get any. They took a lump some years ago to build the ball park and a couple other failed projects. That's why the city can't keep any cops and the fire stations are falling apart. Don't forget the dozen or more vacant schools etc. On that note, what the city has done to the Horace Mann school is borderline on criminal, sitting there for the vandals to tear apart and yet they turn down every offer from groups to buy it!!!!!!! Also the city is on it's way to losing the Genesis Center, that's how bad things are.

It sure is a hoot, sharing Gary memories with folks. Yes, there are still some great Gary destinations. The RailCats Baseball Stadium is beautiful, and so family friendly. I attend at least a few games every year; hope to attend more this year. Richard mentioned that the crowd at the games is mostly white. I noticed that, too, and found it a shame that more of the local residents don't support their hometown baseball team. Hopefully, that will change.

Now, Richard, you've got me fired up about returning to The Village for a hot dog! It's out of my way, but I'll have to make a point to go there soon. Glad to hear that little stand is still there. The first time I went there was in the late 50's, when I was just a little kid. Those dogs were the best!

Thanks...I really like the city of Gary...I had my hard times there and I see comments folks have left about kids throwing rocks but I went through alot of that growing up in Gary as a youngster, but it was not bad like folks with think. I went to Webster, Bailley Jr. High and finished Lew Wallace in 1993. Being the only family in Gary who were Indian (as far as I know) it was hard going to Lew Wallace but growing up I had to do what I had to do (save money and be right). But when it is all said and done it has to do with how u were raised and not your race. My parents always told us to walk away from bad-minded things and stay away from the bad crowd. I sometimes got involved in bad situations and growing up in a decent home (where my father who held a PHD) I still went to Lew Wallace. I will never change my decision to go there and yes bad things were there at the high school but the institution would be a better place if parents got involved with their kids lives. I still have friends in Gary who are white, black, mexican, puerto rican, and asian...... who all went to Lew Wallace and got their degrees. They have friends that followed the wrong crowd, but it comes a time where u got to know what you are doing as a grown individual. I seen my mother work 2 jobs in Gary until we left to Orlando and no we did not leave because of the crime...... we left cause of the bad weather and my parents got to that old age where they felt to retire. I decided to stay with them.....but I still have family here and they love it here.

I remember back in 1995 many of my friends wanted to see the Palace fixed up...i wish that was on the mayor's agenda or any politician but it never happened...Also, folks should not be scared to come to Gary. It does not matter what race you are ..when I go to Railcats games I see mostly whites and when I go to Bennigans I see a mixed crowd. I still go to the Village to get a hotdog (a stand that's been there since the 50's), I go to Broadway Barbeque, and go play golf by IUN. There are beautiful places in Gary and I am happy that there are still people that want to fix it up....Gary got money from the casinos every year but where does it go??? Railcats? The University? we got the Southshore train system?? Last time I checked Donald Trump had his business there from 1996-2006...and yes I worked there as well and loved every min of it,,,,,Majestic Star was another place I worked at but it bothers me that when Trump was bought out hundreds of people got laid off for no reason in 2005 when Don Barden took charge. I go back to Gary all the time and love it....yes I will be there next month going to Railcats games, going to see teachers at IUN, going to the Village and one more thing the area I lived at 37th and Johnson (next block from the Village) is a very quiet area with very good neighbors....there are many areas like that.....If the politicians would tear down old buildings and houses don't u think Gary would look good...

bottom line......... If a parent in any city has a child selling drugs, prostituting, trying to run away, or gang banging then they need to get involved. I stayed in bad areas in Chicago (a very mixed city) as well and SEEN more serious crimes there then I have ever HEARD of in Gary. There are many kind hearted people in Gary and the most down to earth folks I know (of all races) live there. I did not know anything about home invasion until i came to Orlando so I feel Gary is like the land of OZ compared to the hidden lies of the Walt Disney World city.

Rob you consider yourself elite, but you are at the mercy of this economy as well, you buy food, water, etc. if this thing were to stop turning you could not take care of yourself and your family, you elitist piece of shit. i am a middle to lower class white and i have fought in Iraq with every race, i was with the 101st Airborne and we fought hard for a fucked up cause, did whatever uncle Sam asked and we don't walk around with a constant hard-on for ourselves as you do!!! even though i could put a 5.56 in your swollen head from 800 meters at 2900 feet per second, that's elite, not having a boat or playing golf... your not better than anyone else in this world.. so skip a Viagra you false piece of shit!!!!

What a nice comment Richard of Orlando.

Folks want to knock GARY but they do not realize that Gary gave folks jobs and there is a wonderful University there. The Village is still there and we do have a train system that goes to Chicago. I know alot of folks that commute to Chicago from Gary. We have or had the Steelheads and we have the Railcats games as well. There are broken down buildings but every city has them. Yeah the crime in Gary is heavy but I lived there for 29 years of my life...went to Lew Wallace and graduated from IUN. I never had a problem living in Gary and even when I go to major cities like Vegas and Miami I have my best times when I go back and hang out with friends. Chicago is only 20 mins away, Gary has a nice Bennigans with a big ballroom, the are casinos in Gary, and there is Miller Beach with beautiful homes there. I know the crime may be high and income is not that great but this happens everywhere. Orlando has a higher killing rate than Gary per capital and they hide it.
If folks are afraid to go to Gary then so be it,,,,,My whole family has lived there and got our education there. Alot of people want to blame it on a race and say they left cause they are scared ....too bad. I am east Indian and I have been everywhere in Gary and I have never had a problem in this wonderful city..Most crimes in Gary were caused by folks that knew each other. I had friends that got killed but they were killed by ignorant fools that knew them.
So if anyone wants to knock Gary go ahead but I will always go back there 3 to 4 times a year because that is home for me. I have more problems in other citys than this city. There is alot fo improvements to the city ....it is a waste when you have folks come in and lay folks off like Don Barden did and Mayor Scott King jumping ship when that Harris incident occurred.....I don't blame the residents but politics just like the economy in the US.

I stumbled across this web site by accident. Don't usually spend much time on the Internet, except for work-related purposes. It's been an emotional roller-coaster, reading all of the comments here.

I was born in Gary and raised in east Glen Park. I attended Riley Elementary School, Bailly Junior High School, and Lew Wallace High School (GO HORNETS!). Oh, what wonderful memories I have of walking to Stanley's IGA and Scarsdale Pharmacy, near 43rd and Georgia. And on Fridays, taking in the wonderful aroma of fried fish as we walked past Georgia Tap. And the Dog 'n Suds in the same neighborhood - OMG, that was so great! Mom didn't work and didn't drive (like most moms in our neighborhood), and since Dad worked shiftwork, we walked just about everywhere. The neighborhoods were beautiful and safe. A big excursion for us back then was going to The Village. We'd have lunch at the counter at Kresge's, or at the Vienna Beef hot dog stand. Back then, many retail stores were closed on Sundays. Can you imagine that now?

Sometimes we'd take the bus downtown and hang out at Goldblatt's, or go to a movie at the Palace or the State. Gordon's used to have a fashion show at lunchtime in the top-floor Tea Room, on Thursdays, I think, and my sis and I felt like "big girls" when we'd go there and look at the latest fashions. Of course, we couldn't afford to buy any of them, but that was okay!

I attended Lew Wallace "before" and "after" its renovation. My freshman year, construction was begun to connect all of the buildings under one roof. It used to be so hard to run from a 3rd-floor West classroom to a 3rd-floor East classroom in 4 minutes! Construction took nearly 4 years, but it was completed in time for my class, the Class of '72, to be the first to hold commencement at the school, in the brand-new Polk gymnasium. Prior LW classes had to go downtown to Memorial Audtorium for graduation, because the old school could not accommodate enough people. Wallace was a great school back then. What a fab time we had, from 68 to 72. Gary was a great place to live and attend school back then.

Fast forward to 2009. Although I moved to Porter County in 1987, I currently work in Gary and drive through what's left of downtown every day. It breaks my heart to see once-beautiful buildings falling apart. It breaks my heart to see garbage everywhere on the streets and sidewalks. Yes, there are still some very well-kept homes and refurbished buildings around. And yes, there are some people who still care about Gary. There are small neighborhoods here and there throughout the city which are as lovely as they were 40 years ago. Miller Beach is still beautiful. But oh, the devastation in the rest of the city. Gang violence has taken over, and most parts of the city are very dangerous places to be at any time of day or night. The crime rate is off the charts. I see little hope for improvement. Corrupt politicians are gobbling up money meant to help rebuild the city and assist its citizens; business owners - God bless 'em for trying - are giving up and moving to safer neighborhoods. Some new businesses are opening - a brand-new Walgreens on west 5th Avenue, and others. Some good things are, indeed, happening here, but I still don't envision the city as a whole ever becoming viable again.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane, everyone.

I grew up in Gary and remember when it was a great place to live and very safe. I graduated in 1956 and was afraid to go to Gary to take part in the centennial. My class also had their 50th reunion, to which I was afraid to go. It is sad. I remember all the delapidated buildings when they were beautiful. I took college courses at Seaman Hall, right next to the Methodist Church on 6th and Washington. Sad, so sad

I missed a highway and ended up in gary Indiana last year. I used to hear about Gary but did not know what the hoopla was about.

I got into one of those side roads and saw a huge hole right in the middle of the road and a big sign or maye even a piece of furniture to wafn drivers about it! I went past the downtown area... saw the decay... felt truly bad. Not sure how a native American reacts to this but as a recent immigrant,it made me sick in the stomach. Back in Asia, we see a lot of ruins from hundreds of years ago... to see that in US is distressing.

I hope America and its people will see reason, start manufacturing again in US. A country with no manufacturing base does not offer much for its citizens.

I noticed the Customs declaration was also in French, was there a great French speaking population- or was that standard practice in the States?

I'm in love with this site, btw.. thanks!!

Thanks for your answer. That explains a whole bit, rural flight where I live (holland) just isn't as common as Holland is quite small, where you can live on farmland and work in the big cities. It still does not fully explain this white vs black and black vs white thing that seems to be so common in the US though. I live a in a multicultural environment as well and racism definatly comes with that, people (usually) get along here though.. Don't think Holland is perfect though, over we have more of a western VS muslim and vica versa problem. I hope that all gets worked out sometime, I think the US is a great country, and having been there several times, I can say that it's people are good too. Most unlike the stereotype most europeans believe americans to be.

Funny you should mention the great plains btw.
I might be around there this summer in august. I've only been to coastal states like NY, VA and FL, but might go some deeper into the US this time. I really love the landscape there, it's amazing. Any recommendations? (strayed off topic, I know ;p)

I'm amazed at the fact this comment board is still pretty active after almost three years. What's more amazing is that all the people who come here and comment, nobody is doing anything to help make the city better. I understand what the gentleman is saying about poor whites feeling superior to black folx who still live in Gary. I also understand that a sour grape is a sour grape no matter what kind of glass you put it in.

But more to the point, I have always been proud of where I came from not because of the architecture or what it once was, but because people from Gary, Indiana tend to make the best of themselves no matter what situation they are in. This pride is often misunderstood, but it is very real and being used as I type this comment.

Rob Wonder: You think way too highly of yourself. Who says you are "the elite?" Your ego needs to be taken down a peg or two Go work in a soup kitchen and get to know real people. I am a, horror of all horrors, a renter. I pay $1000 a month for my house, 2 cars, a boat and 2 kids in college. I wouldn't want to be in your circle with that attitude of yours. Don't invite me to your wine tasting, etc., I will donate my money to a food pantry. Do you sponsor families from the Christmas tree angels? I guess you think they deserve what they get. While I understand you don't see color as long as they have money, you should not see only green. There are many people with less than you who give more. I used to waitress and learned that the people with the most money tipped the worse. And often were rude. I bet you fall in that class. Some of the people you meet on your way up. you will meet on your way down. They will remember you! As the commercial says, "Life can turn on a dime" You may one day find yourself jobless, broke, and at the mercy of others. You better hope those others aren't the ones you were so crappy to when things were good for you. P.S. Next time you dine out, remember, the waitress touches the food before you do.

Hey Rob Wonder, doesn't the great ex-mayor Richard Hatcher live in Porter County now? What does that make him?

Rob Wonder------------Can I have some of whatever it is that you are smoking?

I wish some of you white trash living in Porter County and elsewhere in Indiana would move back to Gary to be with the blacks who also refuse to get their lives on track.
I know that Porter County will never come close to the Hamptons, Hoffman Estates, or Farmington Hills, Michigan and many other areas across the map.
However, I love living here. Nevertheless, I am so tired of the lies being told by many of our residents who are nothing more than white trash.
We have started realizing how these white trash residents not only are lazy, but how bad you have made us look as a race.
The only thing a wealthy person cares about is green—the color of money.
This is why we are more successful. This is what separates the wheat from the chafe.
The more you worry about what’s going on next door the more afraid you will be to take the risks necessary to gain financially.
These white trash residents see Indiana as a state of sections—not the state in its entirety. Their dumb rationality is: Let Gary become a cesspool and a hell hole so that we can maintain our way of white trash life.
However, they’re too dumb to understand that Gary’s failure is our failure as a state. Gary won’t just become the subject of jokes alone without the joke spreading across the entire state.
Moreover, in Indiana the whites living in this state believe that the bane of their existence is the blacks who live in urban areas.
What these low class whites don’t understand is that they’re the reason Porter County and areas like this are failing. These low class whites are unwilling to believe that they are living below the poverty line and that many blacks who used to live in urban areas are getting ahead, becoming more educated, taking higher paying jobs, and moving into better and better neighborhoods.
The same neighborhoods we live in.
I have seen the worst of the trash white living in rentals, apartments, and trailers littering Porter County.
The whites in Portage and many other cities in Porter County are under the false belief that they are part of our elite white circle, because they happen to share a similar genetic makeup.
The votes are in and the wealthy have spoken.
You’re not. You’re not even close.
Many of the wealthy whites that are moving to Porter County are whites who have become successful elsewhere (North Chicago, and surrounding suburbs) and then moved to Porter County because it was cheaper than their previous residences.
I know it hurts. Don’t be upset.
The local whites residing in Porter County probably were thinking that it was a blessing that we bought every piece of cheap unwanted farm and wooded land to use for offices, homes, and recreation.
No the blessing was for us.
You have no idea how expensive it is to have a home in the wealthier places outside of Indiana.
These local whites who aren’t pulling their weight have blended in well with the Portage, Chesterton, Valparaiso elite, but they should know that they are not welcome or tolerated by whites who will fight to maintain a certain elitism.
Just because you live in a trailer, rundown apartment or shabby house in Chesterton, Portage, Valparaiso doesn’t immediately elevate your stature to being a part of the elite class of people who you happen to live near.
You’re not suddenly elevated to a higher class simply because your child attends a Porter County school. You’re not suddenly trumped up to being classy because you can now afford to put a skylight on a two bedroom, 800 square foot, aluminum sided ranch house.
And you won’t become friends with us because you have a home laptop, a new pickup truck, and happen to have a bank account with $500 cash stored safely inside of Main Source Bank.
In the eyes of the elite, we just see you as common hillbilly white trash. We see you as type of white trash who are on welfare, shooting up heroin, smoking crack, mingling with drug dealers from Gary and Chicago, and have filthy and nasty residences. Yes, we have seen the way you live and we are very disgusted.
We think that you are beneath us.
In some cases we believe you’re just ignorant and uneducated whites.
Most of the us that are in that six figure salary bracket tolerate you more only because of you’re uncanny adeptness at blending in and keeping your B.S. to a minimum—unlike some of the blacks moving in the region.
But at least we know the blacks moving in these areas for the most part will try to be the best and achieve more than their white counterparts. I see that most of the blacks moving out of Gary and Chicago are using the tools that Porter County prides such as:
Education and Jobs.
The local whites who live in these areas have become so comfortable with just being white (as if that were enough) that they aren’t trying hard to do anything with their lives. They are waiting for the elite white fairy to wave their wand and immediately take them out of the ignorance, laziness, and neglect and promote them to a better standard of living.
We wealthy whites won’t tell you that you’re not a part of the circle. Once you are ignored every time we send out the invites to book readings, play dates, dinner parties, wine tastings, and charity events…you’ll get the hint.
We know it irritates you when you see us socializing and hanging out with minorities who move here of our same class and become part of our class—(I’m speaking of blacks who overcome obstacles to achieve) which is more than I can say for these backwards white trash whites who just sit around basking in the glow of their whiteness without lifting a finger to help the region become more productive. We want the entire region this includes Lake and Porter County to be more than the laughing stock of the Midwest. But this won’t happen because the backwards whites continue not to look at themselves and pick on minorities because they think they are better.
We know because of these local white trash whites have tried their best to sway our opinions so that we would favor race over money.
Sorry but we forward thinking whites only care about achieving (and anyone willing to go out there and make a name for themselves.) WE THE ELITES DON’T GIVE A CRAP IF YOU’RE A MINORITY AND YOU WANT TO MOVE TO PORTER COUNTY.
As long as you’re hardworking and you are about getting yourself ahead we elites are all for it. There’s room here for everyone who wants to be something, do something good, and achieve great things.

I lived the best years of my life in Gary, Indiana. I will never forget the great memories that I lived daily, in Gary Indiana.
I grew up on 2nd and Hamlin Street , in Gary Indiana. I attended Brunswick Elementary School and the other schools in the Brunswick area. I have never experienced unordinary experiences during the time I lived in that town.
I did noticed how bad the school systems were. At the time I did'nt see a difference between the more prosperous communities education then our schools level of education.. Even though are schools funding was low, we had great academic teams and good education (if you were attentive and desired to listen and learn).
Were I lived the kids were not afraid of anything and they certainly were'nt afraid to learn.
I believe that Gary, Indiana holds some of the most mentally strong individuals . This is because if you are willing to live in a town where you could possibly get shot, then you have strong spirits and a heart of steel.

Unfortunately, I hear about constant deaths . Most of these individuals I once laughed with, played with, learned with and more. It's sad to say but when I call friends that still reside there, they are telling me of the recent deaths.

Let's talk about my good memories though. If was okay for me to walk the streets at night if I chose to. You know whats sad, I feel more freightened in cities away from Gary, then when I am in GARY.

I won't to say thank you to all the people that still live there , because without you all believing in GARY THERE WOULD BE NO EXISTENCE THERE.
Most of my family is from Gary ,Indiana and we all share great memories from that town.

Please stop killing are own beautiful people.We are here on this earth for a reason and it is God's call for when he won't us to leave. No matter where you are control your tempers and control your life. Until next time, my friends...

I am so glad I stumbled on this site. It's nice to see some familiar names like the Onda's!
I left Gary in 1976 to move to Merrillville. I remember my father in the early 70's saying he wasn't about to move despite more and more neighbors packing up and leaving the city. He was going to stick it out. But Gary was the Perfect Storm for the creation of a ghost town. Here you had a group of White people who were afraid of the Black people moving in, a town with a corrupt government, and a non-existent police force that took an hour to respond to any situation. My uncle was a Gary cop and he would say the police often "waited a little" before responding to a crime so as not to be in thick of things. Then there were the spiraling housing values. Hmm, sounds a lot like Florida! Anyway, we did move from Gary when the situation deteriorated to the point where I was limited to playing within a one block radius from 42nd and Maryland.
Still I do have many great memories of growing up in Gary. It was a vibrant city with a diverse ethnic heritage. I am glad I grew up there. Most of my friends in Florida go back to their hometowns and actually shop and eat at the restaurants they did when they were kids. When I go back to Gary, I look at the vacant lot that was my house, the crumbling elementary school that I attended, and drive by the empty Beauty Spot Restaurant and Glen Theater. It's always a good wake up call for me when I go back to Gary. It reminds never to be afraid, because fear only destroys, and to always live in the moment, because nothing lasts forever.

Statement: The whites that moved out of Gary moved out of fear and prejudice. They did'nt want to live around Blacks so they moved. Many Whites are afraid of people of color, be it Black. Hispanic, or others.

REPLY: When my family moved out of Gary it was partically due to black kids throwing rocks breaking all of our business windows while I and my mother were home alone. The police set down the road doing nothing. Yes, we left because of fear but not because of prejudice. There were other businesses owned by fine black families that were up against the same problems. It was a matter of good and evil - not color. If it had been white kids the same outcome would have happened, without local police protection - you move your family to safety.

Statement: White children are crossing the barrier in culture, and trends. The children are changing from tho old ways of seperationist thinking. "Good for them"

REPLY: I belive ALL children are our hope for a better future. We all make judgments about others - many other issues than race. Let us pray that the we and our kids will see each other as human beings that are not perfect but continue to strive for a better future.

I have never cared for the word "toleration" - It needs to be acceptance and understanding, not just tolerating each other!

Some of you are some out of touch pertaining to the issue of the so called White Flight. One comment made by Simple Reality that states "The Fubu wearing, pants around the ass, 40 ounce swilling, knuckle-dragging throwbacks to when man first stood and began to walk upright." Now that seems to be a statement of judgement and fear. The whites that moved out of Gary moved out of fear and prejudice. They did'nt want to live around Blacks so they moved. Many Whites are afraid of people of color, be it Black. Hispanic, or others. Now days White children are crossing the barrier in culture, and trends. The children are changing from tho old ways of seperationist thinking. "Good for them"

We as Humans need to realize that we are just that, HUMAN BEINGS.

Sung To The Tune Of “Gary, Indiana, From The Music Man”

Oh, Gary Indiana- Gary Indiana- Gary Indiana, let me say it one more time.
Gary Indiana- Gary Indiana- Gary Indiana, that’s the town that turned to slime!
Now if you’d like to know why all of the town’s Caucasians
went and took off on a permanent vacation.
They will tell you that there’s only one explanation:
There was just no place where they could be safe!
Gary Indiana- Gary Indiana, not Louisiana, Birmingham or Monterey.
But Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, the West’s Pompeii.

The mayor of Gary does not really lay his head down in a house in "Gary". He has white neighbors and it's a house that's well beyond his means according to the published mayoral salary.

I was very surprised to make it through Tonya's comments without her advertising a specific realtor or mortgage broker. Yes, you can make a profit investing in $4000 homes in Gary, it's called mortgage fraud. You "flip it" and sell it to a buyer who is borrowing at least $30k more than the house it worth becuase the appraisal is fraudulantly inflated and the loan package is completely fraudulant, then the buyers get a kickback and seller gets a huge profit. That's how "investing" in Gary works.

The people saying they know, or feel, that it safe for "anyone" to walk the streets have to be black. I don't know a white person that would say that.

I have lived in Gary my entire live and I must say this first. Despite what some have heard, not all of Gary is in ruins, not everyone lives a housing project, not everyone has been shot or shoot at, not everyone has been robbed, witnessed a robbery, or been involved in one; not everyone is uneducated or criminal. Gary has it's good areas and bad areas, good people and bad people, like alot of other towns, regardless of race. I grew up in one of the best areas in town which is probably why I never knew Gary was as bad as it supposedly is. I lived down the street from the current mayor, across from a senator and a army training/recruiting center, around the block from a former mayor. If you walked down one street, which you could do daytime or night without incident, there were the big, almost mini-mansion-esque homes. The only time the police every had to make visits to our neighborhood were when some driver failed to pay close enough attention to on-coming traffic that was partially blocked by the large trees that lined the streets. That happened very few times. I only found out how bad it is/was from the internet and other people who have never even been here.

keirfa- Maybe we need "whitey" to come back and not necessarily take over, but help out. When they left they took some of the only financial means the city had with them. A number of them are coming back for real estate and business opportunities and they are bringing their money back the community. People like you are hurting us not helping us. I live closer to, if not in, the white area of Glen Park now. It is a mixed neighborhood. The white neighbors I have have been living her for decades and they are some of the nicest and most helpful people you will meet. White people are not all bad.

"N" you are also a part of the problem OR showing what another one of our problems are. Everyone please note that not all Gary Public School System graduates or former students are like this. I was apart of an academic program that taught AP, college prep, etc, to those who atleast tried to learn. Many of my fellow students have gone on to very decent colleges. Some have gone on to some of the best.

Mercedes Ben- Gary is not the Murder Capital of the USA. It was, a number of years ago, but it hasn't been in sometime. Crime has also decreased.

D. Malone- Yes, The Village is still surving and thriving, though it might not be in the same condition you remember. Did they have those incredibly great hotdogs when you where here?

Gary is not a western or a "ghost town." How Seth was able to take such photos or "Life without People" were able to film without seeing anyone nearby is beyond me. I don't know if it has been said or anything but may I ask, how did Seth die?

I found this website as I was looking for "Ghost Towns" to explore. I love exploring abandoned towns, from the old "Gold Rush" towns out west to the many abandoned coal mining towns in this area (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Now and then, I'm fortunate enough to find an abandoned car that I can restore (another one of my hobbies), or a neat old toy, long forgotten by it's now-grown-up owner. Even abandoned houses located in areas that are still doing well are interesting places, as they always hold something from the past that's evidence as to who used to live there. There's always something that makes a great souvenir of my visit. However, these pictures of Gary, Indiana show nothing like that. No old cars in back alleys... no remnants whatsoever that could indicate that anybody ever actually populated the buildings shown in the pictures. Not even any trash lurking in corners of the crumbling buildings. It's as if a town was built as an exersise in architecture and construction techniques, then after the project was finished, it was simply forgotten. This is a scary place! After reading the comments about the crime and gangs that still live in Gary, I have to wonder why even they would want to remain in such an area. Gary, Indiana's one redeeming hope is that it would be an absolutely perfect place to film a horror movie! Perhaps the name of the town should be changed to "Scary, Indiana".

The difference is Gary became a majority Black city. That makes a difference because basic funds stopped coming in. Also crooked politicians stole whatever they received. Even if there were many different industries in the Gary area, the people made it clear that in this particular area they could not live side by side. Yes there were blacks who were criminals but there were also blacks who were successful. We can easily look at the bad side and ignore the good. And the hate goes both ways. Whites hated the Blacks and Blacks hated the Whites. Nobody wants to be beneath anybody. Since it could not be peacefully resolved somebody had to go. Hence, the "Chocolate City". Blacks taking care of their own city is whole issue in itself. Although it can be done, I don't think everybody is ready for it. In all of the majority Black cities or areas there is that huge criminal element. Some Blacks get their education or start businesses and rise up in the system and others refuse education and go for the thug life. One thing is clear, nobody can survive in an area where their are no jobs. Those Blacks who became wealthy, doctors, lawyers, athletes, actors, musicians etc...obviously had to relocate just like Whites who wanted to prosper. You have to go where the money is. In Santa Ana, CA there was a white flight from the mexican communities. Santa Ana was as large as Gary. Although it is majority Hispanic, its not a ghost town. Whites work there but they choose not to live there. Again, the crime rate and the huge uneducated immigrant population. So White flight is going to happen whenever there is another majority race, especially if they are uneducated and poor.

The U-Tube video “Ghost-Town”, chronicling the history, including the demise of Gary Indiana may have showed a city unique in many ways, but it’s racial tensions, discrimination and related problems were not among them. Nothing happening in the history of Gary with regard to racism, segregation or the Civil-Rights Movement was any different than the goings-on in any other city throughout most of the country and not even as bad as many. (Birmingham, for example was much worse) We don’t see huge tracts of those cities crumbling back into the dust of the earth while gangs of lawless drug-crazed thugs destroy what is left. Once the industry that gave rise to a city is gone the city, that is it’s people must reinvent the city in order for it to survive. Many cities all over America have done this, but their citizens have to work at it. The location of Gary would be ideal for any number of industries aside from steel. But no business interest is going to invest in any community whose own residents have turned it into a laboratory model of anarchy and decay.

HOW THE HELL CAN ANYONE OF YOU TALK ABOUT GARY THAT IS NOT STILL THERE, JUST LIKE ME AND EVERYONE ELES, WE LEFT TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE. JOB AND BUSINESSES WAS LEAVING SO WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN? YOU TALKING ABOUT HOW BAD IT IS WHY DONT YOU INVEST IN GARY? WWW.REALTOR.COM HAVE HOMES FOR 4000 DOLLARS AND UP THAT CAN BE FIXED UP. SO INSTEAD OF TALKING SHIT ABOUT "OUR" HOME TOWN INVEST IN IT LIKE I DID. 3 YEARS AGO I BOUGHT A HOUSE FOR 9000 FIXED UP AND RENTED IT OUT TO A COUPLE THAT WAS PAYING 650 FOR A RAN-DOWN HOME NEAR ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL AND IM CHARGING THEM HALF OF THAT. ALL I ASK THEM IS TO TAKE CARE OF IT, LAST YEAR I BOUGHT 2 HOUSES AND FIXED UP, BOTH WAS SOLD TO ME BY SOMEONE THAT WAS MOVING ON UP LIKE WE DID AND GOT OUT OF GARY i GOT THEM 2 FOR 10,000 A PIECE ONE IS BEING RENTED BUT THE OTHER ONE IM STILL WORKING ON. SO INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT HOW BAD IT IS TRY DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Im from here and I watch it all,I saw the crack come and take the city by storm,I even dabbled in dealing it at one time,i know all the killers and all the dealers from Gary to Chicago,Detroit, and anywhere through out the midwest.I done thirty six months in prison,came home and saw it all over again and thats when i knew i had to leave from here.But i dont blame noone for what happen to me in Gary.I chose my own path so when i came home i went back to school and i moved on. As far as racism in this city now,you would have to be pretty stupid to be a racist when you could loose your life for saying the wrong thing. And there is nothing noone can tell me about this city,when i was with those people who would kill you because you didnt look like you was from there area,sad to say but i was once on that road until prison made me see straight again,so when i visit here now i see a different vision,i think if the people who run this city get behind it and put some money into it this city can be turned around,and that should start with downtown,im just saying im not the man with all the answers but a blind man can see that much. LETS GO G I GET IT TOGETHER

I have been through Gary, and no, it's not entirely abandoned. There are some really cool things to photograph. Some of the buildings, particularly the old church are awe inspiring. But be careful... it isn't Disneyland. Sadly the "less desirables" dwell in the ruins, and like all derelict trash WILL sell dope, rob, and steal. I think we all know what I'm referring to. The Fubu wearing, pants around the ass, 40 ounce swilling, knuckle-dragging throwbacks to when man first stood and began to walk upright. A pistol is a wise piece of equipment if you're going to go explore. Good choice not to go alone, and letting the local enforcement know you're headed to the area isn't a totally bad idea. They will try and discourage you, but the area is still open to travel. Parts of it are definitely "non-white friendly." And before all you whining racial equality idiots start rattling your sabres... I'm just speaking simple truth. Working class whites leave an area, and inner city, uneducated, property-value destroying n*****s run it right into the ground. If you disagree, fine. Go walk around the derelict part of the city at night. All I am saying is use your head. It's worth checking out, definitely take lots of film, or a large capacity memory card... but speak softly, and carry something larger than a .38

May 20, 2009

By Lori Caldwell, Post-Tribune staff writer
GARY -- Although he was off duty and unarmed, Gary police Sgt. Brian Colbert waded into a fight where a dozen people -- some with chains, knives and swords -- were attacking a lone teenage girl last month.

"If it came down to it, I would have stood there with her and fought them all," the 13-year veteran said Tuesday.

I hate to inform you, but despite the high crime rate most residents are NOT afraid to walk down the street.

A lot of places have changed, but Gary has not changed. Why should it? A ghetto is dangerous for everybody, black or white. In a black city there will be decent people and evil criminal minded people. If the good people (blacks and whites)all leave, that leaves the evil criminal minded people. That is what happened to Gary.The decent people are the victims, the prey. Gangters are proud to be gangters. They don't care about anybody. I was in the Horace Mann area. Back then then they had a gang called The Insanes among others. And that's what they were. They beat down anybody for no reason. So yes, the white people should have left. And the blacks who were not criminals should have left too. All the adults carried guns because at any moment somebody would try to rob you. The east side was even worse.That was the 70's. It could only get worse. Some people you could just look at and they would run up on you. If you saw Original Gangtas, you know the drill. LA, Chicago and New York have areas like that too. If you care about your life, you either don't go in that area, or you pack a weapon and cope with it.

Anyone from the class of 1962? I might have a graduating class photo.

Gary's White population is 10%, and most of them live in one section (Miller) of Gary. One race town??--you better believe it is.
Read the Post-Trib. Murders in Gary are page 6, three paragraph news. EVERYONE is afraid to walk down the street in this town.

Hatcher won in 1967. Blacks had just barely received equal rights back then. So of course there was a lot of racism. The white flight had mutiple reasons. First, they didn't want a Black leading the city. Second, the crime would get worse. Third, the Steel industry was unstable. Layoffs were routine. And finally, just plain fear of integration. Integrated schools and neighborhoods. I know because I was there. Not only did Gary have a problem with integration; but it was a national problem. Riots were happening back then. People are far more tolerant now. Business, Sports, Entertainment, everybody supports by the billions. Its a new day. A black president. Whites are not fleeing the country because of that. People have changed. Crime is still high in Gary but thats part of it. Even Al Capone had a brothel there. To leave Gary because of crime or no jobs is understandable. By all means get something better. To leave because blacks took over the politics is a joke. Black mayors come and go, just like white ones.

There are races of all kinds still living in Gary.
It is not a one-race town.

The Blacks in Gary couldn't handle diversity. When Richard Hatcher was elected mayor, it became very obvious that this would now be a "Black" city--Whites were not welcome. Hatcher made a career out of crying "racism." And now that it's an all-Black city it's also "Murder Capital USA"--and it's all Black-on-Black crime.
Guess they just aren't tough enough as the New York gangstas.

Gary was a blue collar town that couldn't handle diversity. Blacks and Whites live in Los Angeles, New York and other places and though they may have differences, a lot of them get along and are neighbors. As far as criminals, they come in all colors amigo. Look at New York crimes. Mass murderers are popping up everywhere. You can't leave the planet. Look at Columbine. You can't blame that one on Gary. So come up to speed. Freaked out criminals are in every state. Its not a black thing or a white thing, its a people thing. Agreed, Gary is too dangerous for certain whites, you have to be tough like New York. Nobody runs them off.

I dont think blaming ANY race of people that were basically chased out of a town by racist thugs beating & robbing them should be blamed for the demise of Gary, Indiana. What did they expect "whitey" to do? stick around and play atm/victim forever?? "Whitey" is gone, you have no one but yourselves to blame. Whomever is stupid enough to still be there, its all yours now, quit complaining and enjoy it.

After watching this very deep thinking show, it causes thought. If the things we build & construct as Humans will have no lasting effect on the earth, how can we think we can affect the envitonment with any great results. The earth has gone throught cooling and warming cycles (Little Ice Age by Brian Fagan) since the begining of time. While this is off the topic a bit, it shows how our attempts to control / alter the environment (Water / Wind / Fire / Desert / EarthQuakes reclaiming London, Houston, Wash DC, Chicago, Los Angles, etc...) are feeble at best.
Our "Control" is a facade the requires constant work to keep our Urban Environment habitable for humans and our activities. Nature has a bigger and harder impact on the environment (Mt St. Helens, Mount Pinatoobo, Tsuimami of 2005, Pompe) wreaking havoc with water, volcanic ash, etc... Constant clean-up and work keeps the earth habitable for Humanity.
Gary ,IN at one point was great city, suppling the steel of a growing nation. Many fine prople lived there, but left in search of greater opportunities for their children (not much different ftom our Hunter/Gatherer ancestors) . Less than honest prople moved in or never left, thus giving the city is bad reputation.

i here what evry one is sayin; but gary is still my home. i love my home. however, there is alot of nothing but trouble there. i agree with the prophet. people pls get out. there are better places. and it will be so. if we all leave, whitey will take bck over.

The people who want jobs and a better life must leave Gary now. There are better places. The Steel Industry is dead. Outsourcing is a way of life. Clerical and Manufacturing jobs are even being done in India now and all over the world. Third world countries can easily undercut labor costs. Find a state that still has jobs. Qualify yourself with education. Go into business for yourself. Go into sales. Whatever you do, get the hell out of Gary. No jobs = High crime rate. High crime rate = Murder Capital. Gary can turn things around only if a flood of new corporations set up there. Due to the cheap real estate there, it can happen. It may take at least 50 more years. The schools are closing there now so more people must leave. When all the people have gone, especially the street criminals, then Corporate America will snap up all the property, particularly Miller by Lake Michigan. People from Chicago and surrounding areas will work for the new corporations. Gary will have a new look and possibly a new name.

Gary isn't an example of a city 30 years after people...people still live there...it's just 30 years after white people left.

I'm just happy that Gary drew this much attention. My family left Gary when i was 16 back in 1992. I hated the idea of moving to MN, but didn't have a choice. It turned out to be a very wise decision as my parents have really prospered; and my sister and I are in much better places at this stage in our lives than i believe we'd be had we stayed in Gary. I'll be the 1st to admit that Gary had serious issues that seemed to get worse each year that I was there. Gangs, teen pregnancy, and pure ignorance was running rampant. Most of my family followed us here to MN, and all of my friends moved away once they graduated from high school, so i don't have a reason to go back very often. I have very fond memories of Gary and would love to see a drastic 180, but it starts with the people. Its only so much the government can do. Good piece though..much appreciated.

Informative but a little slanted in my opinion. It's hard to tell the whole stroy in 8 minutes. However, some of the videos that pop up after the "GHOST TOWN" video, really do a GREAT job, in seeing how screwed up my hometown became. They do a great job in justifying the prejudice that is heaped upon them, rightly or wrongly. Pathetic examples for where their mothers and fathers worked so hard to try and get to. Young thugs, losers with no ambition, no future, and don't care. Until they leave, or grow and care about themselves and their 'hometown' I feel there is no hope.

www.youtube.com

Hey "N", after reading your last entry I can assume that you are a product of the wonderful public schools that now exist in Gary. "The most busiest?" Geesh! And if you think Gary is such a wonderful place I suggest you put down the crack pipe and the 40oz your sucking on and find a dose of reality somewhere. Either that or start taking your Thorazine like your supposed to!

I would like to see the Gary Mayor or somebody come on here and state the condition of this city or perhaps someone from the Indiana Governors office. N seems to say the city is thriving but it sounds like the only people thriving are the gangs and the fat cat mayor. There has to be a reason The History Channel used Gary Indiana as an example of a ghost town and what cities around the world would look like if mankind died off the planet. How building would erode and crumble in 30 years, 50 years 100 years, 500 years, 1,000 years. How Wrigley Field would be covered in it's vines. How Atlanta would be covered in southern moss. How the Sears Tower in Chicago would collapse over time. How all buildings would collapse over time. For this very bleak look at the world after mankind, they used Gary Indiana. ......Is the History Channel wrong to use Gary Indiana to show what happens to modern day ghost towns. ...If so, let the mayor of governor come on this site and dispute the History Channel. .....This channel put most of the blame on US Steel pulling out. I can think of alot of towns that will be in the same boat if GM, Chrysler and Ford close down. .......But other than N, is there at least one government official who can come forward and prove this site and The History Channel wrong about Gary Indiana being a falling down ghost town.

I have been reading this because Gary interests me, and I've been looking up facts and history on this town. I love this site. It's very well put together. I have much respect for these amazing photographers. I really love the way most everyone on this site is so respectful and curious...except this "N" person (scroll down to an April 28th comment).

Seriously, "N?" You're going to threaten to "beat yo ass" to some random person on a website comment? You cannot even spell or punctuate a single sentence properly. Are you really going to try to convince people that these pictures of walls falling down, stairs disintegrating, and entire apt buildings, theaters, churches, and restaurants with not a single car parked at them in the middle of the day are fake? If you are trying to say this town is thriving, you're delusional. I'm sure you're right...5th ave is so busy...if you're dealing drugs or robbing random tourists. But then again, it seems like you're part of the problem everyone is referring to...the people that wreak havoc on the innocent families trying to live there, forcing them to leave to protect themselves and their children. And, from reading your eloquent paragraph, I'm sure you can't even understand half of what I just said. I'm curious, "N," what is your JOB???? where do you WORK?

ANYWAY, my husband and I were so curious about this place, wanted to visit there and walk inside these buildings. It is so very sad that our government allows such crime to persist and scare innocent families away from their own homes. Especially since this town obviously has so much amazing heritage and history. It's not worth it to visit a place that you have to be afraid to walk down the street in, so we'll probably never take the trip...but it would have been nice.

I was 8 the first time we drove through Gary (1968) on our way to vacation at the indiana Dunes State Park. I can rmember the air was so dirty and black that you couldn't see the other side of the interstate.

20 years later I drove through Gary to Chicago for a business meeting, the air was clear, but it was obvious that Gary had taken a major nose dive.

PS....This also raises the question : What is Indiana doing with all the state casino revenue ? Where is the Governor ? Is this an example of how little casinos would do for other states ???

The History Channel used Gary Indiana as an example of what cities like Chicago would look like if everybody died. They used Gary Indiana as an example of what cities and buildings would look like around the world after a nuclear war or something and everybody was dead. The History Channel showed the buildings of Gary Indiana and it does look like aa ghost town. Buildings collapsing. ....So thats how I came across this Web Site.....Are you telling me there are still people living there. Gangs fighting over who rules the junk pile. Are you telling me this ghost town still has a mayor riding past the ruins in a new Hummer and making big bucks as a politician. ....It all sounds like the movie Escape From New York.....Is it really as bad as all this. The History Channel sure didn't make it look very good, but they said nothing of the street gangs and rich mayor still walking among the ruins. It sounds like hell has came to Gary Indiana.

I left Gary in 1978. I grew up there. It was a mixture of good and evil in the 60's and 70's. I could see the evil was taking over as I left for college in 1978. I had to duck the street gangs all through high school. It was never really a safe town. Adults would actually attack kids on the street. Some people may be proud of the badness that exists there, but it only leads to jail or the cemetary. Due to the violent nature of the people, I knew I couldn't stay there. Everybody had to carry a gun. What kind of town is that? Hopefully, all of the decent people have made it out. Let the thugs have this city. As long as they are there, the city will remain a living hell. They will destroy everything.

Tristesse
Subject: Gary
First of all, my condolences to the friends and family of Seth Thomas- he was obviously a gifted photographer.
The photos of Gary evoke many emotions for those of use who grew up, lived, or still live there.
Unless you were in America in the 60's and 70's, it hard to explain what happened- years of repression and savage mistreatment of blacks led to a backlash of crime, drug abuse, and craziness- a mill town like Gary, which was created solely as a commercial venture (steel mill) could not withstand the tensions.
The white families, (like mine) who ignored the plight of blacks were later vicitms of a city wide crime wave- so they moved out in the 70's. In the last 20 years, most of the black middle class/professional group have also left the City- they want the same things white families want- a safe place to raise their children.
In addition, the steel industry itself is in decline, and since the 70's the number of jobs available has steadily declined, due to outsourcing, automation, corporate and local governement mismanagement.
Gary is NOT a ghost town in the sense that it is deserted- there are about 50,000 left, I think- about 80% of them are decent people who do not have the resources to leave. The remaining 20 % are drug dealers, addicts, gang bangers, criminals.
To those who want to go "explore"- this is no place for "tourists" to be wandering around. I have worked in Gary and know which areas are relatively safe/ least dangerous- unless you do, I wouldn't go .
If you must go: Go in a group of at least 4 or 5, wear old clothes and no jewelry, hide your fancy cameras, do not go at night or on the weekend, take a cell phone. Please be alert!!!
Finally, I must repeat the apt comment of a French reader: "Notre premier amour reste dans nos coeurs pour toujours"

Gary will always be in my heart.

Fortunately, I have fond memories of a very different Gary. I was born at Methodist hospital in 1960, my parents, and their parents having earned very nice livings in Gary. I remember the awful stench of the mills when the wind was out of the North, and my father reminding me that it was the smell of money, in other words the mills were at or near capacity. I have retained all of our family memorabilia of Gary, including countless photographs of the city during happier times. My parents and grandparents homes were spectacular, as was much of the Gary architecture at the time. They would be distraught to see the current condition of the church in which they married, the stores in which they shopped, and the schools in which they learned. Most of my memories of Gary are of food. The ethnic diversity provided for phenomenal restaurants....most of which I can't recall in detail....a Jewish deli in Glen Park with the best corned beef on the planet, of course Ginos pizza, the soda fountain at Belles' drugs in the Gary National Bank building, the place on US20 in Miller that served perch and shrimp de jonge. God, if anybody knows of that recipe!.......Thank you for this endeavor, the last time I ventured deeply into Gary I did so in a marked ISP cruiser...not sure I've got the guts to go by myself. Any good books produced capturing the history of Gary, particularly in photographs?

These photos bring a lot of good and sad memories since Gary is my place of birth. My parents came from Puerto Rico (father in '49; mother with her family in '50) to pursue jobs at U.S. Steel. My parents married in '65 in the gorgeous Presbyterian Church in Gary. I was born in Gary Methodist in 1966 and lived on 532 Carolina St from '66 to '73. We moved to East Gary, now Lake Station, because crime was getting bad. My father sold the house for next to nothing in '78. The house is gone now.

I attended Spalding school across from Emerson H.S. and I remember how beautiful the neighborhood and the church nearby was. I remember the huge car dealership off of Broadway not too far from the South Shore tracks. I used to run around Carolina St. to Virgina St. all by myself! My mom remembers fondly in her youth in the 50s attending all the Puerto Rican Civic Assoc. dances (I don't recall what they were called - Hijos de San Juan?). She used to love going to downtown Gary visiting Goldblatt's, etc. pushing a huge stroller with the FOUR kids in it!. After we moved, we would go into Gary often since my grandparents lived at a senior apartment complex on 666 Jackson Street and also visits to my mom's cousin, who to this day, still lives on Maryland Street. I used to frequent the Village Shopping Center and l loved going into the RISS toy store. Even though I didn't get to attend the Gary high schools, I did attend the Gary Area Career Center where I used to hang out with people from Lew Wallace, West Side, Wirt, as well as out-of-area schools like Hobart and Calumet. I've been told that GACC is now closed. I left Northwest Indiana in '88 to live in Central Florida. My last drive through town consisted of passing by the Gary Municipal Airport, Dixie Milk Co., and the Brunswick, Glen Park and Miller sections of Gary.

I now live outside of Reading, PA which slightly reminds me of Gary in the '70s, although it was never that heavily industrialized and the architecture isn't as brilliant as Gary's buildings were. Seeing these photos bring back memories I haven't thought of since I left Gary. Even though Gary's condition looks hopeless, I do think Gary has the potential to shine again since it's close to Chicago, just off Lake Michigan and real estate prices are low. I hope the city, county and state officials, as well as the people of N.W. Indiana, revitalize and rebuild this once great city.

"Study: Gary has area's emptiest neighborhoods."
"In some area's one of three houses is vacant."

www.post-trib.com

Is it possible for just anyone to go and view these buildings? Can you still go in them? Has anyone shown any intrest in saving them?

Ian, There is a website that will be very helpful in answering the questions you had about the demographics of Gary. Just type in the "search" area--Gary,IN/history and click on the site that reads "GARY,IN/history (Lake Co., 25 miles SE of the Loop. Founded in 1906...) It's a www.Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org site. Hope this helps and you can understand my instructions. And, yes, Gary 'was' a great city in its' prime! Karen

I loved looking through all these photographs. These kind of places fascinate me. I wish it were closer so I could take my camera and do some Urban trash-the-dress shoots.

I'm very interested in the fate of Gary. I'm from the Iowa city of Waterloo, which faced similar problems during the 70's-80's when Rath Meatpacking closed, and John Deere laid off much of it's workforce. Some of the pictures I've seen of Gary are identical to my city. Specifically, I would like to know the demographics of Gary throughout its existance. What percentage of it's residents were white in 1920? 40? 60? 80? I know the current number is only ~11%, and over 80% black. I'm sure this city was much different and better during its prime.

Jort--

Gary was basically a factory town built around large steel mills. When the steel jobs began to disappear and go to China, there wasn't really much else to sustain the city and provide jobs. So, people moved away. The towns around the steel mills in state of Pennsylvania have also lost many jobs, and most of the large mills are now abandoned, along with the businesses near them. The U.S. is still a fairly young country and boom towns are part of the history. I don't have any large cities near me; I live on the Great Plains. As farming becomes more mechanized, the people have moved away. There are now fewer people living here than there was 100 years ago. At one time there might be two families of eight people living on one square mile of farmland. As the agricultural machinery got bigger and more efficient, the farms got bigger and there were much fewer people living on the land. There now may be two people living on one square mile. The small towns in many parts of the Great Plains are now semi-ghost towns. In many, its mostly elderly retired people that live in them. The younger people have moved to the regional cities where the jobs are. I explore the thousands of abandoned ranches and farms in my area. It's fairly safe but when I photo at night I take a rifle with me. We have mountain lions here.

Kent in SD

I love reading these stories, even though I wasn't even alive at that time and I've never been to Gary, I'm not even a US citizen. Seems like the average American dream city thing we used to watch on TV in Europe hehe.

It must be quite painful to see your old hometown in a state like this. The town where I grew up in, and still live in, is also changing. I hope I won't be reading a similair post in 40 years about my town..

But I have been reading stuff about these so called ghost stories for a while now, it seems to be quite common in the US, cities like Detroit, Camden, Gary.. How come? Is it all because of white flight? And, how could 'white flight' cause problems like these? I'm just wondering, not implying anything racist (just saying, before the racist-taggers pop up).

Regards,

Jort.

I was born in Gary, 1947, and grew-up in Glen Park, near the Village Shopping Center. Attended Calumet High School and worked at Tittles in the Village Shopping Center during the 1960's. I have many great memories of Gary and it's people. The remains of the city reflect the greatness of it's past and the people who built it. US Steel provided many families financial security and hard factory working parents an opportunity to send their children to college, making a better life for themselves and moving away from the area. Although, the photographs leave me with sadness, my memories of what Gary was will continue to live with me. I have friends who reside in Gary and they continue to believe in the future of Gary, having memories the same hopes and dreams as their parents and grandparents.

i was wondering if Garry is entirely abandoned i saw the town on "Life After People"
which is a show on the history channel

Hello, I am from Maryland and planning a trip west this summer. Gary just happens to be on the way. After seeing Gary on what I believe was the History Channel last night, I am very interesting in stopping along the way. Is this a bad idea? Is the crime rate high? We were just interested in seeing "ghost" towns. Thanks for any help.