Gary Union Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 A color postcard from 1910 of Gary Union Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 251Broadway Gary, Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1910 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | April 30, 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gary Union Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Gary Union Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 251 Broadway Gary, Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°36′20.3″N87°20′13.07″W / 41.605639°N 87.3369639°W /41.605639; -87.3369639 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architect | M. A. Lang | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architectural style | Neoclassical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 100004040 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | June 6, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Union Station is a formerunion railway station inGary, Indiana. It is located between the elevated lines of theLake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway andBaltimore & Ohio Railroad and is just north of theIndiana Toll Road.Indiana Landmarks has placed the building on its 10 Most Endangered Places in Indiana list.[1] The building is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
New York Central Railroad's first station in Gary was a simpleboxcar, which the railroad delivered to the town in 1906 at the behest of theUnited States Steel Corporation.[2] The permanent station was built in 1910,[3] just four years after the city was founded.
The building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2019.
The building faces west onBroadway. Because it sits between two raised rail lines, it is nearly invisible until one is next to it. The only sign still visible inside or outside the building is a painted notice on the front pillar that says “No Parking Cabs Only”. The method of construction has caused it to retain its structural integrity after 50 years of abandonment.[4]
Thestation building was built in aBeaux-Arts style utilizing the new cast-in-placeconcrete methods in which, after pouring, the concrete was scored to resemble stone.[5]
The main room is a two stories hall. At the east end of the hall is a staircase to the loading platform on the upper level. Built into a hill, the building is only a single story in the back. A door on the south side leads from a cobblestone driveway. Across the drive is a staircase built up to track level along the south side. On the north there is a tunnel under the tracks to a stairway up to the loading platform.[4]
Successor stations in the vicinity today are the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District'sGary Metro Center and itsGary Airport station, both on theSouth Shore Line.Amtrak'sHammond–Whiting station (served by theWolverine) is to the west in Hammond.
Gary's Union Station was used as an example for what could happen to a building in 30 years without humans providing maintenance and upkeep onLife After People: The Series (Season 1, Episode 2).
Union Station was a filming location for the 1951 Alan Ladd movieAppointment with Danger.[9] This shows off a unique feature of the building not clearly visible in most photographs; the eight bar radial star design in each section of window, similar to the design of the BritishUnion Flag. The similarity is probably accidental. Union Station was also featured in the 1996 filmOriginal Gangstas where it served as the hideout for the gang known as The Rebels.
On August 23, 2023, telecommunications firm Digital Equity LLC, the City of Gary, and Decay Devils broke ground on construction to adapt Gary's Union Station as a Fiber Smart House, job training center, and community space. Part of the passenger depot will become a network operations center to monitor fiber operations. Some of the building will be repurposed as a digital job training center teaching coding and other technology classes, while the grand entry will be open to the public. The adjacent freight depot is slated to house public safety emergency services. The project has a goal of opening by fall 2024.[10]
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