Sources: Wikipedia (1910-2020), U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (2022)
New York Times, 2/3/2024
Gary, Ind., was once a symbol of American innovation. The home of U.S. Steel’s largest mill, Gary churned out the product that built America’s bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers. The city reaped the rewards, with a prosperous downtown and vibrant neighborhoods.
Gary’s smokestacks are still prominent along Lake Michigan’s sandy shore, starkly juxtaposed between the eroding dunes and Chicago’s towering silhouette to the northwest. But now they represent a city looking for a fresh start.
More than 10,000 buildings sit abandoned, and the population of 180,000 in the 1960s has dropped by more than half. Poverty, crime and an ignoble moniker — “Scary Gary” — deter private investors and prospective homeowners.
Gary Steel Works in 1973. The plant employed 30,000 workers at its peak. It's now down to 3,700
Photo credit: Wikipedia
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
An additional excerpt:
Paul Helmke, the former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, said a quirk of Indiana state tax law had helped his city, but not Gary, recover from the decline of manufacturing. Gary was a smaller, majority Democratic city within its larger, more conservative county, which by Indiana law controlled its ability to manage its taxes. It couldn’t grow its tax base without the county’s approval.
“Gary was held captive to what the other cities in its county wanted to do,” Mr. Helmke said.
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