Gary, Indiana Struggles To Overcome Industrial Decline

Gary was designed as a company town, and "Steel City" remains a prime example industrial boom and bust, a place where urban blight and high crime rates overshadow periodic optimism. The city has had three mayors since March. Current Mayor Rudy Clay expresses hope for redevelopment: "We're focusing now on the neighborhoods. We have a major cleanup operation going on."

At its peak, Gary's steel mills employed up to 43,000 workers; today there are only about 7,000. Gary's two casinos, the Majestic Star and Majestic Star II, are also important employers, but they have lower attendance and wagering this year. Some residents, like 97-year-old Martha Naylor, are cautiously optimistic about the city's future: "I don't think Gary will ever be the Gary I knew, but I think it will be better than it is today. It has to be."