the desolate ruins of gary indiana

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City of the Century that became a ghost town: Tragic portraits fromthe decaying world of America's industrial heartlands

By James Nye

PUBLISHED: 20:26 EST, 14 July 2012 | UPDATED: 08:50 EST, 15 July 2012

Once the centre of the country's booming steel industry and known as the City of the Century, Gary, Indiana now lies in ruins as a sad example ofAmerican industrial decline.

Founded in 1906 by the US Steel Corporation, Gary's heyday was in the post-war boom of the 1950s when almost 200,000 people lived and worked inthe bustling city, 25 miles from Chicago.

As the American manufacturing sector contracted, Gary's population fell by over 50 percent and no one now uses the once bustling train stations,churches and auditoriums that are now decaying as they are left to the elements.

The decay has been captured by photographer David Tribby in stunning photos.

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Union Station, Gary, Indiana, which was opened in 1910 and built to serve the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The station lies empty now,having been abandoned in the late 1950's as the city began to fall into disrepair

Frequently rated one of the ten most dangerous cities in the United States, Gary once boomed with jobs and opportunities but now faces the acutedifficulties of America's growing rust belt, with 22 percent of families in the once-great city now lying below the poverty line.

This modern American ghost town began life as home for workers at the United States Steel Corporation plant until economic competition from abroadforced a 90 percent job cut.

Thirty-thousand jobs were gone in a flash and the flight of people away from Gary led to whole swathes of buildings being abandoned such as the onceproud City Methodist Church which was built in the 1920s.

c portrait of a city in decline: The desolate ruins of Gary, Indiana re... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2173761/Tragic-portrait

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U.S. Steel paid $385,000 towards the $1 million construction costs of the church, which used to hold 950 people every Sunday and boasted a totalcongregation of 3,000.

Covered in gleaming snow, City Methodist Church Gary, Indiana was built in the 1920's to hold a congregation of 950, complete with choir and one of the largest church organ's in thestate


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Partly paid for with money donated by U.S. Steel, the church also held a school, a gymnasium and an auditorium - Seaman Hall - named for the pastor who helped raise the $1 million topay for the construction


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The church once boasted a membership of 3,000, but by 1970, Sunday attendance had crashed down to about 100


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In 1975, the church closed its doors for good and City Methodist Church began its long decent into disrepair. It has been mooted that what's left of the building could be turned into aEuropean-style ruins garden, but no plans have yet been accepted


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Former Glories: The Seaman Hall at the City Methodist Church was used for musical and dramatic shows, community events and musicals put on for the population


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The interior of the Union Station: Left to rot for over 50 years, the Union Station was used as an example of what would happen to a Chicago building if no people were around to tend toits upkeep in the series 'Life After People'

The church also had a large school, gymnasium and an auditorium named the Seaman Hall where the city would hold community meetings, plays andmusical events.

By 1970 the number of attendees for Sunday mass had fallen to 100 and in 1975 the church closed for good and began its long decent into despair.

Lying dormant and unused since then, many plans have been mooted to restore the place of worship including turning the vast empty spaces into acentre for performing arts or even to gracefully culture the ruins into an open garden.

However, with no funds and no concrete interest, the City of Gary has allowed the crumbling building to become a symbol of the decline of northwestIndiana and American industry.

Other building's such as the city's Union Station are potent reminders of the heights that Gary has fallen from.

Constructed to feed the growing city in 1910, the station lasted only another five decades before being closed and left to nature to take its course.


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Gary, Indiana was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant and the town at one po int had almost 200,000 people who needed entertainmentduring their personal time


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The Palace Theater in Gary was one of the focal points of the local community during the city's heyday in the early part of last century

From the time it opened, The Palace Theater was one of the grandest venues in Gary, but when the US Steel plant in Gary shed people, so did the rest of the town. The theater eventuallyshut down in 1972


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Frequently rated one of the ten most dangerous cities in the United States, Gary once boomed with jobs and opportunities but now faces the acute difficulties of America's growing rustbelt, with 22 percent of families in the once-great city now lying below the poverty line.

[The interior of the U.S. Post Office building in Gary, Indiana reveals what happens when nature is left to attack buildings built by man


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Gilroy Stadium: It hosted Gary's most famous sons, the Jackson Five for a 1969 concert

The Gary Public Schools Memorial Auditorium, on Seventh and Massachusetts is listed in the National Register of Historic Place


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Gary Public Schools Memorial Auditorium: Built in 1927 and made of brick, terra cotta and limestone, the Memorial Auditorium could seat 5,000 people

As the American manufacturing sector contracted, Gary's population fell by over 50 percent and no one now uses the once bustling train stations, church's and auditoriums that arenow decaying as they are left to the elements.

In fact, in 2008, the station was used as an example of what would happen to a Chicago building if no people were around to tend to its upkeep in theseries 'Life After People'.

The 10,000 Gilroy Stadium on the western edge of Gleason Park in Gary, Indiana has laid in ruins since 1976, only 20 years after it opened.

With no one around the watch the football games in the city, the stadium was shut, but not before it had hosted Gary's most famous son's, the JacksonFive for a 1969 concert.


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Ever since the 1990's succesive mayor's of Gary have pledged to revitalise the city, but to date nothing has been realised.

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney said in an interview about the city, that 'This kind of situation is happening all across our country.'

The United States is becoming a shell of itself and at the same time, it's the decision makers in Washington D.C. have chosen to finance war, after warand after war while we decay here at home.'

Read more:

David Tribby

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Comments (333)

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DM may want to find someone who has mastered grade school grammar (beginning with possessives vs. plurals) to rewrite the captions for the photos.

- Mike Carrington, Indianapolis, USA, 16/7/2012 18:54

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Would it be possible to start a salvage business and dismantle the buildings to repurpose the materials that are still usable? The church windows and arches come to mind. Innercities all start to look shabby when folks move and decide to live in the suburbs and raise their children. They are closer to the source of fresh food and clean air and room to play.When the lot is cleaned,it can also be repurposed to a park or residential community garden. Change happens, but we can make lemonade or stand around and lament. It is clear thatour corporate tax rate must be rolled back to attract the factories to return. Jobs will bring back prosperity.

- Di, Cerrillos,NM,USA, 16/7/2012 18:21


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"Other building's such as the city's Union Station are potent reminders of the heights that Gary has fallen from." What a well-written article.

- Neil Phillips, Northampton, England, 16/7/2012 13:55


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This is happening, or has happened. to a greater or lesser degree in all the older industrial towns/countries. Obsolescence of equipment, products, and rising wage costs - in the USA,most of the unionised labour was based in these kinds of cities - all contributed Meanwhile General Motors and others were opening new automated plants on greenfield sites in otherareas, which used less labour and were non-unionised. This is not to denigrate unions per se. For many products, produced in countries with lower wage costs and often with moremodern equipment, and hence more price competitive, imports began to take over. It is saddening to see the decay wantonly left behind, however, and apparently unusable, andunsightly.

- Roy, Sydney, Australia, 16/7/2012 08:40


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Gary, Indiana, went into decline before US Steel did, and it's debatable what caused what. During WW2, many of the existing factory workers were drafted and partially replaced byworkers that the investment banks assumed would develop into a cheaper labor pool. Crime rates soared, and soldiers returning from the war decided to leave the city en masse, ashappened with many other US cities that also went into decline immediately after the war. The coup de grace was when the new workers went on strike in 1959 to successfully obtainbenefits the company could not really afford. The company still exists, mostly only because of government intervention. Its current production is very minor.

- Rob Wagner, Seattle, USA, 16/7/2012 07:03


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Only in BRIT LAND, Thank god i'm AMERICAN we must ban all British films, tv programmes and music. we don't want disgusting brit culture here. we have nothing in common withthe Brits , but we have so much in common with our brother and sisters in AMERICA. THE USA FOREVER AND YES REFERENDUM

- Emma the snarf, Hastings of shnarf shnarf , 16/7/2012 05:00


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Just another American city that's been "Detroited". See relevant articles on " sbpdl.com ."

- Ian, Philippines, 16/7/2012 04:44


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Grew to fast ,to big. Forgot to buy lobbyist instead of sticking the money in their pocket.

- Steven, Chula Vista, Ca USA, 16/7/2012 03:21


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Don't need to go to Rome to see the ruins.

- Italics Mine, Center Ossippi, NH, 16/7/2012 02:55


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I think some of the moronic comments here by those clearly with a lack of any substantial knowledge of history should understand that were it not for our American cousins they wouldnow be speaking German. Assuming of course the third reich had let them survive!! - PRose, Penn, England, 15/7/2012 17:24 ..........................It was a close call in the 19th century

when Congress voted on which language to adopt for America, English or German. This was because so many mercenaries came from Germany (Hessian) who fought for the Britishand after the war they settled in the US. Imagine if they had decided on German.

- dysomnia, England, 16/7/2012 01:50


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the desolate ruins of gary indiana

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