Downtown Gary is split by Broadway into two separate neighborhoods in north-central

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

, United States. Emerson and Downtown West combine to form what is known as Downtown Gary. It was part of the original

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

built by the

United States Steel Corporation The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

. It is located east of

Grant Street Grant Street is the main government and business corridor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is home to the global headquarters of U.S. Steel, Koppers, Koppers Chemicals, and Oxford Development. It also is home to the seat of Allegheny County, Penns ...

, south of the

Grand Calumet River The Grand Calumet River is a river that flows primarily into Lake Michigan. Originating in Miller Beach in Gary, it flows through the cities of Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, as well as Calumet City and Burnham on the Illinois side. The m ...

, north of 9th Avenue, and west of

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

. Downtown West borders

Ambridge Mann Ambridge Mann, sometimes called Ambridge-Horace Mann or Horace Mann-Ambridge, is a neighborhood in northwestern Gary, Indiana. It is bounded by the Grand Calumet River on the north, by Grant Street on the east, by Chase Street on the west, and b ...

to the west and Midtown to the south, but it is separated from the

Aetna Aetna Inc. ( ) is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

and Pulaski neighborhoods to the east and south by an industrial corridor.

Governmental

Gary City Hall and Lake County Superior Courthouse are located at the north end of Downtown Gary. The two domed structures stand across Broadway from each other along 4th Avenue. Further south along Broadway are the Indiana Department of Social Services building and the Gary Housing Authority offices. Along 5th Avenue are the Calumet Township Trustee's office, the

Gary Police Department Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 census, making it Indiana's eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S ...

, and the main branch of the

Gary Public Library Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...

Commercial

Much of the commercial property along Broadway and Washington Street is now vacant. There is some new development along 5th Avenue. A large area of the downtown neighborhood (including City Methodist) was devastated by fire on October 12, 1997. The

Genesis Convention Center The Genesis Convention Center is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in Gary, Indiana, United States. It was home to the Gary Splash of the Independent Basketball Association from 2010 to 2013. It was also formerly home to the Gary Steelh ...

, on Broadway and 5th Avenue, was built in 1981 in a failed effort to stimulate a rebirth of the downtown. It formerly hosted professional basketball, but now hosts only events and concerts. In 2001 the

U.S. Steel Yard U.S. Steel Yard is an open-air baseball park, baseball stadium located in Gary, Indiana, next to I-90 in the city's Emerson (Gary), Emerson neighborhood. It is home to the Gary SouthShore RailCats, a professional baseball team and member of the ...

baseball stadium was built in another effort to stimulate development. Built on what was once a fairly blighted section of housing, its construction was highly controversial. However, it has proven somewhat successful drawing fans from surrounding communities. In September 2009, the one-millionth fan walked into the U.S. Steel Yard.

Residential

The Downtown neighborhood suffers from extensive vacant lots and abandoned buildings. As of 2000, Downtown Gary had a population of 8,042. About 38% of the housing stock is owner-occupied. However, there were 44 new housing units built between 5th and 6th Avenue east of Broadway. Gary KoC Building

Transportation

The neighborhood is served by the

Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main ...

directly to its north, which has exits at Broadway, Grant Street, and 5th Avenue, by

to the east, which has an exit on 5th Avenue, and by

US 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) ...

/20 also to the north. The

Adam Benjamin Metro Center Gary Metro Center (also known as the Adam Benjamin Metro Center) is a multimodal commuter hub operated by the Gary Public Transportation Corporation. It was built in 1984 as an elevated replacement of the previously ground-level Broadway Street ...

is located just north of 4th Avenue. It is operated by the

Gary Public Transportation Corporation The Gary Public Transportation Corporation (GPTC) is a commuter bus system in Gary, Indiana that offers service to numerous stops throughout the city and neighboring suburbs. GPTC is a public corporation owned but not directly controlled by the ...

and acts as a multimodal hub. Public transportation is provided by the buses of the Gary Public Transportation Corporation, which run along Broadway and 5th Avenue.

References

* {{Gary neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Gary, Indiana

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...