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Jayson | profile | all galleries >> cincinnati >> World Cities >> Gary, Indiana

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Gary, Indiana

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James B		09-Feb-2012 23:15
The pictures taken are mild compared to what is really out there. I went back in Late Nov to Dec 2011. Gary and the surrounding area is the most depressing place in the US. The person whom said they had bad feelings when they came was right. From the moment I crossed in to Gary coming south from I20 it was eerie the whole time. I dont see how city, state or federal officials can let this place turn into a ghost town. block after block of destroyed buildings. I went to see the street I was raised on the first 6 years of my life along with 9 other siblings. Indiana St. now Martin Luther King Drive had over 50% of the homes vacant, burnt out or demolished. The home I did live in was one of the few still occupied and taken care of. Gary once was a thriving metropolis with a caring live community. Steel Mills kept the city alive and jobs to raise families. Then the industry died and noboby cared. They didnt find ways to bring manufucturing or other jobs to keep the city thriving. I grew up in 1958 MJ and I born the same hospital but I was born in March. My father and other cousins worked with Joe Jackson in the mills. We still had crime but not as bad as today. Drugs were ran thru town. Gangs exsisted back then. The family and others, heroin was moved thru town as a stopping point going different directions. My cubscout master was shot when I was 13 as he was driving thru Gary. My dads bar was robbed a few times. It slowly started changing and as the mills closed aand nothing replaced it things got worse, what can you expect? Even though there was crime every city had its share. People still had jobs and were able to raise families. Per capita Gary has been up high on the list for awhile. This will be one hard city to bring back. It is going to have to take people who start caring not just about themselves but neighbors, workers and others. It will take city, state and federal officials to come up with a plan and implement a sound plan. Bring back manufaturing or other jobs so people can make an honest living. They will have to stop killing, robbing and destroying. It will be a hard road. They need a leader who really cares. IT CAN HAPPEN....You need to come together even if it means making some sacrafices to get to the ulimate goal of becoming Gary a real city were people love to be and want to come to. Michael Jackson one of the greatest artist of all times would love nothing more than to see his home town revived and for all to be able to visit where he grew up to see a thriving caring loving community. We all whom grew up in Gary and have roots there wish the same. I will always remember walking behind my house to the park where I would pay a lady 5cents to make a pot holder to take to my mom. My prayers will be with you.... God Bless

Guest		31-Jan-2012 03:21
If Gary would tax the people of Valparaiso and Portage for coming into Gary looking for pot--Gary wouldn't be broke. It's easy to say,"What happened?" but the bottom line is that if you use ANY type of drug--the drug dealers will pick a city with the least cops watching to run the stuff. No drugs, no gangs. It's not about race. White suburban kids don't care that their pot habit gets children shot at in Gary; and black residents of Gary, Valpo and all over the US glamorize weed without thinking of the consequences to their children of being so loving towards a drug trade that uses them like fodder for a cannon. Drugs equals trafficking children, shooting near children, making a child's city pure hell. And it's not about LEGALIZATION; because if drugs were legal it would make no damn difference. Drugs make people lazy or crazy; and whites snickering about "look at Gary" in a racial way or black people passing the buck on black weed usage--is useless. Drugs blight.

Thomas Mask		18-Jan-2012 23:16
What up gi you know its so sad to see this city go down the tubes the way it has I moved away in 89 and i still have children there what up to the Over family who are still my family because i have kids with Regina Over when I was growing up Gary was the place to be. we had goldblatts Sears JCpennies. but now its like a bomb hit it you know the people with the money should help rebuild the city instead of lineing ther pockets and what good is haveing a riverboat to gamble on if you dont put the revinew back into the citythe people are hurting someone needs to call congress obama some body. if I ever win the lottery I would give money to help the city and that is the truth but as it stands I wish every one there Gods blessing. and to my kids Thomas mask jr; Tamika mask; Latoya mask And Michael Mask and to their mother Regina Over much love to all of you and God bless you give me a call love Thomas mask Sr.

james		16-Jan-2012 03:18
i lived in gary as a kid in the 60s anybody remember the flimango rest. i went to baily jr high

susan tucker		13-Jan-2012 17:20
In 1963 I went to a bar in Gary. I cannot remember the name, but it was very rowdy and full of people and action. I merely am trying to remember the name. I lived in Cedar Lake, Indiana, and was very young and dumb, (probably should not have been in that bar). I was about 25. Was trying to put some stuff together last night and thought of that bar. People actually carried guns, and there were some serious fights. female and male, fights. good grief.

Guest		12-Nov-2011 20:16
I live in gary and I am embarrassed. I feel that I am putting so much money in my home and getting up going to work in chicago...in fear that someone will rob me or kill me when i come home late at night....My home etc. is affordable but I am being forced to flee!!!!!!! Terry Mc Quay

visitor		07-Nov-2011 16:45
Drove through Gary, In, for the first time, to check out MJ's childhood home. I am usually fairly adventureous, but Gary made me feel very uneasy. It was obvious that Gary was once a beautiful, thriving city. I am intrigued about the city's history, but could not wait to leave.

Michael Greer		06-Nov-2011 02:25
I live in Gary from the beging of my life and have seem the city go up and down, but always alive, maybe some people do not like Gary and that is alright, but i love Gary and the people who stay there. Gary is not for the weak at heart, but for the strong at heart and a will to make it no matter what and some day this city will once again be the city of peace and love. Michael G

george stathakis		26-Oct-2011 10:20
hi, also born in 39, grad from wallace in 57, went to ridge, roxy, played at gilroy when it was new, lovd gary as a kid, good luck to all still there

Harold		21-Oct-2011 01:55
Guest I was born in Gary in 1939 at Mercy Hospital, grew up in Glen Park and went to Lew Wallace High School, graduated in 1957 . Went to the ridge and the roxy theater on old ridge road, hung at Tommys drug store on 39 & broadway, boxed at the CYO on old ridge road, shagged golf balls in Gleson Park for the golfers. There were gangs in Gary way back then but if you didn't give anybody shit you didn't have an issue. I miss the car clubs and and my friends who belonged to the Jesters, the police called them a boys club but everyone who lived there knew better. If any one knows Bobby Cerda, Fonz, Rudy Polito, or possibly two of my friends from the military Andy Taylor and Steve Rouse you are welcome to contact me via e=mail. I read all your comments re:Gary and for the most part I agree, Gary never did develop an effective infra structure with the possible exception of the Budd plant which also closed. It unfortunate that we can't all pull together and help one another. I miss the old Gary but I will never move back. Much love to those who still reside there.

Guest		13-Oct-2011 02:38
i was born in 1979 and raised in gary throughout th 80s and tha early part of tha 90s and then i moved to wisconsin!! my 15 year experience in gi was a wonderful one but at tha same time tha enviroment is something i consider to have been hell too!! i stayed on tha eastside by ironwood park a couple of blocks from tha jackson home and spent alot of those years fist fighting everyday and dealing wit catz gettin shot and killed all around me!! i had a great childhood there, but in tha early 1990s crime in tha city really came to a head and things got outta control!some my uncles,aunties and just a few of my friends still reside there. im proud of where i from cause thats what has made me into tha man i am today! yeah their r some ok neighborhoods but only on tha outskirts where families had money to actually own their homes!! but most of tha inner workings of gi is really fucked up i will admit! i have went back home on numerous times in tha almost 20 years i have been gone and im constantly reminded of tha stories my mom used to tell me how things were so great back in tha 50s,60s and 70s. i will love my city to tha day my soul leaves this earth but alarge part of gi is somewhere i would not raise my son in!! it still a place where if they dont know u dont even think of tryin to take a walk to tha gas station or go basking in tha sun at miller beach,cause there r people threr that will surly rob u or straight kill u cause u might have on tha wrong color or u have ur ball cap turn tha wrong way in tha wrong neighborhood!!!!!!

Guest		12-Oct-2011 20:26
Just think, if all the people who helped build up Gary woke up today from their graves.. they'd cry and die all over at seeing this city and what happened to it..

Naphtali		06-Oct-2011 16:38
Poor little Gary.Maybe,in a hundred years it will get a facelift.(who cares?)

Guest		05-Oct-2011 21:32
i was born in gary ind in 1955 went to st lukes 25 years later met my girl still in love

Guest		30-Aug-2011 20:34
Eventualy the area will come back, hopfully the return of astable area does not come with the same drama that has hampered the drive of the willing to make things better.

Naphtali		14-Jul-2011 15:20
Gary is the only city that has a hazy cloud over it.You can see it from the highway.I visit Gary once every 5 to 8 years and can't stay longer than 2 days.It depresses me to see what could've been a great little city.If, not for a handful of ruthless families controlling Gary.

Guest		13-Jul-2011 22:39
Omg awesme pics

G Stokes		01-Jul-2011 22:31
Looking for an old friend...George Perry....G. Stokes, jazz musician, flute player. Stayed with George on many occasions while playing at the old Playboy Club on Broadway and a few other clubs. George..where are you man?

Guest		23-Jun-2011 15:01
I love Gary

Naphtali		23-Jun-2011 14:44
People and their so-called good memories of Gary make me sick.Gary was an awful place to grow up in.So what if fake-ass Michael Jackson was born in Gary.He could've care less about the city.I graduated from Horace Mann in 1974 and couldn't wait to get the hell out of Gary.The teachers were Idiots.The whole education system there is a big-joke.I know my children appreciate being raised in a cultured,loving,non-gang and non-drug infested environment.A parade of Bulldozers need to level Gary down to the grown!!!

Guest		20-Jun-2011 00:57
painting those pictures to show the city off to those pagent people, was a mistake, they could had fixed up this city, as rich as to the lake, chicago was just as bad with bootleggers, gangsters and such, and it turned into a money making city, gary could had also, but for trump to walk away from it, its sad.i gew up on 11th in the 60's and it was safe to walk to broadway and back until the police became hard to find,let the moviemakers who want to film area of destruction, let them the city is gettin paid, and where to you think that money ends up?

Guest		12-Jun-2011 05:09
I live in Gary, the Miller area for 11 years, I found a job. It didn't take long at all. So whats the problem people? I loved Gary. The truth is, if you are waiting for the rich to do something, what about the middle class, There are lots of thing the complainers can do to, besides complain now. I say stop complaining, and do your part. Complaining never change or solved anything. Another thing, everybody know so much about who is or isn't doing, pointing fingers, that not cool. Pull together and pray for you City, and trust GOD. Things will change. If everybody, meaning one individual help at least on peeson, you will see growth regardless of who does what. I think that the people needs a healing not the city. When is the last time you've planted a seed.

glenn-Johnson		31-May-2011 17:09
Glenn johnson-Gary Indiana has gone to the dogs to the people with no home and no car. When I was there I walked all the time got shot in head on 5th .ave.Once live in Delaney projects in 1956-1985 went to Martin Luther King Academy-at Roosevelt school.Moved to los Angeles Ca. Will be back for a visted in a few years,Friend Only to the Undertakers Club.

C. Cauthen		26-May-2011 17:54
I must say with all it's flaws every person that moves away from Gary thinks fondly of Gary every once in a while. The City has had it good days. Economy and some undesirable neighbors have reek their havoc on old Gary, but being born and raised in Gary, and that now I live in Arizona I can truly say that we love Gary for the city it was, know it as our roots , and pray for change because of our families that are still there.

Mary		20-May-2011 06:48
Gary was never a great city to began with. Since the 1920's bootlegging, prostitution, etc... when it was all the ORIGINAL inhabitants. The city could not go anywhere but futher down; not to mention white flight. The Miller Beach area of Gary is the ONLY place that some people wish was still racially singular(not black)...and that is why many are returning. Much like Harlem in New York with this so called Urban renewal planning. I fail to see why so many Ex-Garyites--especially the Flighters--even talk about the city. They are not going to do anything about Gary, but complain on how decayed the city is, how corrupt the city is, yata yata yata--this is what happens when blacks get a hold of something. All these comments cloaked in hidden racial undertones. That is why Hacther was elected and ran on the aformable platform in the late 60's. The Flighters dealt the cards and blacks played it.

DC		08-May-2011 03:50
I was born in 1955 and the family left in the 70's after dad died. We lived 2 blocks from Holy Angles School and there were blacks in the school when I was in 1st grade and we didn't think nothing of it. You could walk to Broadway when I was in about 8th grade, but by that time I was at Horace Mann and the schools were getting bad with fights and kids being disruptive in class, and race fights. We went to the "Palace Theater" which looked like a palace and was great. Mom had to practically give the house away that we were raised in just to sell it. We had fun as kids, but I wouldn't want to raise kids there now I don't think. The downtown area started moving out when Southlake Mall was built and the businesses in town were tired of having stuff stolen, this was before my dad died in 1969. I don't know if there is any hope for Gary as it is now, no major businesses etc.

jjordan		29-Apr-2011 04:28
To all my brothers and sisters of Gary Indiana.wheeli was born and raised went to Roosevelt Hight school played football and rain track, went Beckman and played ball in the projects with friends came out of school 1984. I lived off 21 ave I love that city still ,I try to go back to my class reuion ass I can, I believe in God that it will get better with all the killing aswell LOVE ALL

kb		28-Apr-2011 20:24
My roots are from Gary, when my great grandfather, L.I. Combs came from Vermont in 1908. He supplied most of the brick for the downtown streets and buildings. Gr grandpa is most famous for developing The Village Shopping Center; the largest shopping center at the time in all of NW Indiana. He went on to build many subdivisions in Lake County, and the company is still in business - and family-owned! My parents grew up downtown (Horace Mann and Emerson), my siblings and I in Glen Park; Melton, Bailey, Lew Wallace, but we left the area in 1970 for Florida. When it is said, "You can never go back," well, this certainly rings true for me. Thank goodness for the memories!

Guest		19-Apr-2011 05:17
it will always stay the same

paris		11-Apr-2011 11:15
I love these place because the great king of pop michael jackson born here, I fell so the pepl r so luky who leave here and who r leaving........, the great mj born here.

Guest		03-Apr-2011 13:40
Bruce-I was also born in 1955. Grew up in Aetna and carpooled to St. Lukes. Was in the last 8th grade class there. Had many memories of Gary. All of my family came from the East Side. Would love to hear from anyone in my class back then.

Guest		28-Mar-2011 23:54
My grandfather worked for the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern (E.J.& E.), US Steel's railroad. In 1931, the railroad transferred him to the yards in Gary from down in Rossville, Illinois. My father graduated from Horace Mann in 1933, and went to work at Dr. Honoroff's Saf-T-Kros Pharmacy at 12th and Broadway. He recounted a vibrant community, even in the depths of the depression. He worked for the A&P store as a meat cutter for at time, and eventually was hired on as an apprentice electrician at the Sheet and Tin Mill. It's amazing how such a large town can be founded, flourish, and then decay in less than a century!

Johnnie F		26-Mar-2011 19:46
I've lived in Gary all my life and I know we are looking bad right now but I have faith that we will bring this city back up again. And to the people of Gary IN. if you don't like what you see then help us fix the problem or don't complain.

Shirley		26-Mar-2011 16:58
I graduated in Chesterton but we shopped in Gary at the Village Shopping Center and Goldblatts.. Later I moved to Gary.I saw it starting to go down when Hatcher became mayor.

Guest		13-Mar-2011 18:24
I grew up in Glen Park area of Gary. Graduated from Lew Wallace High School. My childhood/teenage years in Gary were wonderful. Shopping downtown Gary was great. The buildings were wonderful. Gary is a very sad story!

Tomieka Lindsey		11-Mar-2011 23:44
Who really cares about Gary?

bruce		27-Feb-2011 21:06
I grew up in gary and was born in 1955 went to st lukes grade school .Ionly wish i could walk where iused to as a kid bruce.

Allison		23-Feb-2011 10:14
Gary is a rotting carcass of a city well past 5th Avenue. The entire stretch from the Gary City Hall all the way to 61st and Broadway in "Gary-ville" is all rampant with rot and decay. Simply driving throughout the entire northern portion of Lake County seeing the rot of what were once the great cities of East Chicago, Hammond, and Gary can feel the emptiness and sadness. It is enough to make you want to slit your wrists. It is like we have our own little mini Detroit with all the aforementioned sharing the common denominator of being Welfare-Entitlement-burgs. Funny how that works when the takers outnumber the Taxpayers, the city decays. Does anyone STILL really not understand the fallacy and mathematical impossibility of a social-welfare-state?

Jackson		28-Jan-2011 20:49
All of downtown is boarded up. This would be a great place to live. Like it was in the sixties and seventies. The memorial auditorium would have play for the young people to see on Saturdays. Shopping could be done downtown, there were places to eat other than McDonalds and Chicken resturants. The grocery stores were fresh and clean and not smelly. I have great plans for our city. That would bring it back in a snap. But know one in the right positions will listen. Every one I talk with thinks its a choke. And laughs in my face. But I have shared my idea in another city and they are doing just fine. Who will listen email me and let go to work for our city

Jayson		27-Jan-2011 01:58
To Denatured, the photos were taken on a Monday afternoon in what is known as Downtown Gary. There aren't many cars parked because most of Downtown Gary was boarded up.

Denatured		24-Jan-2011 17:36
Did anyone who commented here regarding Gary, Indiana pay attention to the eight(8) pictures on this site? They only cover A SECTION of Gary; after 5th Avenue and well before 25th Avenue. Yet, those eight pictures incited numerous persons to perform a negative ritual on this city. Plus, when were these pictures taken, meaning time of day. Notice there are no cars. When have you known Gary to have NO CARS on Broadway??

naphtali		01-Nov-2010 16:13
I was reading the Post Tribune on line today and was appalled to see that a sibling of ex-Mayor Richard Hatcher anounced she was running for Mayor of Gary next election. Has'nt poor little run down Gary Indiana had enough of people like the Hatchers,the Pratts,the Allens,the Clays and all the rest of that sort. These people have been pocketing Gary Ind resources for years. True, I know nothing about his daughther Ragen. But,i know the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

Jack		31-Oct-2010 21:58
It's a shame what happened to Gary, that's for sure. If I had $100 billion in the bank, i'd restore the city to it's former glory.

Cody		31-Oct-2010 19:30
Does anyone here know much about the old post office in Gary? I know when it was built and who the architect was but does anyone know much else? It's one of my favorite buildings but information on it is so scarce. Anyone remember anything about it? pesonal stories?

Guest		28-Oct-2010 13:57
living in gary in the 50's and 60's you didn't need a car. you could walk to everything you needed.went to emerson high school and the black and white kids got along good. some of my best friends are black and always will be.there are bad elements no matter where you live.so don't knock a grand old lady when she is on her knee's. help her up and dut her off so she can be great again.

naphtali		18-Oct-2010 17:55
Gary ain't shit

naphtali		18-Oct-2010 17:16
I also was raised in Gary in the 50s and 60s.I knew at an early age this wasn't the place for me.The gangs and scandulous people infested Gary for decades.I worked in the steel mills for 10 years(what a f**king joke)!!! It seemed i had to fight to protect myself and my sisters everytime i looked around. I left that sandtrap in 1986 and never looked back!! Life is so much better. They should plow Gary down to the ground and change the name!

Guest		12-Oct-2010 04:24
I have a big problem with the way Gary looks today. I was born there and lived there for 14 years. People like Michael Jackson never gave back to his city. We cant even get a major retailer like walmart to come there. That's pretty bad. Detroit,Mi and Gary,In? Two of the same and it's a shame that with all the celebrity fame out there that no one is helping out.

Johnnie B		12-Oct-2010 04:21
Johnnie B. I was born in Gary,In and live there for 14 years. Ive been back over the years from time to time. Im really disappointed that people like Michael Jackson never gave back to his city.

Darryl M.		26-Aug-2010 15:47
I was born in Gary in 1959, I remember having a nice childhood, nieghbors tha cared for each other. I went to Douglass Elememtary School where my mother cut the ribbon to open it. Beckman and Roosevelt High School, it breaks my heart to see what it has become. I pray that someday it will be revitalized.

Guest		21-Aug-2010 05:11
I drove by this town to get to Michigan City. All I can say is I will NEVER return. I am not racist but damn the part I went through was all gangs!!! I stopped at Mobile to get some gas only to see a mother swear at her children. Never have I seen a mother do that! A few minutes later a fight broke out right by my car, I left before the guy was curb stomped. I have never seen such a pathetic city and people who inhabit it (don't get me wrong, not all of it, I have only seen the "shitty" part of the city). I cant imagine living there, honestly I wouldnt live there even if they paid me! The city left me speechless and shocked. Opened my eyes to appreciate all that I have and what a wonderful life I live. As much as I wish this was a wonderful city as it used to be, I see no hope for this very lifeless city.

bbvales		20-Aug-2010 04:51
All this bashing is making me ill. This is a cry out!!! Someone. Any one. Volunteer, start a support group, do something other than be negative. Invest some time and extra money. It is clear this city has potential it just needs a helping hand. Where is that feeling of unity? Remembering that we are human above all and helping others in need should be our greatest joy.

paul		24-Jul-2010 20:36
Hi, I was born and raised and married and worked in Gary, Indiana. Three of my children were born in Gary, 1965, 1967.1969. We can all say what we want about Gary. The reason the city is the way it is to day is due only to the Unions. in 1963, went to work for us steel. first weeks pay (which was three weeks later, they payed every two weeks), was $133.00, for 32 hours. I made as much as my dad who was a Union Plumber. I didn't leave Gary because of race or color or where people went to church or what there belief was. I left because I saw what the was going on in the steel mill. not who was mayor. the Union killed Gary, Indiana........ Has nothing to do with color of skin. nothing with rich or poor. In 1956 we had a 50 yr city wide celebration, eveyone was there. If you want to change gary then you have to change your thinking. change your views. change youself. this is 2010 not 1956 or 1968.

guest		22-Jul-2010 00:11
Gary, Merrillville, Portage, Griffith, Valpo. They all have drugs and gangs. But there are more of us then them ( respectable citizens). I say we take a stand and clean this shit up!!!!!

Guest		29-Jun-2010 14:21
Gary is what the REPULICANS want it to be DEPRESSING. And all the complaining in the world is not going to help. IF YOU really want to do something FIGHT BACK.

Guest		14-May-2010 03:54
I was also raised in Gary, lived in Marshalltown during the 50's & 60's I have fond memories of Gary. I left in 1988, visited in 2004 and I don't care to return.

dlb		05-May-2010 16:02
I was born in Gary in the year 1938. Yes, we were a "Mill Town" and loved it. The decline of Gary began in 1959 with 800,000 Union Members going on strike. The strike centered on automation and the Union's fight against improvements that would decrease the number of Union workers. I know since I was a Union member in good standing. The Union won on the key issues after 9 months. During the strike, steel users (Auto Industry for one) had to purchase steel from outside the USA and after the strike, the steel users kept buying portions of steel from outside the USA to insure a constant flow. Simple math will show that buying 10% of steel needs from outside the USA will reduce the need for USA steel by 10% along with the workforce. A lot of good the 1959 wind did for the Union! There were more strikes following 1959 with the Union gaining wages and benefits. The price of USA manufactured steel increased while foriegn steel, with advanced automation, continued to decrease in price and ... you know the drill. Who do I blame for the loss of the "Magic City"? The United Steel Workers of America.

Guest		04-May-2010 17:57
I woukld have to say that I agree with Ajknee, growing up in South Bend, Indiana and traveling through Gary since joining the militay you don't really see many people on the streets. The city outs me in the mind of an old ghost town, thinking back to the last time that I was there it could one might say we have our on form of Alqida Taliban, (and no one needs to freak out fromt hat statement I am an african america and love America. I say this because the crime rate there seems to just get worse. The drug dealers know that the law has a hard time catching them because they have lawyers who amay or may not be just as crooket as they are or the pay them enough money that they find loop holes to keep them out of jail.

Guest		03-May-2010 02:19
I grew up in Gary, moved to Chicago's fabulous northside in the Wriggly, and now have moved back to Gary for a bit. Somebody tried to snatch my camera out of my hands at the lakefront on the northside in chicago. I walk around with my camera in gary all the time, and nobody bothers me. Gary's problems stem from alot of things, probably like most cities. Economics, being a BLUE area in a RED State, Racism and Crime. Gary was a very segregated city. The high school, Roosevelt, the Jackson Five went to was specifically built so that they didnt have to allow blacks into the other schools. In those schools that were integrated, blacks werent allowed in the arts or athletics. Gary's first black mayor was elected in 1969. The FBI had to be brought during that election because whites were removing blacks from the voter roles, and adding ficitious white names. When the first black mayor was elected, Mayor Hatcher, they chained city hall so he could not enter. Then the perfect storm began. Whites, who owned everything downtown left the city in a matter of years, the steels started shutting down, then like other cities, drugs came, and with it crimes. Race is still very divisive. For those who say how nice Miller was and Glenn Park was, as a black boy the police made sure I know I was not wanted in those areas. Today, Gary is basically broke. No businesses here. And will possibly will be insolvent in a few years. The County will be insolvent soon after that. Indiana has a 1 percent property tax cap, and governments that depend on that income stream are hurting. Gary isnt the only one. So when you say why dont they do anything, they dont have any money. Salaries in Indiana are lower than in Illinois right next dooor. I made more a year as a Secretary in Chicago, than many of the department managers in Gary. Most of those abandoned structures downtown are consider landmarks, and have land mark status, and the State WILL NOT let the city tear them down. To Monique, you're a liar. If you want to take pics here, come. Come in the daytime.. common sense. If you're carrying thousands of dollars worth of equipment, dont ask somebody down and out for directions. No where you're going. Common Sense. I've been in the city two years now, I've never heard gun shots around my house. We sit on the porch in the evenings. Nobody was robbed or assaulted when thousands of people of all races came to see the Jackson House when MJ died. People love to tell internet horror stories. Its Sad. Are they're bad places? Certainly. But there are nice homes and nice facilities here also. They just don't make it into people's online galleries.

Guest		21-Mar-2010 23:17
I was born and raised in Gary. Lived in Marshalltown. As kids we laid out in grass and played up and down the streets. There were stores downtown at the time. We had Sears, Gordons. Fields etc. This was 60's and 70's. I learned a lot and as I got older crime just seemed to take over. There was once respect for older people and the police. What happen. I had great friends and there are still some very decent folks how are just stuck there. The crime was so bad my family had to leave. Yes there is crime everywhere. But Gary has some folks that will put the hurt on you and crime goes unnoticed.

Guest		14-Mar-2010 18:09
Kick out the Gangs!!!....or at least keep them back from the really decent people of Gary that are trying to live there and raise their families. The political infrasture of the City is where it has to begin....I have seen many religious attempts to clean things up...but they(religious groups) need more help...they cant do it alone. I commend them for their efforts...but the people need to riot agaist city hall....and make them(politicians) accountable for the citizens safety!!!! I grew up in Gary in the '50 & '60s...had to leave because of the crime...my family wanted to live....it wasnt my neighbors....it was the Gangs....they came in from outside our neighborhood...and robbed, raped, buglarized etc. Good luck to the people of Gary...the good honest individuals that eke out a living amoung those that want to sell drugs and kill.....sad situation. Hope the Mayor reads this....he needs to...if he has a conscience.

Taylor		26-Jan-2010 03:57
That's right. Gary is a great city, and truthfully, it can be beautiful. I especially love the old Gary Bathing Beach building, and the low avenues of the downtown with the soft streetlights and remodeled buildings. YES, not ALL of Gary is dilapidated. It has a strong history. Gary has people that love it, but a government that wants to suck the city dry. I live in Portage (and sometimes I'm in DeMotte, a 98% white town), and my mom was part of the big "white flight" from Gary to Merrillville back in the 70s. Unfortunately, because I'm white I really can't live anywhere in Gary safely, since I'm not rich and can't afford to live in Miller Beach...Portage is as close as I can get, and honestly, Portage doesn't really have anything beautiful to it. Maybe sometime soon, Gary will be clean again, and when the crime is down businesses can move back in, and eventually, it'll once again be a beautiful "Steel City" on the lake, and Northwest Indiana can be proud of having Gary as a place to go, and not a place to joke about or run from.

Guest		30-Dec-2009 04:56
By the way, young person, I spell very well but, I'm trying to get used to this technology but, We had some great teachers and, People such as Mr. Tatum, (Do you remember him? The very best of " Velt", right?!! Tell me what you remember?

Guest		05-Dec-2009 18:43
I work in the city of Gary everyday on a federal task force trying to fight crime in this city. There are some truly great people struggling to make it everyday it is the few gangsters and criminals that have overtaken the city. When you look at the current lack of leadership in city government starting with the walking joke called Rudy Clay it is never going to get any better. Just the fact that they have had "6" police chiefs in the last 3 1/2 years speaks volumes about the lack of leadership in the Mayors office. I have believe that until the elected officials stop stealing the taxpayers blind and they elect some honest people to run this place it is only going to get worse. And that is sad for all of the good folks that are left to live in this.

Guest		20-Nov-2009 05:43
Wow I am doing a project on Gary and I stumbled upon this webpage. Does everyone from Gary spell as well as I have seen on this page?

Raymond		07-Oct-2009 02:20
I gre up in Gary. Born 1945, lots of sand dunes to play in, railroad tracks to walk down. The schools, Lincoln Elementary, The "Velt" and, Froebel. I left in 1968 after my tour in The Navy. Things had changed. This was back in 1967-68.I still love my home town and, I agree with Dre. We've got,(Black People), to make the change, start our own industrie, busnesses, ect.

Guest		22-Sep-2009 09:11
Someone posted earlier 'don't judge a city until you come here," take my advice, I live here, DON'T COME HERE!

Guest		22-Sep-2009 09:07
I live in Gary, and do drive through this city every day. Yep, it's a shithole. But the ironic thing is that 90% of the people are great folks. The other 10% bring this city to it's knees.

Marta		06-Aug-2009 10:41
Isn`t a place where Michael Jackson was born? This is absolutely the greatest place in the world! Please- dont forget about it... all the best from Poland. We miss him alot! Bless you all!!

nancy		28-Jul-2009 17:40
monique jacobs... your a liar if that did happen you are not on the police blotter or make a reportand like the other people that down Gary. Yeah this city has problems like other cities but it is growing and will proper onece again. I wouldnt want a fabricator like you living here anyway

angie		22-Jul-2009 00:57
My name is Angie underwood I live in Gary althought Gary has its issues other cities have the same.We just need to put more effort in to our city dont just blame it on the mayor what about the companies that move to merrillville and other cities instead of your own community it will take some time but Gary will come back.and not just because of MJ.but because of people like myself who want to help not just complain.

Guest		17-Jul-2009 05:32
I love Gary. I was born and raised in Gary. It will prosper once again!

Guest		07-Jul-2009 14:13
Gary is sorry azz hell. I moved there in 2008 my house was robbed twice in one week. And go figure I lived right up the street from the police station. It was robbed both time in broad daylight might I add on Memorial Day and no one saw nothing. My kids almost got jumped on cause they beat some kids playing basketball. This is a terrible place to raise kids. So then I moved to another side of gary and it was a damn shoot out right in front of my house. Now I know every town have bad areas but damn. Ive never in my life seen so many abandon buildings and houses in my life. The police dont help when u need them but they kept harassing me about my damn dog. I would never go back to this place cause I would be in jail somewhere.

Guest		21-Jun-2009 21:36
Im from chicago the only time I would go to Indiana was to get cigarettes and Gas you can't pay me to cross the state line.

Monique Jacobs		20-Jun-2009 07:14
My experience with Gary, In is that well it is a very bad neighborhood. I was passing by - on the road - way to New York when I got stuck near Broadway & where the 80 Freeway cross and was attacked(Raped & robbed). I don't think I will be back in that neighbor hood ever again...but I'm sure there are some good people in this town. I've had the bad luck of experience the bad ones, but when I was calling for help a friendly young man, pulled over and called and abulence & police for me. I do believe that if People - rich people would invest money in the city and if they would give job oppertunitys to all these young kids growing up there then maybe they wouldn't join gangs or wouldn't rape people like me that are on the road to east coast. I found it very sad to see days later, when I was taken to the train stop - to see the main street with bo biz, every building was boarded up, the few store that are there had huge gates and locks to secure their property. THe building are antique and very beautifully build but someone would have to clean up the drug people, gangs and the men that attacked me. I hope someone will do that, the city has great arcitecture. But I won't be back,holds to many bad memorys.

Glenda		12-Jun-2009 04:06
someone needs to invest some major cash in Gary. I lived there from 64 to 76 and I have lots of good memories. I wished someone would bring it back to life. It's a damm shame. Gangs, gangs. Is that all there is to life anymore? cause if It is? God help all those people with no sense. ALL YOU RICH PEOPLE NEED TO GET OFF YOUR A-- and clean it up (INVEST) you got money to burn. When you die god isn't going to ask how much money you got cause he doesn't give a s---.

jay		02-Jun-2009 19:38
gary used to be a happenin place back in the 50's and 60's, since then its gone way down hill, simply because all tha factories shut down. people say its a shit hole and all tht, but there are nice parts of gary too dont judge a damn city until you go there and see what its like

David		21-Apr-2009 04:38
Gary still has a lot of potential for revitalization...I've just released a book documenting 7 historically significant buildings in the downtown area. If preserved these structures could add to the community's sense of identity and be enjoyed by future generations. The book is, "Gary Indiana \| A City's Ruins". It contains over 80 photos and 7 building biographies. The first 15 pages can be previewed at: hXXp://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/631597 The people of Gary deserve to have their heritage preserved! I have strong hope Gary can turn a new leaf. -David Tribby hXXp://www.flickr.com/photos/dtribby

Guest		20-Mar-2009 22:29
randy hunter the mayer need to help fixed gary up

Dave		12-Mar-2009 18:17
Dave is white. Dad worked at the mills all his life. Color/race has nothing to do with it, quality of life does.

Rose		03-Mar-2009 21:31
Yes ma'am. no ma'am?? ..hahaha, maybe back in the 50s, Debra! Live in the region for a week and then come back on here and post. I've lived here my whole life. Trust me, there are some verrry rude people here. Gary is the worst area to be in the region. Gary and East Chicago. Being married to a Lake County police officer, I hear some unbelievable things that go on in Gary. Come again and visit us.

Debra		03-Oct-2008 02:32
Why doess every one need to down gary...even people that are from here...my husband is from Gary and when i first went there to meet his family when i was 16 i saw how the city looked and i was in awww but i im so interested in the history behind it all. the people are well manored yes there is a high crime rate but alls u hear is yes mam no mam...and they welcome u with open arms i we got a couple dirty looks due the fact that we are a biracial couple but who cares....my husband doesnt like white people that much and even though im white haha he says this is why because white people only down blacks and doing research on this city alls i saw was white people sayn blacks made them leave...no one made u leave except ur selfs dont blame others blame urself every single person who has been here talks down about this place it is boring here but shit do sumthn about the way it looks help the community for real.

Dre'		21-Jun-2008 18:25
To people like Dave below, we're leaving Gary just to destroy another developed white city. Black people need to become more self sufficient. It makes me tired to hear blacks down Gary, then move to a white neighborhood and tear that one up over a number of years. If we can't first acknowledge our own problems, we won't be able to do better. Too many of us blacks just don't have the desire, or willpower to initiate change. I'm not assuming you are black, but I hear way too many blacks talking that way about their hoods.

Guest		10-Nov-2007 05:32
I graduated from Lew Wallace in 66. We could actually walk all around Glen Park and never be bothered...even at night! We used to spend our summers at Miller Beach. It is so hard to see Gary like this.

Guest		27-Sep-2007 03:52
Gary has a great mayor know who knows what he is doing and i do believe that gary is going to be a great city one day

Guest		19-Aug-2007 19:08
Gary, like every other city, has nice parts and bad parts. The farther east you go towards Laporte County Gary turns into a nice rural/suburban community with victorian houses and beaches. Personally I find your photo compilation to be incomplete and biased.

ronnisha		10-Jul-2007 04:36
gary is the most bashed city on the net.,you have to be frome here i agree that a downtown repersents a city,but the families inside and beach are great if you are from there

Guest		29-Jun-2007 09:39
this is a political act, they know and see what is going on to this city. If we dont care then why should anyone else..I was born in gary, and went to M.L.King, When you mention to someone that you are from Gary,Ind. they eyes pop-up!!!! If only that can happen to give them a pic. ass if Gary was a must see city like Vegas....Please leave some for my kids to come back to. There's still a lot of good people in Gary, and taletent too Big-up to all the Paster's Bishop's Rev. Churches in G.I. If Gary,Indiana could talk she would say,"Someone Please Take Care of Me....."

Jayson		11-Apr-2007 14:29
The photos were taken in downtown Gary, Indiana. Downtowns throughout America and the world are the representation of the entire city. If residents and politicians wants the image of their city to improve then they need to improve their downtown. It doesn't matter how much sprawl a city creates, if their downtown is neglected then the image will follow suite.

Alfred		03-Apr-2007 23:37
I live in Gary and why is it that every time someone come here to take pictures they go the most delapadated part of town? Those pictures are all taken in or near the Old downtown area there are plenty of decent nice area of the city form which pictures can be taken and lot of activity and people are around. This is a damn shame that everyone wants to see us this way.

RK		17-Feb-2007 22:29
Glad to see you made back alive.

Mickey Dsteff		07-Nov-2006 02:54
I grew up in Miller Beach on the lake shore area of Gary. It's too bad you didn't have any photos from there. I do remember downtown Gary back in the 50's and into the 60's. The steel mills closed and teh town collapsed. Whites moved to the surrounding towns, Merrillville, St. John, Griffith, Highland, Crown Point, Valparasio, Portage.

Guest		07-Oct-2006 06:40
Gary, Indiana? What were you thinking.

AJKNEE		07-Aug-2006 16:54
In referance to Robert Kitay. That's what freaks me out most about Gary. I've been to Compton, East St. Louis, Gary and many other neglected areas but Gary is unique in that every time I'm there, I have not seen one person. I've been there more than a few times, somewhere in the teens, and at all times of the day. I don't know what's up with that.

Guest		28-Jun-2006 21:46
what a sh*t hole

Guest		15-Mar-2006 06:50
Who stole all the plywood and tarpaper?

Dave		15-Feb-2006 03:47
I was born and raised in Gary. You won't find me there today.

I_Spy		26-Sep-2005 16:25
Dude, this town used to look so down until they put in those new decorative street lights. Makes all the difference in your photos...and what a great use of taxpayer $$$

Robert Kitay		11-Jun-2005 22:04
Where is everyone? Not a person or car to be seen. Looks like nuclear winter or something.

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