Gary was once a thriving city, and it has the architecture to prove it ? intact or otherwise.
The Ingwald Moe House (669 Van Buren) and The Wilbur Wynant House (600 Fillmore) were designed by master architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1910 and 1916, respectively. The Wynant House is in rough shape, with several years of start-and-stop restoration work and changes in ownership.
For more Prairie-school action, head to Marquette Park for the Marquette Park Pavilion (tours Mon-Fri, 9AM-5PM) and The Gary/Chanute Aquatorium (tel. 219-938-8081) , designed by George Maher in 1922 as The Gary Beach & Bathing House. An aquatorium is, evidently, a place where one can view ? not swim in ? water, so don't show up in your bathing suit. There's a major display dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen.
The old Gary Post Office (Sixth and Massachusetts) is missing a few things, most notably the US Postal Service and a roof, but it's still there; built in 1936, the interior is now off-limits, but fans of tree-in-building shots who can't make it all the way to Angkor can catch a glimpse of several saplings behind the teller windows.
The Gary Memorial Auditorium (Seventh and Massachusetts) and the City Methodist Church (Sixth and Washington) are former city landmarks, in ruins after the Great Gary Arson of 1997. The latter is something of an Urbex mecca, and well worth a visit if you're willing to brave it. Don't let the barbed wire fence fool you, there are two wide open entrances on Washington, no no trespassing signs, and, happily, a parking lot opposite the building! The stairs are well-tested and safe enough, although the upper levels are not interesting compared to the amazing theater & main room on the first. Be sure to look for the last of the church's grand fireplaces in between the theater and main church ? it's the last, as the rest have been stolen by enterprising, and quite undoubtedly strong, thieves.
The Gary Mural Project redecorates boarded-up storefronts along Broadway.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Gary
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Gary - updated May 2024
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Gary Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
