The Illinois-Indiana border. The wooded area in the foreground (bottom center) is a forest preserve in Calumet City, Illinois. The rail line can be seen bisect the photo diagonally across the center. Hammond, Indiana is adjacent to most of the lakeshore

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States, located in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area. Gary is located approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois.

The population of Gary was 80,294 at the time of the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in the state of Indiana. Gary's population has fallen by 55 percent from a peak of 178,320 in 1960.

Gary is located adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and borders Lake Michigan. Many citizens and politicians have helped to preserve parts of the Indiana Dunes. The city is known for its large steel mills, and for being the birthplace of the The Jackson 5 music group.

Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant, Gary Works. The city was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation.

Gary's fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry. The growth of the steel industry brought prosperity to the community. Broadway Avenue was known as a commercial center for the region. 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. Gary's decline was brought on by the growing overseas competitiveness in the steel industry, which had caused U.S. Steel to lay off many workers from the Gary area. As the city declined, crime increased.

Rapid racial change occurred in Gary during the late 20th century. These population changes resulted in political change which reflected the racial demographics of Gary. Gary had one of the nation's first African-American mayors, Richard G. Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention.

In the 1960s through the 1980s, surrounding suburban localities such as Merrillville and Crown Point experienced rapid growth, including new homes and shopping districts. Owing to white flight, economic distress, and skyrocketing crime, many middle-class and affluent residents moved to other cities in the metro area such as Chicago and surrounding areas in Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.

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. census). This no longer applies to Gary since the population of the city has now fallen well below 100,000 residents.

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 Cline Avenue, an important access to the area. Today, Gary faces the difficulties of a rust belt city, including unemployment, decaying infrastructure, and low literacy and educational attainment levels.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary,_Indiana