City Photograph - Wall of Colors by Terry Rowe

Wall of Colors is a photograph by Terry Rowe which was uploaded on December 18th, 2012.

Wall of Colors

Wall of an abandoned building sports peeling plaster and colors in Gary, Indiana.... more

by Terry Rowe

Canvas Print

$77

Framed Print

$86

Art Print

$33

Poster

$33

Metal Print

$83

Acrylic Print

$91

Wood Print

$63

Throw Pillow

$30

Greeting Card

$4.95

Title

Wall of Colors

Artist

Terry Rowe

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

Wall of an abandoned building sports peeling plaster and colors in Gary, Indiana.

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.
Gary is located adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and borders Lake Michigan.

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 1980s, surrounding suburban localities such as Merrillville and Crown Point experienced rapid growth including new homes and shopping districts. Due 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.

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, low literacy and educational attainment levels.

Downtown Gary was developed in the 1920s and houses several pieces of impressive architecture, including one (disputed) structure, the Moe House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and another, the Wynant House, 1917, which was destroyed by fire. A 6,000-seat minor league baseball stadium for the Gary SouthShore RailCats, U.S. Steel Yard, was constructed in 2002, along with contiguous commercial space. A significant number of older structures have been demolished in recent years, but a number of abandoned buildings remain in the downtown area, including historic structures like Union Station and City Methodist Church. A large area of the downtown neighborhood (including City Methodist) was devastated by fire on October 12, 1997. Interstate 90 divides downtown Gary from the United States Steel Plant.

Urbanex: Acronym for URBAN EXploration. The term URBANEX is synonymous with urban adventure and exploration.

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