This is a photograph of the remains of Gary Indiana’s NYC terminal. I wonder if any of you know whether this is still standing. It is basically an open ruin that was abandoned about 50 years ago. Despite being listed as a historically significant station, it is slowly weathering away in the elements. My understanding is that proposals have come and gone for restoration. I discovered this station on the Lost Indiana website some time ago, and have not been able to stave off my curiousity as to it’s fate.
I remember catching the B&O “Diplomat” (not the original Washington-St. Louis train) at Gary for a short hop to Chicago Grand Central in 1969 and the station was already deteriorating at that time. It’s in a poor location sandwiched between the Indiana Toll Road and the US Steel Gary Works so it’s shielded from the view of just everybody except those passing through on the Toll Road.
…It really seems ashame to see America’s structures such as pictured in above post rotting away…The sad fact time has passed it by for it’s usefullness at it’s location.
I’d wager if it’s location was somewhere else it might have a chance of revival…Somewhere, where light rail is being redone, and or used as new transportation center…Believe location is critical to have “these types of buildings” revitilized and used in current society. It is sad to see them fall into complete ruin.
Don’t get me wrong, you are right about “America’s ruins.” But, I think this sadness is far overshadowed by the sadness that is Gary. I think there should be a study done as to how Gary went under and make it a prerequisite for every mayor to watch prior to taking office.
I remember that in the 1970’s, there was a great deal of attention made on the midwest “rust belt” as manufacturing particularly the steel industries went under. I remember then and in the following years much was made of the “high tech” revolution revitalizing what were essentially middle class enclaves that were in decline. What’s interesting is a new branch of research which if someone told me about it fourty years ago, I would have said was ridiculous. Industrial Archeology is a growing field. I don’t pretend to have any profound insights into this but it’s also sad to note the appearance of new ghosts towns out in Nebraska and the Dakotas due to the loss of farming…there was actually a serious proposal to turn over a great deal of this area to be used as a buffalo preserve, in effect, coming full circle. I went to Scranton PA to visit Steamtown and was shocked at the condition of the downtown. Tall buildings without windows, stores boarded up…it was surrealistic. I kept thinking I was dreaming…about a year ago I made a business trip to Detroit and parts of the city looked like Hiroshima…I kept asking myself, what happened here? The shiny Ford towers rose above empty streets devoid of houses with streetlamps and sidewalks waiting for traffic long since evaporated.
Actually, that is a Union Station, and at one time served both NYC and B&O in Gary. It was built of poured concrete, which may be part of the reason it appears to be so sound. Drive by it on the toll road, and you see only the upper (track-level) half, which really appears to be bombed out.
There was an article in the Chicago Tribune a few years back about resurrecting the station to serve as a gateway for something or other (trail access?) as well as a passenger station. I guess nothing came of that idea.
I concur with those folks who say that Gary is a sad-looking city now, in spite of some attempts to revitalize the downtown. (Another one whose downtown looks almost like a war zone is Benton Harbor, Michigan. And the old Michigan Central building in Detroit is tall enough to stand out in its location–it speaks volumes, unfortunately.)
Michigan Central looks much like the Buffalo Terminal…David Plowden, who has taken some of my favorite railroad photographs, has a book out on the theme of buildings in the heartland reverting to their natural state. It’s called a Handful of Dust. The photo below is the Michigan Central ruin. Using my imagination, I could see it as a once bustling, noisy place full of activity.
While there are a couple neglected buildings in downtown Scranton, you really cannot compare that to Gary and Detroit, which are for all intents gone in many places. Scranton’s just an old time city trying to hold on and doing its best.
…It’s scary…There are too many examples of all we’re talking about here in this thread across this great country of ours. I am not trying to be political in any way when I say: What can we start to do to reverse this situation…I am saying we have spent too much money around the world to 3rd world countries, and many other locations…I wish somehow, our elected officials could originate an ongoing discussion of America’s problems of rotting cities…Not the blame game but a straight forward looking discussion of how we might revitlize some of the energy needed to redirect our thoughts and doings…Surely we can do better. We’re going to have to.
Put people back to work. In jobs that pay more than a walmart greeter.
Instead of paying money to lower the cost of importing manufactured goods (deepening harbors , raising bridges, and making tunnels doublestack friendly, etc) we should be passing import tariffs that make local manufacturing look attractive by comparison.
As the greatest consumer economy on the planet, we can make out just servicing our own demand.
The hitch being that said tariffs would honk off a number of foreign countries that would reciprocate, and pass tariffs targeting the few big remaining american made exports. Which really boils down to large medical instruments, and a handful of other items. Which are big money for the few companies producing them
SO there are some decisions to be made. For instance would GE be happy building refrigerators in America once again, selling to American consumers, and give up on the idea of selling $6 milliion dollar MRI machines abroad?
Personally, I think a greater common good is served in so doing. Put a chicken back in every pot, instead of a turkey only in the pantry of GE stockholders
As much as I have some issues with Henry Ford and his positions on matters, he was a genius, as far as I’m concerned in his understanding of economics. He paid his employees enough money so that they could buy his cars, putting more money back in his pocket.
Why do so few American companies try this method any more?
Interesting that you would bring up that example, because the very same one occured to me as I was making the original post.
Tariffs have been (and still are) used against us, so it plexes me why we pretend to be so noble as to not use them.
There are only a handful of manufactured items that the US is still THE source for, and while they are big ticket items, the benefit of the sale goes to a relative minority.
Funny how someone earning a living soley off clipping coupons on their 50,000 shares of General Electric , can call american workers “lazy”. [oX)]
