Gone Postal: Abandoned Post Office in Gary, Indiana - June 2011

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population was 102,746 at the 2000 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state. Gary was once the second largest city in Indiana, behind Indianapolis, a position now held by Fort Wayne. It borders Lake Michigan and is best known for its large steel mills.

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 lawyer and founding chairman of U.S. Steel, Elbert H. Gary.

Among U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more, Gary has the highest percentage of African Americans, 84% (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 from many affluent and middle-class residents leaving Gary and relocating to the surrounding towns and cities. Because of the loss of jobs in the city, many people left the area altogether for regions with employment.

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 the growing overseas competitiveness in the steel industry, which had caused U.S. Steel to layoff many workers from the Gary area. Crime increased, including use and trade in illegal drugs.

U.S. Steel continues to be a major steel producer, but with only a fraction of its former level of employment. 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 Rt.912 (Cline Ave.), an important access to the area. 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.

After celebrating its 100th year in 2006, the city of Gary finally shows evidence of rebound from years of economic depression. Many buildings that have been left vacant for years are now finally slated for demolition and development. Many new homes have been built through the HOPE VI grant from HUD. In 2009, the old town section of the city, still littered with deteriorating buildings and roads which have not been occupied or used for three decades, was featured in episode 2 of The History Channel's series Life After People, as an example of how quickly Chicago might deteriorate after human beings had vanished off of Earth, thanks largely to the effects of Lake Michigan on steel and reinforced concrete structures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary,_Indiana

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• urbex
• urban
• exploration
• decay
• gary
• indiana
• IN
• abandoned
• building

[streetskolla]

smfh i drove by this place.

[slworking2]

@streetskolla I missed it the first time (over a year ago) I visited Gary, too. Awesome inside - especially how trees and other plants are growing inside the building.

[mrdave777]

I really LIKE the comments here by Sel.....it truly is an envious hobby to many!! Great to see you post these videos, awesome job! Hopefully sometime in the future :)

[slworking2]

@mrdave777 Thanks again. More urban exploration vids to come - stay tuned...

[1638490]

why does this remind me of portal 2 ... oh wait

[slworking2]

@1638490 I think a lot of video games like Portal 2 are inspired by abandoned places like this.

[DarkEgnimatic]

Wow, very nice, man! That is one cool place, and looks like it's been empty for a while. Nice vid.

[awsomemommy71]

And those are mold deposits not stalags from roof/ceilings. Constant extreme temps coupled with either elevation or subterfuge (re. Low density local) equates stalags in specific enviorn. Have to have sample to see chem. Comp. But very interes. That all are most same shape (long thin cylindrical etc...)

[awsomemommy71]

Wow....I grew up here w my older sister and brother.....my parents have pics of some of these places when they first moved here from Europe was amazing and full of life! My best friends parents still live on 3rd and Tyler. Very neat (and sad) to watch. My old school and church; Blessed Sacrament just (church part) closed down few yrs back...I swear I can still hear them same birds....

[arthurswchultz]

Nigger everywhere in Gary that why it a DUMP NIGGERS!!!

[abbittibbi1]

Then there was dozens of workers, hundreds of customers, thousands of letters. Countless hours of happiness, and a community.

Then one day came instant messaging.

Now we got dozens of places like this,

This is the result of the equation, hundreds of cities going under, thousands on the streets, no communities(but the fake virtual) and countless depressing hours.

Between now and them....whats your choice?

[azureeblue]

wow, this sort of reminded me of the place in I Am Legend. pretty cool, i love abandoned places. but mostly because i could imagine it when it was open... kind of sad but awesome to see all at once. keep it up!

[slworking2]

@mrdave777 Thanks and LOL. Yeah, I wear flip flops 99% of the time, but I decided to play it safe and wear shoes here. :D