A FORGOTTEN, ENDANGERED LANDMARK Pause for Gary BY STEVE BARRY/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


SOME OF THE FINEST RAILROADING lega- cies of the United States can be found in the grand stations that once served (and in many cases still serve) our na- tion’s trains. Success stories abound, such as Chicago’s Union Station, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, and New York’s Grand Central Termi- nal. But scattered around the country are many fine stations that haven’t seen a train in years; many of these have fallen into a serious state of disre- pair. Some, like Buffalo Central Termi- nal have been stabilized to a point where they are available for limited al- ternative uses. Others, such as De- troit’s Michigan Central Station, have only been secured against vandals while awaiting a permanent solution. And others have no savior, remaining open to the ravages of nature and man. This brings us to the south shore of Lake Michigan, in the shadow of the once great U.S. steel industry.


58 JULY 2013 • RAILFAN.COM Rise and fall of an icon


Gary, Indiana, remains an important industrial community, situated on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, locat- ed only 25 miles from downtown Chica- go. Home to the mammoth Gary Steel Works, the town was founded by Unit- ed States Steel in 1906, and named af- ter corporation lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman. Gary Union Station was built in 1910, occupying a space between the el- evated New York Central and Balti- more & Ohio tracks (the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Wabash, and the South Shore Line all had separate stations nearby). Made of cast concrete, the sta- tion used a then-new technique to make the concrete take on the appearance of cut stone block, and following the popu- lar Beaux Arts design influences of the time. Designed by architect M.A. Lang, the station served the busy main lines of the B&O and NYC until the 1950s


when it was closed to passengers. Gary’s steel mills began to enter a pe- riod of steady decline in the 1960s. In the intervening 50 years, vandals and the elements haven taken their toll on the interior, completely destroying nearly any elements that would identify this as a busy train station for a prosperous city. The station was added to the list of “top 10” most endangered buildings by the Indiana Historic Landmarks Foun- dation. In 2013, the National Railway Historical Society named Gary’s Union Station number eight in their “Most At Risk” list of railroad landmarks facing “imminent demise.”


The interior contains a majestic two- story main hall lit with skylights. A federal grant was made available to re- pair the roof and otherwise stabilize the building from further deterioration in 2000, but the City of Gary was un- able to come up with the required matching funds.


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