Gary (Indiana)

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Gary
Nickname : City in Motion, City of the Century, GI, Magic City of Steel, The Steel City
In the center of Gary
In the center of Gary
Location in Indiana
Gary (Indiana)
Gary
Gary
Basic data
Foundation : 1906
State : United States
State : Indiana
County : Lake County
Coordinates : 41 ° 35 ′  N , 87 ° 21 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 35 ′  N , 87 ° 21 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 80,294 (as of 2010)
9,572,572 (as of 2010)
Population density : 617.2 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 148.3 km 2  (approx. 57 mi 2 ) of
which 130.1 km 2  (approx. 50 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 180 m
Postcodes : 46401-46411
Area code : +1 219
FIPS : 18-27000
GNIS ID : 0434979
Website : www.gary.in.us
Mayor : Karen Freeman-Wilson

Gary is a city with around 80,000 inhabitants in the northwest of the US state Indiana and belongs to the greater Chicago area . It is shaped by the steel industry and, due to its decline, is now in a structurally and financially precarious position. The city is located on Lake Michigan on the border with Illinois .

She is relatively well known in the English-speaking world thanks to the song "Gary, Indiana" from the musical The Music Man . The song truthfully tells that the name of the town comes from Elbert H. Gary , a man "of judicial glory." Gary was chairman of the board of directors of US Steel when they built a steel mill here that went along with the founding of the city. He was previously a judge in DuPage County , which is why he remained known as "Judge Gary" afterwards.

Gary is the hometown of the Jackson family of musicians including Michael Jackson , who was born here in 1958 . The name of the city became known through the educator William Albert Wirt (1874-1938) and the teaching model he created, which is called the Gary system .

history

Gary, Indiana was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the location for the new facility, Gary Works . The city was named after the attorney and later judge Elbert Henry Gary , one of the founders of the United States Steel Corporation .

Gary's development is closely linked to the US steel industry . Their growth brought prosperity to the city. Broadway Avenue became the business hub of the region. Department stores and architecturally significant movie theaters were built in the city center and in the Glen Park neighborhood.

In the 1960s, like many other US cities whose development depended on a single industry, Gary was drawn into a downward economic spiral. Gary suffered particularly from the increasing competitiveness of steel production outside the US. This forced US Steel to make numerous layoffs in the Gary area.

Gary's population structure changed significantly in the 20th century. Along with this came political changes that resulted in Gary becoming one of the first cities to have an African-American mayor, Richard G. Hatcher . In 1972 the National Black Political Convention took place here.

Between 1960 and 1990 there was strong growth in the surrounding communities of Merrillville and Crown Point . However, the flight of white families ( white flight ), the economic downturn and increasing crime led to further emigration of the wealthier classes of the population.

In the 1990s and early 21st century, Gary had the highest percentage of African American citizens in a city over 100,000 people (around 84% according to the 2000 US census). The population of Gary has since fallen below 100,000.

US Steel continues to be the largest employer in the region, albeit with a fraction of the previous workforce. While the previous employment in the production area could no longer be achieved, jobs were created in the service sector - for example in the two casinos that were opened along the Gary Lakeshores in the 1990s. Today Gary is a town struggling with the Rust Belt difficulties , such as unemployment, declining infrastructure and low levels of education.

geography

The city is located at the southern end of Lake Michigan . Most of the city was built on sand, which also defines its coastline.

Wells Street Beach near Miller

The urban area of ​​Gary has a "T" shape. The northern border is directly on Lake Michigan. At the northwest end, Gary is bordered by Hammond, Indiana, and Chicago . Miller Beach is on the east end and is bordered by Lake Station, Indiana, and Portage . Gary is bordered on the south by Griffith , Hobart , Merrillville, Indiana and Ross, Indiana.

Population development

Since the 1960s, the steelworks and its suppliers have had to lay off thousands of employees. Gary's population has since declined by more than half. Accordingly, large parts of the city are almost deserted today. Because of the increasing number of ruins to be found, the city is now also called the " Pompeii of the Midwest".

year Residents
1910 15,802
1920 55,378
1930 100,666
1940 111,719
1950 133,911
1960 178,320
year Residents¹
1970 175,415
1980 144,953
1990 116,646
2000 102,746
2005 98,715
2010 80.294

According to the 2000 US Census, Gary was the major city with the highest African American population (85.3%) in the US.

¹ 1980–2000: census results; 2005: Update of the US Census Bureau

sons and daughters of the town

People who worked on site

Movies

  • The American feature film Original Gangstas (1996) is set in Gary.

Web links

Commons : Gary (Indiana)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files