Gary, Indiana

1850

Settled in the 1850s and incorporated as an independent town in 1907, Miller was annexed by the city of Gary in 1918.

Miller developed around the old stagecoach stop and train station known by the 1850s as Miller's Junction and/or Miller's Station. Miller Beach is racially and economically diverse.

1857

It was platted by George Tolle in 1857, when the railroads were constructed to this area.

1881

This company town was founded in 1881 by the Aetna Powder Works, an explosives company.

1906

It is estimated that nearly one-third of all houses in the city are unoccupied or abandoned. ==History== ===Founding and early years=== Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant, Gary Works.

The City of Gary was not founded until 1906.

1907

Settled in the 1850s and incorporated as an independent town in 1907, Miller was annexed by the city of Gary in 1918.

1908

The houses dated from about 1908 to the 1930s.

1910

Ambridge was developed for workers at the nearby steel plant in the 1910s and 1920s.

1912

Willson's musical, set in 1912, was adapted both as a film of the same name released in 1962, and as a television film, produced in 2003. The 1996 urban film Original Gangstas was filmed in the city.

1918

Settled in the 1850s and incorporated as an independent town in 1907, Miller was annexed by the city of Gary in 1918.

1919

The city was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. Gary was the site of civil unrest in the steel strike of 1919.

On October 4, 1919, a riot broke out on Broadway, the main north–south street through downtown Gary, between striking steel workers and strike breakers brought in from outside.

1920

According to the 1920 United States Census, 29.7% of Gary's population at the time was classified as foreign-born, mostly from eastern European countries, with another 30.8% classified as native-born with at least one foreign-born parent.

It was developed in the 1920s and houses several pieces of impressive architecture, including the Moe House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and another, the Wynant House (1917), which was destroyed by fire.

Ambridge was developed for workers at the nearby steel plant in the 1910s and 1920s.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Gary's prosperous industries helped generate residential and other development in Aetna, resulting in an impressive collection of art deco architecture.

1928

Their factory closed after the end of World War I. The Town of Aetna was annexed by Gary in 1928, around the same time that the city annexed the Town of Miller.

1930

By the 1930 United States Census, the first census in which Gary's population exceeded 100,000, the city was the fifth largest in Indiana and comparable in size to South Bend, Fort Wayne, and Evansville.

These population changes resulted in political change which reflected the racial demographics of Gary: the non-white share of the city's population increased from 21% in 1930, 39% in 1960, to 53% in 1970.

The houses dated from about 1908 to the 1930s.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Gary's prosperous industries helped generate residential and other development in Aetna, resulting in an impressive collection of art deco architecture.

1950

Non-whites were primarily restricted to live in the Midtown section just south of downtown (per the 1950 Census, 97% of the black population of Gary was living in this neighborhood).

The rest of the community was built after World War II and the Korean War in the 1950s, in a series of phases.

1957

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. ==Arts and culture== ===Arts and film=== Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man featured the song "Gary, Indiana", in which lead character (and con man) Professor Harold Hill wistfully recalls his purported hometown, then prosperous.

1960

Once a prosperous steel town, it has suffered drastic population loss due to overseas competition and restructuring of the industry, falling by 55 percent from its peak of 178,320 in 1960.

Department stores and architecturally significant movie houses were built in the downtown area and the Glen Park neighborhood. In the 1960s, like many other American urban centers reliant on one particular industry, Gary entered a spiral of decline.

These population changes resulted in political change which reflected the racial demographics of Gary: the non-white share of the city's population increased from 21% in 1930, 39% in 1960, to 53% in 1970.

Sometimes large blizzards hit because of "lake effect snow", a phenomenon whereby large amounts of water evaporated from the lake deposit onto the shoreline areas as inordinate amounts of snow. ==Demographics== The change in the economy and resulting loss of jobs has caused a drop in population by more than half since its peak in 1960. ===2010 census=== As of the census of 2010, there were 80,294 people, 31,380 households, and 19,691 families residing in the city.

1962

Willson's musical, set in 1912, was adapted both as a film of the same name released in 1962, and as a television film, produced in 2003. The 1996 urban film Original Gangstas was filmed in the city.

1970

Steel Gary Works employed over 30,000 in 1970, declined to just 6,000 by 1990, and further declined to 5,100 in August 2015.

These population changes resulted in political change which reflected the racial demographics of Gary: the non-white share of the city's population increased from 21% in 1930, 39% in 1960, to 53% in 1970.

It was annexed in the 1970s.

Non-Hispanic Whites were 8.9% of the population in 2010, down from 39.1% in 1970. There were 31,380 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families.

1972

Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gary had the highest percentage of African-Americans of U.S.

1990

Steel Gary Works employed over 30,000 in 1970, declined to just 6,000 by 1990, and further declined to 5,100 in August 2015.

Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gary had the highest percentage of African-Americans of U.S.

While Gary has failed to reestablish a manufacturing base since its population peak, two casinos opened along the Gary lakeshore in the 1990s, although this has been aggravated by the state closing of Cline Avenue, an important access to the area.

1996

Willson's musical, set in 1912, was adapted both as a film of the same name released in 1962, and as a television film, produced in 2003. The 1996 urban film Original Gangstas was filmed in the city.

1997

A large area of the downtown neighborhood (including City Methodist) was devastated by a major fire on October 12, 1997.

2000

Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gary had the highest percentage of African-Americans of U.S.

cities with a population of 100,000 or more, 84% (as of the 2000 U.S.

The gender makeup of the city was 46.0% male and 54.0% female. ===2000 census=== As of the census of 2000, there were 102,746 people, 38,244 households, and 25,623 families residing in the city.

Since the early 2000s, Gary has been the setting for numerous films made by Hollywood filmmakers.

2002

Steel Yard, was constructed in 2002, along with contiguous commercial space and minor residential development. Miller Beach, also known simply as Miller, is on Gary's far northeast side.

2003

Willson's musical, set in 1912, was adapted both as a film of the same name released in 1962, and as a television film, produced in 2003. The 1996 urban film Original Gangstas was filmed in the city.

2006

A new 123-unit mixed-income apartment development was built using a HUD Hope VI grant in 2006.

2007

East Edge, a development of 28 upscale condominium, townhome, and single-family homes, began construction in 2007 at the eastern edge of Miller Beach along County Line Road, one block south of Lake Michigan. ==Geography== The city is located at the southern end of the former lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Chicago and the current Lake Michigan.

2008

As of 2014, Gary is considering closing additional schools in response to budget deficits. Gary chief of police Thomas Houston was convicted of excessive force and abuse of authority in 2008; he died in 2010 while serving a three-year, five-month federal prison sentence. In April 2011, 75-year-old mayor Rudolph M.

2009

In 2009, scenes for the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street were filmed in Gary.

2010

As of 2014, Gary is considering closing additional schools in response to budget deficits. Gary chief of police Thomas Houston was convicted of excessive force and abuse of authority in 2008; he died in 2010 while serving a three-year, five-month federal prison sentence. In April 2011, 75-year-old mayor Rudolph M.

The sand beneath Gary, and on its beaches, is of such volume and quality that for over a century companies have mined it, especially for the manufacture of glass. According to the 2010 census, Gary has a total area of , of which (or 87.22%) is land and (or 12.78%) is water. Gary is "T" shaped, with its northern border on Lake Michigan.

Sometimes large blizzards hit because of "lake effect snow", a phenomenon whereby large amounts of water evaporated from the lake deposit onto the shoreline areas as inordinate amounts of snow. ==Demographics== The change in the economy and resulting loss of jobs has caused a drop in population by more than half since its peak in 1960. ===2010 census=== As of the census of 2010, there were 80,294 people, 31,380 households, and 19,691 families residing in the city.

Non-Hispanic Whites were 8.9% of the population in 2010, down from 39.1% in 1970. There were 31,380 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families.

2011

As of 2014, Gary is considering closing additional schools in response to budget deficits. Gary chief of police Thomas Houston was convicted of excessive force and abuse of authority in 2008; he died in 2010 while serving a three-year, five-month federal prison sentence. In April 2011, 75-year-old mayor Rudolph M.

He endorsed rival Karen Freeman-Wilson, who won the Democratic mayoral primary in May 2011.

In March 2011, the Gary Library Board voted to close the main library on 5th Avenue and the Tolleston branch in what officials said was their best economic option.

The main library closed at the end of 2011.

2012

Freeman-Wilson won election with 87 percent of the vote and her term began in January 2012; she is the first woman elected mayor in the city's history.

2013

As of 2013, the Gary Department of Redevelopment has estimated that one-third of all homes in the city are unoccupied and/or abandoned. U.S.

2014

As of 2014, Gary is considering closing additional schools in response to budget deficits. Gary chief of police Thomas Houston was convicted of excessive force and abuse of authority in 2008; he died in 2010 while serving a three-year, five-month federal prison sentence. In April 2011, 75-year-old mayor Rudolph M.

2015

Steel Gary Works employed over 30,000 in 1970, declined to just 6,000 by 1990, and further declined to 5,100 in August 2015.

She was reelected in 2015.

2019

The city is known for its large steel mills and as the birthplace of the Jackson family. The population of Gary was 74,789, as of the 2019 Census estimate, making it the ninth-largest city in the state of Indiana.

She was defeated in her bid for a third term in the 2019 Democratic primary by Lake County Assessor Jerome Prince.

Since no challengers filed for the November 2019 general election, Prince's nomination is effectively tantamount to election, and officially succeeded Freeman-Wilson on January 1, 2020, two days after he was sworn in as the city's 21st mayor on December 30, 2019. ===National Register of Historic Places=== The following single properties and national historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: American Sheet and Tin Mill Apartment Building Louis J.

2020

Since no challengers filed for the November 2019 general election, Prince's nomination is effectively tantamount to election, and officially succeeded Freeman-Wilson on January 1, 2020, two days after he was sworn in as the city's 21st mayor on December 30, 2019. ===National Register of Historic Places=== The following single properties and national historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: American Sheet and Tin Mill Apartment Building Louis J.




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