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Gary, Indiana

This article is about the city in Indiana, for other uses of "Gary", see Gary (disambiguation).

This page is about the city Gary, Indiana. For the person, see Gary Indiana.
City of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana:Skyline of City of Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana:Official flag of City of Gary, Indiana
 Gary, Indiana:Official seal of City of Gary, Indiana
Flag Seal
Nickname: "City in Motion, City of the Century, GI, Magic city of Steel, The Steel City"
Gary, Indiana:Location in the state of Indiana, USA
Location in the state of Indiana, USA
Coordinates: 41°34′51″N, 87°20′44″W
County Lake
Mayor Rudolph Clay
Area  
 - City 148.3 km²  (57.26 sq mi)
 - Land 130.1 km²  (50.23 sq mi)
 - Water 18.2 km² (7.03 sq mi)
Elevation 175.87  m – 180+ m  (577 ft – 600+ ft)
Population  
 - City (2000)102,746
 - Density 789.8/km²
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Website: www.gary.in.us

Gary is the largest city in Lake County, Indiana, USA. The city is located on the southeastern corner of the Chicagoland area and is approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 102,746 and is the largest Indiana city that is not a county seat. It borders Lake Michigan and is known for its large steel mills.


Contents

History

The city was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant. The city was named after the chairman of U.S. Steel, Elbert H. Gary.

Among U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Gary has the highest percentage of African-American residents (as of the 2000 U.S. census). Gary had one of the nation's first African-American mayors, Richard G. Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention. At the same time, Gary suffered the urban phenomenon of "white flight" as many affluent residents left Gary and relocated to the surrounding towns and cities.

Gary's fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry. In the 1960s, like many other American urban centers, Gary entered a downward spiral of decline. Gary's decline was brought on by drugs, crime, and layoffs at the steel plants. US Steel continues to be a major steel producer, but with only a fraction of its former level of employment. While Gary has failed to attract many major businesses since its population peak, two casinos opened along the Gary lakeshore in the 1990s. Today, Gary faces numerous difficulties, including unemployment, major economic problems, and a high rate of crime, though the city has made some progress in addressing these issues since the 1990s.

Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man featured the song, "Gary, Indiana," describing the alleged alma mater of lead character Professor Harold Hill ("Gary Conservatory, Class of '05!"). The joke in Hill's claim, of course, is that the city of Gary wasn't founded until '06. Wilson's musical, set in 1912, was later made into two movies.

Recent events

Gary, Indiana:Gary is celebrating its centennial year
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Gary is celebrating its centennial year

Three-term Democratic mayor Scott King resigned from office in March, 2006, citing a desire to return to private law practice, and the financial rewards involved therein.[1] Then-deputy mayor and former Calumet Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen Jr. became acting mayor, pending a formal election by local Democratic party officials. On April 4, 2006, local officials chose former Lake County Commissioner and King rival Rudolph Clay to fill the remaining 21 months of King's term.

Celebrating its 100th year in 2006, the city of Gary finally shows evidence of rebound from years of economic depression. Many of the building which have been left vacant for years are now finally planned for demolition and development.[2] Many new homes have been built through a the HOPE VI grant from HUD. [3]

The Gary/Chicago International Airport has recently secured nearly 100 million dollars from grants and privated donations. The FAA approved GYY's master plan which includes the expansion of runways, land acquistition for a larger terminal, an integrated transportation center, and provision for a third runway. The first part of the plan requires for the move of the EJ&E line which runs at the end of the runway.

After many years at the top of the list, Gary was rated the tenth most dangerous city in the United States according to Morgan Quitno's 2006 analysis of crime rates. While hardly enviable, this is indicative of the progress Gary has made in reducing crime since the 1990s. [4]

Geography

Gary is located at 41°34′51″N, 87°20′44″W (41.580786, -87.345449)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 148.3 km² (57.2 mi²). 130.1 km² (50.2 mi²) of it is land and 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²) of it (12.25%) is water. The city sits on the southern end of the former lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Chicago, and the current Lake Michigan. Most of the city's soil nearly one foot below the surface is pure sand. The sand beneath Gary, and on its beaches, is of such high quality that in years past it was mined for the manufacture of glass.

Gary is more or less "T" shaped, with its northern border on Lake Michigan, one of the United States's five "Great Lakes." At the Northwesternmost section Gary borders Hammond and East Chicago. As one moves from West to East across the top of Gary's aforementioned "T" shape, the city changes from being decidedly urban to being a bit more suburban, culminating in what is called the city's "Miller" or "Miller Beach" section, at its Northeastermost point, which borders Lake Station and Portage. Finally to the Southernmost section of Gary which borders Hobart and Merrillville.

Weather

The weather of Gary is greatly regulated by the lake, as Gary is at the Southernmost point. Weather varies yearly. Tornadoes are not common, though they do strike annually. Earthquakes are also a possibility, and have occurred in the past, as Gary sits on a geologic fault.

Climate

Gary, like Chicago, has variable weather. In July and August, the warmest months, high temperatures average 84°F and peak around 105°F and low temperatures averaging 63°F. In January and February, the coldest months, high temperatures average 29°F with low temperatures averaging 13°F and at least a few days of temperatures dipping well below 0°F.

Precipitation

In summer months Gary is quite humid, and fog is not uncommon. The city's yearly precipitation averages about 40 inches which is a combination of both rain and snow. Summer is the rainiest season but its bark is bigger than its bite, with short-lived rainfall and very loud drawn-out thunderstorms. Winters vary but they are predominantly snow and blizzards are somewhat regular. Snowfall in Gary can average 24 to 36 inches per winter, but sometimes large blizzards hit because of what's known as "lake effect snow," a phenomenon wherein large amounts of evaporate from the lake is deposited onto the shoreline areas inordinate amounts of snow during the winter.

Culture

Demographics

City of Gary
Population by year [5]
1900 NA
1910 16,802
1920 55,378
1930 100,426
1940 111,719
1950 133,911
1960 178,320
1970 175,415
1980 151,953
1990 116,646
2000 102,746
2005 98,715

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 102,746 people, 38,244 households, and 25,623 families residing in the city. The population density was 789.8/km² (2,045.5/mi²). There were 43,630 housing units at an average density of 335.4/km² (868.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.03% African American, 11.92% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.97% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 38,244 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.2% were married couples living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,195, and the median income for a family was $32,205. Males had a median income of $34,992 versus $24,432 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,383. About 22.2% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods

Education

The city of Gary has had a checkered history when it comes to education. As a result, test scores have fallen well below the national average of late. As an answer to this, multiple charter schools have been founded throughout the city as both an alternative and a catalyst to the public schools. Since that time the grades have risen and Gary Community Schools have built new elementary schools, though there is still room to improve. Along with school improvement and new schools, Gary residents have many options for education.

Further information: List of Schools in Gary

Primary/Secondary Education

There are two school districts and multiple charter schools located within the city:

Continuing Education

Gary is home to two regional state college campuses:

Media

Transportation

Sports

The following sports teams are based in Gary:

Baseball

Gary, Indiana:U.S. Steel Yard, Gary
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U.S. Steel Yard, Gary








Basketball

Gary, Indiana:Genesis Convention Center, Gary
Enlarge
Genesis Convention Center, Gary








Notable people from Gary, Indiana

Entertainment

Sports

Academic, science and technology

Politics and law

Other fields


Metropolitan area of Chicagoland

<td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 1px" rowspan="2"> Gary, Indiana:Map of Chicagoland </td>

Central City: Chicago
Largest cities (over 30,000 in 2000): Aurora • Berwyn • Calumet City • Chicago Heights • Crystal Lake • Des Plaines • East Chicago, Indiana • Elgin • Elmhurst • Evanston • Gary, Indiana • Hammond, Indiana • Harvey • Highland Park • Joliet • Kenosha, Wisconsin • Naperville • North Chicago • Park Ridge • Portage, Indiana • Waukegan • Wheaton
Largest towns and villages (over 30,000 in 2000): Addison • Arlington Heights • Bartlett • Bolingbrook • Buffalo Grove • Carol Stream • Carpentersville • Cicero • Downers Grove • Elk Grove Village • Glendale Heights • Glenview • Hanover Park • Hoffman Estates • Lombard • Merrillville, Indiana • Mount Prospect • Mundelein • Niles • Northbrook • Oak Lawn • Oak Park • Orland Park • Palatine • Schaumburg • Skokie • Streamwood • Tinley Park • Wheeling • Woodridge
Counties: Cook • DeKalb • DuPage • Grundy • Jasper • Kane • Kankakee • Kendall • Kenosha • Lake (Illinois) • Lake (Indiana) • LaPorte • McHenry • Newton • Porter • Will
Gary, Indiana:Flag of Indiana.svg State of Indiana
RegionsMichiana | Nine-County Region | Northern Indiana | Northwest Indiana | Southern Indiana | Wabash Valley
Largest citiesAnderson | Bloomington | Carmel | Columbus | East Chicago | Elkhart | Evansville | Fishers | Fort Wayne | Gary | Goshen | Greenwood | Hammond | Indianapolis | Jeffersonville | Kokomo | Lafayette | Lawrence | Marion | Merrillville | Michigan City | Mishawaka | Muncie | New Albany | Noblesville | Portage | Richmond | South Bend | Terre Haute | Valparaiso | West Lafayette
CountiesAdams | Allen | Bartholomew | Benton | Blackford | Boone | Brown | Carroll | Cass | Clark | Clay | Clinton | Crawford | Daviess | De Kalb | Dearborn | Decatur | Delaware | Dubois | Elkhart | Fayette | Floyd | Fountain | Franklin | Fulton | Gibson | Grant | Greene | Hamilton | Hancock | Harrison | Hendricks | Henry | Howard | Huntington | Jackson | Jasper | Jay | Jefferson | Jennings | Johnson | Knox | Kosciusko | Lagrange | Lake | LaPorte | Lawrence | Madison | Marion | Marshall | Martin | Miami | Monroe | Montgomery | Morgan | Newton | Noble | Ohio | Orange | Owen | Parke | Perry | Pike | Porter | Posey | Pulaski | Putnam | Randolph | Ripley | Rush | Saint Joseph | Scott | Shelby | Spencer | Starke | Steuben | Sullivan | Switzerland | Tippecanoe | Tipton | Union | Vanderburgh | Vermillion | Vigo | Wabash | Warren | Warrick | Washington | Wayne | Wells | White | Whitley

Categories


1906 establishments | Chicago metropolitan area | Cities in Indiana | Gary, Indiana | Indiana counties | Indiana | Lake County, Indiana | Port cities | U.S. Communities with African American majority populations

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