Editing Gary, Indiana (section)

{{for|the writer|Gary Indiana}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Gary, Indiana
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| nickname           = City of the Century, Magic City, Steel City
| motto              = "We Are Doing Great Things"
<!-- Images --------------->| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
 | border        = infobox
 | caption_align = center
 | total_width   = 280
 | image_style   = border:1;
 | perrow        = 1/2/2
 | image1        = Gary, Indiana (2022).jpg
 | caption1      = [[Downtown Gary]]
 | image2        = Marquette Park Pavilion (Gary, Indiana).jpg
 | caption2      = [[Marquette Park (Gary)|Marquette Park]]
 | image3        = Indiana, June 2014 (14660974313).jpg
 | caption3      = [[Jackson family]] home
}}
| image_flag         = Gary, Indiana Flag.webp
| flag_size          = 110px
| image_seal         = Seal of Gary, Indiana.png
| seal_size          = 90px
<!-- Maps ----------------->| image_map          = Lake_County_Indiana_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Gary_Highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 200px
| map_caption        = Location in [[Lake County, Indiana|Lake County]] and the state of [[Indiana]]
<!-- Location ------------->| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{USA}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Indiana}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Indiana|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Lake County, Indiana|Lake]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[List of townships in Indiana|Townships]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Calumet Township, Lake County, Indiana|Calumet]], [[Hobart Township, Lake County, Indiana|Hobart]]
<!-- Government ----------->| government_footnotes = <ref name="officials">{{cite web |url=http://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/group/voters/page/default.psml/js_pane/P-13b9cba7c46-107f1 |title=2014 Public Officials Directory |publisher=Lake County Board of Elections and Voter's Registration |access-date=June 30, 2014 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226091236/https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/group/voters/page/default.psml/js_pane/P-13b9cba7c46-107f1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government|Strong mayor–council]]
| leader_title       = [[List of mayors of Gary, Indiana|Mayor]]
| leader_name        = [[Eddie Melton]]
| leader_party       = [[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]
| governing_body     = [[Municipal council|City council]]
| leader_title1      = City Clerk
| leader_name1       = Suzette Raggs
| established_title  = Established
| established_date   = 1906
| established_title1 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
| established_date1  = July 14, 1906
| named_for          = [[Elbert Henry Gary]]
<!-- Area ----------------->| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2023">{{cite web|title=2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2023_Gazetteer/2023_gaz_place_18.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 24, 2024}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 131.217
| area_land_km2      = 129.323
| area_water_km2     = 18.938
| area_total_sq_mi   = 50.663
| area_land_sq_mi    = 49.932
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.731
<!-- Population ----------->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_est     = 67652
| pop_est_as_of      = 2023
| pop_est_footnotes  = <ref name="USCensusEst2023"/>
| population_footnotes = <ref name="2020 Census (City)"/>
| population_total   = 69093
| population_density_km2 = 534.97
| population_density_sq_mi = 1385.55
| population_rank    = US: 566th<br>IN: [[List of municipalities in Indiana|11th]]
<!-- General information -->| timezone           = [[Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = −6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = −5
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_m        = 182
| elevation_ft       = 597
| coordinates        = {{coord|41|35|26|N|87|20|49|W|region:US-IN_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code        = 46401–46411
| area_code          = [[Area code 219|219]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 18-27000
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2394863<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2394863}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://www.gary.gov/|gary.gov}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Gary''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|ær|i|}} {{respell|GARR|ee}}) is a city in [[Lake County, Indiana]], United States. The population was 69,093 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]],<ref name="2020 Census (City)">{{cite web|title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Gary_city,_Indiana?g=160XX00US1827000 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=May 24, 2024}}</ref> making it Indiana's [[List of municipalities in Indiana|eleventh-most populous city]]. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to [[U.S. Steel]]'s [[Gary Works]], the largest [[steel mill]] complex in [[North America]]. Gary is located along the southern shore of [[Lake Michigan]] about {{convert|25|mi|km|abbr=out}} southeast of [[Chicago Loop|downtown Chicago]]. The city is the western gateway to the [[Indiana Dunes National Park]], and is within the [[Chicago metropolitan area]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Stephanie Smith |author2=Steve Mark |year=2006 |title=Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes |journal=The South Shore Journal |volume=1 |pages=15–21 |issn=1933-8163 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913013557/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |access-date=May 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Stephanie |title=The Historical Roots of The Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101021140/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |access-date=November 22, 2015 |publisher=South Shore Journal |df=mdy}}</ref>

Gary was named after lawyer [[Elbert Henry Gary]], who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel had established the city in 1906 as a [[company town]] to serve its steel mills.<ref>{{Cite web |title=City of Gary, Indiana |url=https://www.gary.gov/ |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=www.gary.gov}}</ref> Like other [[Rust Belt]] cities, Gary's once thriving steel industry has been significantly affected by the disappearance of local manufacturing jobs since the 1970s. As a result of this economic shift, the city's population has decreased drastically, having lost 61% of its population since 1960.<ref>{{cite web |last=Engel |first=Pamela |date=June 20, 2013 |title=Gary, Indiana Is Deteriorating So Much That It May Cut Off Services To Nearly Half Of Its Land |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/gary-indiana-is-deteriorating-badly-2013-6 |access-date=April 6, 2014 |work=Business Insider}}</ref>

Although initially a very diverse city, Gary currently holds one of the nation's highest percentages of African-Americans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gary city, Indiana |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US1827000 |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> Between 1970 and 2010, Gary maintained a 40-year record of holding the nation's largest Black population per capita.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black Population of United States of America|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/census_2000/cb01cn176.html#:~:text=Among%20places%20with%20100%2C000%20or,by%20Detroit%2C%20with%2083%20percent. |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> The city also boasts a legacy of African-American cultural and historical feats, such in 1945, becoming the first city in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] (and one of the first in the entire nation) to fully integrate its public school system,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.history.in.gov/tag/integration/|title=Integration|date=March 3, 2017|website=Blog.history.in.gov}}</ref> electing the nation's first Black mayor in 1968 (see [[Richard G. Hatcher|Richard Hatcher]]), and hosting the first and largest [[National Black Political Convention]] in 1972.

Gary is serviced by the [[Gary/Chicago International Airport]], an alternative airport to the Chicago region's two larger airports. The city's public transport is provided by the [[Gary Public Transportation Corporation]] and the [[South Shore Line]] passenger railway, which connects to the Chicago transit system. It is also home to a professional baseball team, the [[Gary SouthShore RailCats]]. In addition to its large steel mills, the city is known for being the birthplace of the [[Jackson family]], a family of well-known entertainers whose members include singer [[Michael Jackson]].<ref name="NYTdonley">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/travel/a-day-at-the-beach-in-yes-gary-indiana.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |last=Donley |first=Brendan |title=A Day at the Beach in, Yes, Gary, Indiana}}</ref>