I'm from Gary. I pray to God that the economy is never destroyed in any of your hometowns. Gary is filled with good people, who do their best to live life despite their socio-economic situation. If I could do it all over again, and choose all of the variables, I would still choose Gary. Thank you for visiting Adam
I lived in Hammond as a elementary aged kid. My dad worked at the steel mill. Some of my life long friends are still there. It's a great group of people. It's so sad when socioeconomic issues happen. I am so happy that Adam did this. And I'm thankful Aku that you spoke up!
I've only been thru Gary, but as long as there are good people, all places in this country are valuable as hell. I dont care your skin color, religion or sexual orientation, I would love to see happy united strong Americans coast to coast (politicsbe damnex at this point). The military taught me, to respect the man/woman,next to me and I learned alot from all walks of life, that were very alien to me. .
There are a few streets in Gary that are occupied by Thomas Edison’s concrete houses. 86 were built and about 70 still stand today. They are historically significant and very rare now. You should check them out if you are ever in Gary again.
@@francisjaniewski5990 these are the names of the neighborhoods I could find. They were built by US Steel in the early 1910’s for the steel plants management. They are Polk Street Cottages, Jackson Terraces, Monroe Terrace, and Van Buren Terrace. I saw them once when I was driving around Gary, but didn’t realize their significance at the time.
@@francisjaniewski5990 there’s also the American Sheet and Tin Mill Apartment building that utilized the same poured concrete method. It’s located at 633 W 4th Ave.
i left scary gary and never looked back, I don't even like driving through it, I'm all good. Gary used to be a beautiful safe place, now it's a nightmare where you never wake up from. my heart goes out to all the good people that still leave in Gary.
That Palace Theater was like the one in Akron, Ohio that's still operating. It was an atmospheric theater. That means you see a night sky on the ceiling. Complete with moving clouds. The atmospheric ceiling in Akron still works. It opened in 1925 and is an historic gem.
So, 100 years ago, some things were way way better? That's what I'm thinking and feeling. Oh, and yes, that's for all ethnic groups (put that in to get in front of the self-righteous virtue signalers).
Like our Fox Theatre in Atlanta. GA. I'm afraid cancel-culture will tear down buildings it decides is "wrong" before our economy really goes under. Even Stone Mt. is not exempt. I used to watch the laser show there when I was younger and see movies, concerts, and plays at the Fox and Peachtree Playhouse.
@@virginiaconnor8350 - Stone Mountain glorifies the "cancel culture" of the low-life csa and its ilk. The csa deserves only infamy. Please shove your cancel culture, your "Heritage OF Hate!", far up QAnus.
Hello, I was born in Gary, IN and wanted to return and document the state of affairs there. My attempt to get there a few years ago was unsuccessful as I was stuck in Chicago due to the Polar Vortex Conditions. Thank you for such an excellent documentary of this American city.
What’s crazy is the Jackson’s house shows what those other houses and neighborhoods could, and probably did, look like - if you put in the work to keep it nice. It’s surreal - like a time machine. Thanks again!
I guess your going to stay out of the RED LINED AREAS! RACISM Destroyed these areas O home equity. This is what happens when your property DECREASES in value base of its zip code. This area was zoned for the blacks, the poor and other minority groups.
Believe it or not the Jackson's house looked no different than the rest of Gary at the time of his death, abandoned. That is when it was renovated. It had an old 3ft tall chain linked fence without a gate. No trees. No bushes.
Mr Woo, I give you credit for visiting places outside the comfort zone of many. Gary, IN is unfortunately the poster child of a Rust Belt town, a once-thriving town decimated by the flight of the US manufacturing and steel industries overseas. I wish there is a way to revive these dying towns.
Most people in Indiana won't even go near Gary, literally. Most here don't even know whether or not it's still as dangerous as it once was, and they don't intend to find out themselves either. I do really appreciate those who are willing to go there and document its continued decline, as unfortunate as it is. Even more unfortunate, however, is that it's not alone in the state. Many, many towns and cities -- especially in the north, but there are examples all over the state -- are quickly declining after industry left. A small amount of manufacturing has moved into some of these towns, but not enough to revive them.
There is a way for all dying cities & towns to become liveable again, Gary needs to reinvent itself to attract investors. Investors only invest their money into something of potential. (profits) There are many ways to start building but it will not be easy. If some investor builds a golf course and 5-star hotel in Gary there wouldn't be any customers because their view would be a down-troddened ghetto. Everything needs to work in unison in order to rebuild.
Why would you want to revitalize these cities? The served their purpose for that Era. Time however moves on. Due to unions expecting employees to get paid unbelievable wages and the far left wanting nasty businesses that make actual products to leave America. So instead of these businesses providing good jobs and making quality products, while following very strict pollution control laws. Instead these items are made in China with slave labor in many cases, with zero pollution control measures. Time moves on and cities cannot adapt. It's easier to build a new city from scratch than to rebuild a old city. It's a natural progression. There are many cities that ruled the known world that are now ghost towns. Silicon valley was orchards when I was young. Then it boomed. Now many businesses are moving from San Francisco and Silicon valley to Texas. It's just the natural progression of things
I'm from Gary. My mother grew up on Jefferson street, a block or two from the Jacksons, went to school with Jermaine Jackson. My father use to work at the steel mill. We left Gary in 1987, I use to visit alot because we still have family there. I stopped visiting after my grandmother passed in 2000. Went back to bury my father in 2012 and haven't been back since! A lot of those abandoned homes, unfortunately are hiding a lot of dead bodies of missing people!🙏🏾
I imagine these poor people don't have a family, that's sad. I lost my dad and then my son and my mom soon. Maybe nobody will find my body, that's a depressing thought
That sign high above the others at 2:40 has been there since I can remember--literally: my family lived there in the mid-60s when I was two and three and one of my first memories in life outside of my family was that sign, oddly enough. I'm shocked it's still there. Downtown Gary used to be pretty nice back then.
When I would go back to college after the summer I would go through Gary. I graduated in 2019 so it’s basically the same now as it was then. It always humbled me going through Gary. Hopefully it can rebuild and be what it once was.
My Dad grew up in Chicago during the Depression and THE MUSIC MAN was one of his favorite movies and - Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gaaaary Indiana - still rings in my head.
there was a zayres store at us 51 and us 20 in miller. now i think it might be a flea market or was one. i worked at the KFC " chuck wheelers KFC" across from the 12 and 20 bowling alley in 1972, we took the trash out at night when the Gary cop knocked on the back door, i didn't think it was a bad area but that was the rules, i ran around in gary for years me and my buddies going up to the beach around Marquette park had friends in aetna , i lived in portage garyton area my buddy lived on stagecoach road off of us 12, a lot different now
Gary's downfall started at the end of WW2 when America rebuilt Germany's and Japan's steel mills and the shareholders of American mills paid themselves dividends instead of modernizing the mills, by 1960 the U.S. was competing against 50's technology with outdated facilities and lost market share that the unions chose to ignore in their negotiations for more pay. Greed from the owners and greed from the unions brought Gary down, not the politicians.
@@indianaslim4971 You're, absolutely, right. Same thing happened to most of the steel mills around Pittsburgh. No reinvestment. Terrible relationship between management and the unions.
If I stay up north I’m attracted to moving to Gary because people would think I’m nuts. I think it was an amazing town that got the shaft and left with an unfair stigma because of it. It was killed through corrupt bureaucracy. I like an underdog story. I think it will see a revival.
As an Indiana native not from Gary, it is sad to see how dilapidated Gary has become, but as rough as it used to be I think it's in such a good place for a new beginning.
For those of us that grew up there, life was different. And it's that way in alot of cities. I still have family there and will forever claim it as my hometown ❤️
It sure was different. It was so much fun to go to Goldblatts and shop, the ymca for a delicious dinner, or Jack Spratt in Miller after eating at Luigis pizza on the next block. Good times back in the 60's.
In Aug 1998, I was driving with my Mom from South Bend, IN to Lansing, IL on I-94. We got tired of the highway & turned off to Gary, IN thinking we could drive down regular streets to reach Lansing. It was eye opening to say the least. The sad uncared for dilapidated homes and poverty everywhere was heart breaking. We drove by the steel mill, which provided jobs for so many in the past, people of all nationalities (immigrants) & cultures worked together for a paycheck for the family. It was still operating but at a very low capacity. It looked & felt like we were passing through a 3rd world country.
Travel through America down the back roads. America is MOSTLY 3rd world in a “developed nation”. We should be ashamed. We can do so much better but we keep electing fools all the way around.
I appreciate your commentary and the knowledge you have of a lot of the places you go to. I am generally a quiet explorer but I TRULY appreciate the urban explorers who can add answers to the questions a lot of us have about our abandoned jewels around the country.
Thank you for taking your time to post what you see and how things are in some towns. Very interesting. I appreciate your effort to show us what has happened. You are showing nothing to get folks upset, just doing good showing what happened. God bless
I remember about 20 years ago there was an advertisement on television depicting deserted neighborhoods in Gary in good repair. They were typical looking neighborhoods with 4 foot chain link fence and decent looking houses. The substance of the infomercial was that you could go to Gary and purchase a house and lot and a good neighborhood for $1.00. A lot of people took them up on the offer. I wonder what happened to all those people.
Like in Detroit to this day probably you would have to commit to living there for at least 10 years or more and contribute to the city or town's property tax base. Kind of like a time share for vacation properties.
Most cities have mostly buildings gutted of all metal plumbing by tearing the walls apart to steal metal piping. Alumsiding removed&exposed to elements🥶 Never get a return 🤑
Get the hell out of there before the sun goes down. That place is no where to play around, its reputation is well-deserved. I'm a truck driver and have been through there many times picking up steel at a mill in East Chicago Indiana.
There's nothing gonna happen to you there... That town is just like any other... If you look for issues then yes. But if your there just hanging out and don't bother anyone... U will be fine. I've never had an issue there. I worked on Broadway for years. I worked on Grant Street before and I worked on burr st before. I've never had a issue.. more people there know me and look after me than my own people in my own town. I live next to Gary in a little town called lake station... East Gary for the older folks
They dont know that man he good trust might get ppl 2 talk yes I'm from east chicago have family all around gary east chicago hammond chicago yes it has it problem like every other place but it definitely can be much more oml
I flip houses to investors. I started flipping houses in Gary many years ago. Gary use to be a decent and thriving city back in the 1950's and 1960's. It actually has some very old and beautiful homes, along with some "nostalgic" and very "cool" old buildings. But today, most of the city is just run down to the ground. When we rehabbed houses, we would either pay a homeless person to stay in the house at night or put a pit-bull in the house. Otherwise, we would get robbed blind. They would take copper, electrical wiring, hot water heaters and other items. Not to mention tear the house apart. I stopped offering houses there back in the late 80's.It was way too dangerous. I can't tell you how many times we bought houses and homeless people were living in them. Thank God we can open carry in Indiana! It's a shame that the city is a hell hole. Mayor after mayor have tried to bring the city back but it never happened. It's just too far gone. What a shame.
Hopefully you didn't sell them to CCP investors. . . I have a really bad feeling of what will happen when the Chinese Communist Party owns too much land in the US. Nothing against the Chinese people; I'm part Asian myself; but the Party is a whole different thing than the people it pretends to stand for.
When Republicans take back the house and senate Gary Indiana and many other once beautiful cites will thrive once again,God is in control,it will be amazing!🙏❤️🇺🇸
That "Demon House" story is very interesting!!! If I am not mistaken, I believe that the former cult leader Jim Jones (who killed 913 in the jungles of Guyana), also came from Gary, Indiana!!!
"There is beauty in decay." I like that. It makes me sad to see the shape of Gary. I really enjoyed your video.I felt physically ill when you showed the demon house. I could hardly believe the amount of orbs around there. You are a great storyteller. I will subscribe, for sure. Thanks for making this video!
I have been to Gary a handful of times. Live in California but I have quite a few relatives that currently live I Gary, a few live down the street and around the corner from the Jackson's old house. The neighborhood is called Marshalltown.
I love the way out take us on these tours. It’s so enjoyable to see these places Iwon’t get to visit otherwise wise . So many wonderful small cities and towns in the Midwest . I am particularly taken with all the houses and buildings from past eras. Such a shame to abandon them with all the homeless folk in the big cities who need a house.
I did software work in Gary back in the early 90's. It was a dump back then. There's a steel mill that stretches for hundreds of yards that is completely closed down and deteriorating. Back in the 60's this was a blue collar town, but, still an OK place to live. That's not the case anymore. This is a prime example of how the de industrialized United States is collapsing.
At some point... God knows when... I can see it being worth while to re-claim these areas... at least certain sections. It could start with clearing out derelict buildings that are too far gone, restoring others, and building new eco-friendly structures. Of course it would all depend on an economic re-birth. It's all a matter of timing. Personally I'd rather have our resources focused on rejuvenating Earth Cities than trying to populate Mars. Seriously people... we've got to get our priorities in order. 😳
@@faithrada Unfortunately, we are on the cusp of the dollar collapsing. Once this happens the last thing any of these cities will be able to do is rejuvenate ANYTHING! You are living in some interesting times as you'll be one of the few in history to experience the collapse of an empire. With absolutely no industry at all a project like that would be an exercise in futility.
Fascinating video as to how a town can virtually disappear when their main businesses go elsewhere. Also seeing some history before our eyes is amazing to watch. Thank you Adam and always be safe. ❤️🙏🏻
I live near Gary and I find the condition of the once proud city, very sad. When things are damaged, they are likely not repaired. Business has fled the downtown area, and there aren't many things to hail there. The steel industry used to be a strong employer and they paid a lot of taxes to help cities like Gary. Now everything has changed and it seems to continue to decline. Maybe things can get better, but it hasn't improved in my lifetime.
Thank you. I enjoyed the tour. My mother and father lived in Gary Indiana when I was a baby. It looks like it might have been a beautiful little town at one time. What a shame.
ADAM Be careful some decayed cities have shut down all services including police and fire in large sections, you could be literally on your own in " no man's land". You could roll up into a situation ripe for robbery or carjacking.. be extra vigilant.
@@TheDailyWoo I was hesitant to say knowing you have been around but couldn't help saying it. Been with you for years appreciate the effort to provide great content. You always deliver! Thanks for the response 👍
@@TheDailyWoo theres a castle, on a hill, obviuolsy, in europe, hitler visited,stayed, that has a pit underneath,,to hell. hitler did try to bring the demon out,control it. they say.. theres also a town,kirwen.??. in the u.s. where you drive to the town but end up on your way out. a lot is hiden from us, like, b/foot has human dna. indians say he was made before man.. the facts by how to hunt,. also our history, viper tv, sumerian tablets.
Just randomly watched the video where you rode the bicycle down that metal slide and wiped out. Will always remember that forever. And always love you for it Mr. Woo!!!
The tragedy of Gary has been consolidated by time into a living breathing (but just barely) organism composed of frustration and pain that has been abandoned to death and now, mortally wounded, it breathes its last, lost in nostalgia and regret. There is no moral to impart and no lesson to be learned, only a tear to be shed.
Been obsessed with Gary for years, I check in on Google Street view at least once a year to see the changes, make sure the theater is still there. Thanks for the tour, it's hard finding content since everyone is afraid to get out of their cars
@@jeffalbillar7625 yeah, it's pretty bad. You can really find houses there for less than 1000 bucks, but you're really just buying the plot of land. It's a very very tragic community. There are a couple good docs on it just type in Gary IN in you tube search
Dude don't you ever think for 1 second that people don't appreciate these vlogs. They really do help keep me going and are way better than therapy. However if you need to take some downtime do it. Just know that there will always be an audience for this kind of thing. Godspeed and keep up the good work.
This is the first I've heard about that "Demon House". But I do know about Gary Indiana being an empty city, with whole streets of houses in ruins, or streets where houses used to be. That area at 17:31 looked like Phragmites, which are the invasive Giant Reeds. They grow in wetlands and take over, and crowd out all native species. They can grow up to 15 feet tall, IIRC.
This is heartbreaking. The small town I grew up in had textile mills and they’re all gone so the town has fallen. The mayor is one of our school mates who graduated with us and he’s working to bring some growth back in. It’s sad to see them go down like this. ❤️
As long as he doesn't try any of that tax cut bs to try and bring in business, you should be good. No reason to give corporations welfare and then do wage theft on the workers they do hire.
The Rust Belt is the most interesting place in America. The decaying cities and empty corridors are haunting. Every visit I make to the Rust Belt makes me want to explore more. I hope you stop in Cleveland.
Yeah parts of ohio are getting worse. Norwood in Cincinnati had a lot of factories and auto plants. That left. One side of the city is boarded up. Unless they finally tore the apartments and plant buildings down. Some parts of Cincinnati are really bounsing back.
I was born in Hobart, IN. I also lived in Glen Park for awhile. Gary used to be a beautiful and thriving city. People from all over came to Gary when US Steel came to the area. When most of the steel started to be made overseas, that destroyed the area. When I lived in Gary in the '70's, the area was already going to hell. It's hard to see the area as it is now. I had family there back in the day.
I grew up in Bangor PA and in a lot of ways it reminds me of Gary. Very poor with very little opportunity. There are many small country towns like Bangor throughout PA. However, that's where the similarities end. In Bangor you can walk the streets at night, you can leave your car and home unlocked. The crime rate is almost nonexistent. And what's more amazing is just about everyone owns a gun. Hunting is big in Bangor and its not uncommon to see a gun cabinet in most peoples homes. Despite this, there's no gun crime, none. Bangor may be poor, but its extremely safe. Family is strong in Bangor, so is respect for your neighbor and neighborhood. Trust me when I say this, being poor does not lead to criminality. A breakdown of the family and loss of respect to the community is what leads to criminality.
"Just about everyone owns a gun" - thats pretty much all of Pennsylvania outside of Sixburgh and Philly. PA is the deer hunting capital of the US, with 5 times the number of gun shops as McDonalds.
The steel mills in Gary and the south side closed and the town died. My Uncle use to live west of the mills, in Chicago by Wolf Lake. He worked at US Steel. I was too young to remember exactly where. It was in the 70s.
In 1994, 95, 96, My brother and I played for a semi-pro football team from Springfield, il. We would travel to Gary to play their team, the Golden Bears, along with Hammond Yellow Jackets, Midway Jets, Chicago Falcons, Lake County Vickings, Racine Raiders and a few others. I have a lot of good memories of that time. Thanks
That marquee said "Jackson Five Tonight" on it for like 35 years. It's a city designed to hold 200,000 people and the population today is like 70,000. That's a lot of empty.
I STILL LIVE IN GARY INDIANA AND THIS TOWN IS JUST A SHELL OF IT'S FORMER SELF.....THE JACKSON FAMILY ONLY CAME HERE BECUZ THEY KNEW THE PRESS WOULD BE HERE AFTER MJ DIED.....TOO BAD YOU DIDN'T SEE THE WAY THEY OLD HOUSE LOOKED BEFORE MJ DIED.....THEY EVEN CAME AND TOOK HIS HUGE HEADSTONE THAT WAS IN THAT YARD BECUZ THEY KNEW THEY WERE NEVER GONNA RETURN....TOO BAD THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING FOR OUR HOMETOWN....WE REALLY COULD USE IT.........I LOVE THIS DOC.....COME NEXT TIME AND INTERVIEW US....
Miller is a thriving community in Gary, IN. You should have shown the beauty of Lake Michigan. From the Miller side, far East you can view the entire Chicago skyline from across the lake. It's my favorite thing to do here
This is so sad and depressing. Eye-opening. A harsh reality of an unspoken aspect of life in America. Thank you for sharing this. You brought us to places most would never see otherwise.
1:04 "The People of Gary Welcome You" - and one of those welcoming people ripped off half of the damn sign! The picture is gone from the sign! 1:04 That says it all about the type of city it is. The cops tell people passing through Gary to not even stop at the stop signs cause you'll get robbed if you stop.
I lived in Sauk Village Illinois which is fairly close to Gary, back in the 70's and 80s when it was still pretty decent.We used to go there regularly for different things. My stepmother used to work at Gary National Bank back in the 70s. This is sad to see! This is what happens when things are moved overseas to save a buck. Lives are destroyed because of greed. Very sad. That whole area is a war zone now, even across the border where I grew up in Illinois. My family was lucky, my parents saw what was coming and moved to Southwest Missouri in the early 80's. Glad they got us out of there!
, W😎 W great post 👌👌👍👍 if I've had a nickel for every time I've been to Sauk village you could call me John D Rockefeller 🤣🤣‼️ I'm from Calumet Park Blue Island am I helped my closest friend to move the Sauk village in 74, and to reiterate your post yeah it wasn't as bad, but I remember when United States steel went under, thank you Richard Nixon's deregulation they sold out to China, I left in 75 to go in the Marine Corps and I've never looked back, and the only time I do go back is for funerals, of loved ones that didn't get the hell out of there when they had the chance,
@@dalia5357 When the jobs left to go overseas, the people left, and property values plummeted. Since then all you have left is a mixture of slums, gangs, crime, and violence that fills in just like any other city.
When I was very little, a mean cousin told me there was a man living in the walls of their old farm house named Gary Indiana. I never knew there was such a place until I went to college nearby there. I was educated about this city quickly. Very heart breaking to see these photos, but good you document. Very interesting. Thank you.
@@rickdaystar477 Yeah we sure have. I have been to every state and territory in Oz, its really diverse and full of amazing places and people.. In SA we have Coober Pedy and Andamooka which has some of the best opals in the World :)
@@Scottyr05 I saw Coober Pedy mining but couldn't recall the name. I always wanted to visit Australia as I have relatives I never met. I also have great memories serving with some Aussies in Vietnam. OMG great guys and they showed me how to tip a proper pint or two. 👍😎🍺 LoL
I remember driving through Gary in the 60's when the steel plants were still going and that city like other steel towns had horrible air pollution, I guess if anything came about from all the jobs leaving and the general decay is the air is now more or less breathable.
Well I guess if starving people to death and making them homeless has the accidental byproduct of “going green” then someone will be happy it happened.
@@louisfinley4631 If you ever visited a chemical factory type town or a steel industry town in their heyday before regulations came into play, you had a difficult time breathing in those areas. The air is way less polluted these days in those towns and nearby areas.
I live 20 25 miles east of Gary, it's sad how it's changed, my father and I worked all over the area back in 70s we worked for Indiana insurance for about 10 years, that's why we spent so much time there, really do miss going to the bars in Gary and hustle pool.
My older brother went to Tri-State College there in the Sixties majoring in chemical engineering and was on the deans list; he and a friend, Joe Uskurt, attempted to homestead in Alaska but didn’t succeed and also didn’t finish college. I had a friend in Virginia that worked for the Horace Mann insurance company.Thanks for the tour.
Me too...it looked very sketchy. After all--the area is deserted--and this car pulls up quickly, out of nowhere... right beside Adam. I was relieved when the video continued normally!
I live near Gary and work in Gary everyday...it's so crazy to think how the town use to be back when my father was growing up. If your ever back in town DM me there's many haunted areas around here that could make good vlogs
Such an interesting presentation of The Empty City. Probably the best I've seen with no sensationalist BS. I'm from the small crowded island that is the UK and we just don't have the space for all this abandonment. We have the opposite problem, too many people and not enough space. Another thoroughly enjoyable video. Please keep up your excellent work and thank you.
From the UK also and I just can't get over the scale of abandonment the Woo brings us day after day. All those small towns and hamlets with almost everything closed from schools, town halls and countless businesses. All those broken dreams. Sometimes you get a hint of very prosperous past times with the remains of drive-thru restaurants for example. That's when we looked out from the worn-out, post-war UK at America with a standard of living we could only imagine.
Adam! A country in denial we are. Overwhelming uncontrdicted evidence that we have failed in the urban experience. We see the result but the causes are as vast and complicated as the symptoms. The first step is to admit we have failed in this great experience. Much suffering because of it. Gary,Detroit, Chicago, parts of NYC are a testament to this failure.
You are absolutely 100% correct. Its a direct reflection of all of USA. When jobs aren't available, and drugs and alcohol and prostitution thrive, thats the end. Its all reflected of what exists in people.
Watching from Melbourne, Australia. There is so much about this video that really is haunting. (No pun intended:)) The whole appearance of the town of Gary, and that almost deserted look are both eerily calming, and poetic at the same time. It actually looks beautiful in its own way - and the stark contrast, as you pan from the neighbourhood surrounds to the Jackson house and its grounds, is just surreal! Adding a further sombre feel to the journey: the fact that the "demon house" no longer stands - which I was aware of, having watched Bagans' video of its demolition - is oddly sad. The vacant lot serves as only a reminder of what was formerly, in its unique and unfortunate way, an icon of sorts. On the one hand you have the birthplace of, arguably, the most famous entertainment family in American history, whose architectural monument serves as a reminder of reaching for the stars... Then, on the other end of the scale we acknowledge the former existence of a different kind of home - one that supposedly served to only shatter one's hopes and aspirations. This is absolutely one of the more enjoyable videos I've seen, taking us around Gary and focussing on both the Jacksons' family home and the Devil's family home! ;) Thanks for the awesome tour, mate! From all of us here, in Australia.
I really enjoy your commentary/perspective. You are very reverent to these places and the people who were inhabitants there. Bravo, please keep up this great work!
New subscriber! Some of the places you shown like time stood still! The buildings are so full of so many stories! And I seen a video on that demon house, I tell ya I wouldn’t of wanted to live in it!! Great video, Thank you
I'm seeing the comments from the baby boomers that grew up in a once beautiful Northern city with good memories. I'm one too, but from a Detroit suburb. Detroit grew to the 4th largest city in the United States with a booming auto industry fed by Ohio and Indiana. It's so sad what happened to those cities. The populations might have naturally decreased anyway as boomers didn't have as big of families, but this is a disgrace brought on by politicians. I once again live in the 4th largest American city; but it's far from Detroit.
I can remember as a kid staying overnight in Gary while on a long road trip. Back then it was disgustingly polluted and the entire family was glad to get out of it early the next day. Even the tap water tasted like it was 25% assorted chemicals.
Gary very much reminds me of Trenton NJ. Was raised just outside in Hamilton and watched it deteriorate year after year. Pretty much the same situation. Industry left and businesses closed up followed by a chunk of its population. Somehow Trenton continues to limp along.
used to visit an uncle in Trenton during the 60s as a teen..we would drive from NYC..by 70' it was a shooting range..my uncle was old school Bronx carried around a handgun lol. and had a small pizza place downtown with a buddy.. constantly getting robbed over night..they left in 72'...I drove back around 25 yrs ago and couldn't believe how bad his area was.. completely abandoned and DRUGS EVERYWHERE..
You and I are kindred spirits. As I travel the US I've taken thousands of pictures of abandoned farms, towns, and such, but Gary appears to be an abandonment mecca. Thanks for the tour. I'll have to pass that way one day.
It's like time stood still which makes it so interesting. Glad this town hasn't been modernised and look just like every other modern town. Very nice tour thank you
In the 80's i drove a truck a few times a month for my boss n we passed thru Gary, couldn't wait to get to Gary for breakfast, can't remember the name of the place but they had the best breakfast ever, waited 4-5 hours of driving to eat, worth it....
While sad to see the downfall of some of these cities, I agree with you there is a certain beauty to it all. I think we wax nostalgic for the good old days. And to see some of the relics and mementos it brings it all back to us . Art in ruins you could say. Appreciate your work Adam 👍
I can't always see the beauty with that. Sorry. Even for a guy who has an Aesthetic philosophy. I'd rather just see the past. And have it come back to life. Maybe just look at a photo of a once-there house, like Adam held up.
One thing that has not been mentioned is the Gary High School basketball legends. I am from central Indiana, always had at least one Gary HS basketball team in the Regionals and State finals. Oscar Robinson, WILSON EISOn, DICK BARNETT, GLENN ROBINSON, and the list goes on. Gary is not the only town in Indiana to die when industry left, Marion was hit very hard.
I grew up in Hammond, which is directly west of Gary. My family always knew Gary to be a scary and dangerous place and we wouldn't go there unless we had a good reason to. One night in the early '90s, my uncle fell asleep on a train in Chicago and woke up at the Gary station, so my parents had to drive there to pick him up. Once they got there, they had to be careful driving back because the crappy car they had would backfire at high speeds and it sounded like a drive-by shooting. My mom said that was one of the scariest nights of her life. It's a shame what happened to Gary. It used to be a great American city a long time ago, but now it's a ghost town. Fun fact: There was a town east of Gary that was formerly called "East Gary", but its name was changed to Lake Station in the 1970s because it didn't want to be associated with the rapidly declining city next door to it.
I grew up in Merrillville. I married and moved away in 1972 when I was 20 years old. Went to the Palace Theatre as a pre-teen for the movies of the day. My mother would just drop us off and come back later to pick us up. We could also take a city bus to downtown Gary. It was safe to do that in the 60's.
I'm from Gary. I pray to God that the economy is never destroyed in any of your hometowns. Gary is filled with good people, who do their best to live life despite their socio-economic situation. If I could do it all over again, and choose all of the variables, I would still choose Gary. Thank you for visiting Adam
Well written
I lived in Hammond as a elementary aged kid. My dad worked at the steel mill. Some of my life long friends are still there. It's a great group of people. It's so sad when socioeconomic issues happen. I am so happy that Adam did this. And I'm thankful Aku that you spoke up!
✌️
They say Home is where the heart is, you must have a heavy heart.
I've only been thru Gary, but as long as there are good people, all places in this country are valuable as hell. I dont care your skin color, religion or sexual orientation, I would love to see happy united strong Americans coast to coast (politicsbe damnex at this point). The military taught me, to respect the man/woman,next to me and I learned alot from all walks of life, that were very alien to me. .
There are a few streets in Gary that are occupied by Thomas Edison’s concrete houses. 86 were built and about 70 still stand today. They are historically significant and very rare now. You should check them out if you are ever in Gary again.
Where at? I always liked Gary. Some strange sociological behavior.
@@francisjaniewski5990 these are the names of the neighborhoods I could find. They were built by US Steel in the early 1910’s for the steel plants management. They are Polk Street Cottages, Jackson Terraces, Monroe Terrace, and Van Buren Terrace. I saw them once when I was driving around Gary, but didn’t realize their significance at the time.
@@francisjaniewski5990 there’s also the American Sheet and Tin Mill Apartment building that utilized the same poured concrete method. It’s located at 633 W 4th Ave.
Are these concrete houses owned by the city now or still privately owned?
@@Mountainrock70 they are poured concrete houses and are privately owned as far as I know.
i left scary gary and never looked back, I don't even like driving through it, I'm all good. Gary used to be a beautiful safe place, now it's a nightmare where you never wake up from. my heart goes out to all the good people that still leave in Gary.
Is it cursed?
That Palace Theater was like the one in Akron, Ohio that's still operating. It was an atmospheric theater. That means you see a night sky on the ceiling. Complete with moving clouds. The atmospheric ceiling in Akron still works. It opened in 1925 and is an historic gem.
So, 100 years ago, some things were way way better? That's what I'm thinking and feeling. Oh, and yes, that's for all ethnic groups (put that in to get in front of the self-righteous virtue signalers).
Like our Fox Theatre in Atlanta. GA. I'm afraid cancel-culture will tear down buildings it decides is "wrong" before our economy really goes under. Even Stone Mt. is not exempt. I used to watch the laser show there when I was younger and see movies, concerts, and plays at the Fox and Peachtree Playhouse.
The Civic Theater in Akron also has a large pipe organ which rises from a bunker to stage level on a lift mechanism.
@@virginiaconnor8350 - Stone Mountain glorifies the "cancel culture" of the low-life csa and its ilk. The csa deserves only infamy. Please shove your cancel culture, your "Heritage OF Hate!", far up QAnus.
@@steverobertson6393 - Greed, willful ignorance, and racism are not positive qualities of "patriotism". Obviously, you need to be shown your place.
as a retired builder , it saddens me to see all those house decaying --and all that building material not being recycled
What could be recycled?
@@irinav.5241 re purposed / re used -brick -steel beams -some of the wood -far tighter grain than the fast growth
Go rebuild them and recycle them
@@charlierobles316 Ill get right on it
@@charlierobles316 you better go help him
Born and raised in Gary, lived there over 50 years now reside in Houston. Tx.
Hello,
I was born in Gary, IN and wanted to return and document the state of affairs there.
My attempt to get there a few years ago was unsuccessful as I was stuck in Chicago due to the Polar Vortex Conditions.
Thank you for such an excellent documentary of this American city.
What’s crazy is the Jackson’s house shows what those other houses and neighborhoods could, and probably did, look like - if you put in the work to keep it nice. It’s surreal - like a time machine. Thanks again!
I guess your going to stay out of the RED LINED AREAS! RACISM Destroyed these areas O home equity. This is what happens when your property DECREASES in value base of its zip code. This area was zoned for the blacks, the poor and other minority groups.
Absolutely!
Poor people have little money to keep a house up like the Jacksons. ☹
I wonder why they never invested in the city or if they did, what happened to the cash 🤷
Believe it or not the Jackson's house looked no different than the rest of Gary at the time of his death, abandoned. That is when it was renovated. It had an old 3ft tall chain linked fence without a gate. No trees. No bushes.
Mr Woo, I give you credit for visiting places outside the comfort zone of many. Gary, IN is unfortunately the poster child of a Rust Belt town, a once-thriving town decimated by the flight of the US manufacturing and steel industries overseas. I wish there is a way to revive these dying towns.
Most people in Indiana won't even go near Gary, literally. Most here don't even know whether or not it's still as dangerous as it once was, and they don't intend to find out themselves either.
I do really appreciate those who are willing to go there and document its continued decline, as unfortunate as it is.
Even more unfortunate, however, is that it's not alone in the state. Many, many towns and cities -- especially in the north, but there are examples all over the state -- are quickly declining after industry left. A small amount of manufacturing has moved into some of these towns, but not enough to revive them.
there is a way --it's called tariffs
There is a way for all dying cities & towns to become liveable again, Gary needs to reinvent itself to attract investors. Investors only invest their money into something of potential. (profits) There are many ways to start building but it will not be easy. If some investor builds a golf course and 5-star hotel in Gary there wouldn't be any customers because their view would be a down-troddened ghetto. Everything needs to work in unison in order to rebuild.
There is - just buy American !
Why would you want to revitalize these cities? The served their purpose for that Era. Time however moves on. Due to unions expecting employees to get paid unbelievable wages and the far left wanting nasty businesses that make actual products to leave America. So instead of these businesses providing good jobs and making quality products, while following very strict pollution control laws. Instead these items are made in China with slave labor in many cases, with zero pollution control measures. Time moves on and cities cannot adapt. It's easier to build a new city from scratch than to rebuild a old city. It's a natural progression. There are many cities that ruled the known world that are now ghost towns. Silicon valley was orchards when I was young. Then it boomed. Now many businesses are moving from San Francisco and Silicon valley to Texas. It's just the natural progression of things
I'm from Gary. My mother grew up on Jefferson street, a block or two from the Jacksons, went to school with Jermaine Jackson. My father use to work at the steel mill. We left Gary in 1987, I use to visit alot because we still have family there. I stopped visiting after my grandmother passed in 2000. Went back to bury my father in 2012 and haven't been back since! A lot of those abandoned homes, unfortunately are hiding a lot of dead bodies of missing people!🙏🏾
Any room in Gary for me?
OMG that's terrible. Don't the neighbors do anything, or the mail man! Somebody who's missing should be reported to the police, so what's the problem?
I imagine these poor people don't have a family, that's sad. I lost my dad and then my son and my mom soon. Maybe nobody will find my body, that's a depressing thought
Why are they missing? Do you mean they died in the homes, alone and forgotten? So you mean, forgotten, not missing? No one to miss them...
I too would appreciate elaboration of your last sentence
Just think, in about 10 year’s you’ll be in LA filming a bunch of decaying mansion’s, and empty mini skyscrapers
The more I see Gary, the more I love Gary the more we need Gary 😆 was not exactly my first thought when I drove through it
That sign high above the others at 2:40 has been there since I can remember--literally: my family lived there in the mid-60s when I was two and three and one of my first memories in life outside of my family was that sign, oddly enough. I'm shocked it's still there. Downtown Gary used to be pretty nice back then.
When I would go back to college after the summer I would go through Gary. I graduated in 2019 so it’s basically the same now as it was then. It always humbled me going through Gary. Hopefully it can rebuild and be what it once was.
My Dad grew up in Chicago during the Depression and THE MUSIC MAN was one of his favorite movies and - Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gaaaary Indiana - still rings in my head.
It’s sad to see the abandoned areas, knowing so many lived there, as an 80’s kid the abandoned malls really get me in the feels.
there was a zayres store at us 51 and us 20 in miller. now i think it might be a flea market or was one. i worked at the KFC " chuck wheelers KFC" across from the 12 and 20 bowling alley in 1972, we took the trash out at night when the Gary cop knocked on the back door, i didn't think it was a bad area but that was the rules, i ran around in gary for years me and my buddies going up to the beach around Marquette park had friends in aetna , i lived in portage garyton area my buddy lived on stagecoach road off of us 12, a lot different now
I was shook seeing all those “dead” malls
My home town. Haven't lived there in nearly 50 years. You need to make another trip to the Miller section of Gary. The difference is striking.
Garys down fall started in 1964, when Studebaker moved operations to Canada, so many of those closed factories depended on the Auto industry .
You've been sadly misinformed Gary was a steel town Studebaker was in South bend Never moved to Canada
@@larryhullinger4141 they need to go watch a few documentaries
After South Bend closed Studebaker continued operations in Canada for the 1965-1966 model years before completely going out of business
Gary's downfall started at the end of WW2 when America rebuilt Germany's and Japan's steel mills and the shareholders of American mills paid themselves dividends instead of modernizing the mills, by 1960 the U.S. was competing against 50's technology with outdated facilities and lost market share that the unions chose to ignore in their negotiations for more pay. Greed from the owners and greed from the unions brought Gary down, not the politicians.
@@indianaslim4971 You're, absolutely, right. Same thing happened to most of the steel mills around Pittsburgh. No reinvestment. Terrible relationship between management and the unions.
If I stay up north I’m attracted to moving to Gary because people would think I’m nuts. I think it was an amazing town that got the shaft and left with an unfair stigma because of it. It was killed through corrupt bureaucracy. I like an underdog story. I think it will see a revival.
As an Indiana native not from Gary, it is sad to see how dilapidated Gary has become, but as rough as it used to be I think it's in such a good place for a new beginning.
I am from Gary Ind. Am 66 born and raised there. It use to be the place to be. The federal government needs to step in. If not no hope.
For those of us that grew up there, life was different. And it's that way in alot of cities. I still have family there and will forever claim it as my hometown ❤️
It sure was different. It was so much fun to go to Goldblatts and shop, the ymca for a delicious dinner, or Jack Spratt in Miller after eating at Luigis pizza on the next block. Good times back in the 60's.
In Aug 1998, I was driving with my Mom from South Bend, IN to Lansing, IL on I-94. We got tired of the highway & turned off to Gary, IN thinking we could drive down regular streets to reach Lansing. It was eye opening to say the least. The sad uncared for dilapidated homes and poverty everywhere was heart breaking. We drove by the steel mill, which provided jobs for so many in the past, people of all nationalities (immigrants) & cultures worked together for a paycheck for the family. It was still operating but at a very low capacity. It looked & felt like we were passing through a 3rd world country.
you were driving through a third world country
I lived there for 3 to 4 months back in 1993. It was a hole back then. Really sad actually.
Travel through America down the back roads. America is MOSTLY 3rd world in a “developed nation”. We should be ashamed. We can do so much better but we keep electing fools all the way around.
They worked very hard to kill off the steel industry in the United States.
Third world countries do not look like that but war torn countries do
I appreciate your commentary and the knowledge you have of a lot of the places you go to. I am generally a quiet explorer but I TRULY appreciate the urban explorers who can add answers to the questions a lot of us have about our abandoned jewels around the country.
Thank you for taking your time to post what you see and how things are in some towns. Very interesting. I appreciate your effort to show us what has happened. You are showing nothing to get folks upset, just doing good showing what happened. God bless
I remember about 20 years ago there was an advertisement on television depicting deserted neighborhoods in Gary in good repair. They were typical looking neighborhoods with 4 foot chain link fence and decent looking houses. The substance of the infomercial was that you could go to Gary and purchase a house and lot and a good neighborhood for $1.00. A lot of people took them up on the offer. I wonder what happened to all those people.
Like in Detroit to this day probably you would have to commit to living there for at least 10 years or more and contribute to the city or town's property tax base. Kind of like a time share for vacation properties.
Most cities have mostly buildings gutted of all metal plumbing by tearing the walls apart to steal metal piping. Alumsiding removed&exposed to elements🥶 Never get a return 🤑
Sounds like Niagara Falls, NY.
@@banhammer3904 lol
They are now living in 'the upside down.'
Get the hell out of there before the sun goes down. That place is no where to play around, its reputation is well-deserved. I'm a truck driver and have been through there many times picking up steel at a mill in East Chicago Indiana.
😳
Got that right. Too bad thats where the only Churchs chicken is.
There's nothing gonna happen to you there... That town is just like any other... If you look for issues then yes. But if your there just hanging out and don't bother anyone... U will be fine. I've never had an issue there. I worked on Broadway for years. I worked on Grant Street before and I worked on burr st before. I've never had a issue.. more people there know me and look after me than my own people in my own town. I live next to Gary in a little town called lake station... East Gary for the older folks
hey we got the same last name.
They dont know that man he good trust might get ppl 2 talk yes I'm from east chicago have family all around gary east chicago hammond chicago yes it has it problem like every other place but it definitely can be much more oml
I flip houses to investors. I started flipping houses in Gary many years ago. Gary use to be a decent and thriving city back in the 1950's and 1960's. It actually has some very old and beautiful homes, along with some "nostalgic" and very "cool" old buildings. But today, most of the city is just run down to the ground. When we rehabbed houses, we would either pay a homeless person to stay in the house at night or put a pit-bull in the house. Otherwise, we would get robbed blind. They would take copper, electrical wiring, hot water heaters and other items. Not to mention tear the house apart. I stopped offering houses there back in the late 80's.It was way too dangerous. I can't tell you how many times we bought houses and homeless people were living in them. Thank God we can open carry in Indiana! It's a shame that the city is a hell hole. Mayor after mayor have tried to bring the city back but it never happened. It's just too far gone. What a shame.
Hopefully you didn't sell them to CCP investors. . . I have a really bad feeling of what will happen when the Chinese Communist Party owns too much land in the US.
Nothing against the Chinese people; I'm part Asian myself; but the Party is a whole different thing than the people it pretends to stand for.
@@zxyatiywariii8 Never sold 1 to them. They can kiss my as@!
When Republicans take back the house and senate Gary Indiana and many other once beautiful cites will thrive once again,God is in control,it will be amazing!🙏❤️🇺🇸
Wow,imagine that in Gary? , is it like the 400 pound gorilla in the living room that "No One" talks about..?
You flip houses in Gary ? You had better start flipping pancakes at IHOP !!!
That "Demon House" story is very interesting!!! If I am not mistaken, I believe that the former cult leader Jim Jones (who killed 913 in the jungles of Guyana), also came from Gary, Indiana!!!
Infested with occults
Actually, he was born in Crete Indiana.
I got stuck in Gary Indiana in the bus station once. It was scary as can be. A simpler time, the auto industry died and killed these small towns.
Gary was a steel city, not an auto city. Steel started dying in the 70's and the racial tensions in the 60's caused the white folk to move away.
Gary Indiana is the saddest place I’ve ever been to in my life. The only businesses I saw there were gas stations and places to cash your checks
I fear Baltimore is getting close to looking like this.
"There is beauty in decay." I like that. It makes me sad to see the shape of Gary. I really enjoyed your video.I felt physically ill when you showed the demon house. I could hardly believe the amount of orbs around there. You are a great storyteller. I will subscribe, for sure. Thanks for making this video!
same
“There is Beauty in Decay”. I like that ! Also, there is NO WAY I’m standing on the portal to hell 😂😂
growing up in Chicago in the 60's Gary was always added into our news cycle like a little brother city. I remember they had great basketball players
I have been to Gary a handful of times. Live in California but I have quite a few relatives that currently live I Gary, a few live down the street and around the corner from the Jackson's old house. The neighborhood is called Marshalltown.
I love the way out take us on these tours. It’s so enjoyable to see these places Iwon’t get to visit otherwise wise . So many wonderful small cities and towns in the Midwest . I am particularly taken with all the houses and buildings from past eras. Such a shame to abandon them with all the homeless folk in the big cities who need a house.
I did software work in Gary back in the early 90's. It was a dump back then. There's a steel mill that stretches for hundreds of yards that is completely closed down and deteriorating. Back in the 60's this was a blue collar town, but, still an OK place to live. That's not the case anymore. This is a prime example of how the de industrialized United States is collapsing.
At some point... God knows when... I can see it being worth while to re-claim these areas... at least certain sections. It could start with clearing out derelict buildings that are too far gone, restoring others, and building new eco-friendly structures. Of course it would all depend on an economic re-birth. It's all a matter of timing.
Personally I'd rather have our resources focused on rejuvenating Earth Cities than trying to populate Mars. Seriously people... we've got to get our priorities in order. 😳
@@faithrada Unfortunately, we are on the cusp of the dollar collapsing. Once this happens the last thing any of these cities will be able to do is rejuvenate ANYTHING! You are living in some interesting times as you'll be one of the few in history to experience the collapse of an empire. With absolutely no industry at all a project like that would be an exercise in futility.
@@faithrada agree ... Gary will come back to life one day.
Worst place to live due to high crime.
@@bryonbrendahaulk941 what kind of crime.
Fascinating video as to how a town can virtually disappear when their main businesses go elsewhere. Also seeing some history before our eyes is amazing to watch. Thank you Adam and always be safe. ❤️🙏🏻
I really enjoyed watching this. I was born and raised in Gary and a lot of wat you showed are things I never even paid attention to. Thank you.
I came to this video with certain expectations but in all honesty, seeing how nature is reclaiming parts of Gary is kind of beautiful.
I live near Gary and I find the condition of the once proud city, very sad. When things are damaged, they are likely not repaired. Business has fled the downtown area, and there aren't many things to hail there. The steel industry used to be a strong employer and they paid a lot of taxes to help cities like Gary. Now everything has changed and it seems to continue to decline. Maybe things can get better, but it hasn't improved in my lifetime.
Greed is trumping the USA.
Dear Larry. Is it worthy to buy a house in Gary? Is there a demand of tenants in the city?
@@nataliemirza I mean I wouldn’t buy a house in Gary for rental property, but if you’re an experienced professional there may be opportunities there.
Thanks Adam for looking at the beauty of Gary. A very respectful and optimistic video.
Thanks for all the great video tours Adam. You are a great inspiration. RIP Gary. #swervygang Ken
Thank you. I enjoyed the tour. My mother and father lived in Gary Indiana when I was a baby. It looks like it might have been a beautiful little town at one time. What a shame.
ADAM Be careful some decayed cities have shut down all services including police and fire in large sections, you could be literally on your own in " no man's land". You could roll up into a situation ripe for robbery or carjacking.. be extra vigilant.
Trust me I understand . Thank you for the comment . I was watching my surroundings
@@TheDailyWoo I was hesitant to say knowing you have been around but couldn't help saying it. Been with you for years appreciate the effort to provide great content. You always deliver! Thanks for the response 👍
They have state and county yall do 2 much fr
@@TheDailyWoo theres a castle, on a hill, obviuolsy, in europe, hitler visited,stayed, that has a pit underneath,,to hell. hitler did try to bring the demon out,control it. they say.. theres also a town,kirwen.??. in the u.s. where you drive to the town but end up on your way out. a lot is hiden from us, like, b/foot has human dna. indians say he was made before man.. the facts by how to hunt,. also our history, viper tv, sumerian tablets.
Just randomly watched the video where you rode the bicycle down that metal slide and wiped out. Will always remember that forever. And always love you for it Mr. Woo!!!
Lol...that was great, wasn't? I had to replay it several times!
All those little things u did and showed were very important. Even showing Dione. Great job 👍🏾
The tragedy of Gary has been consolidated by time into a living breathing (but just barely) organism composed of frustration and pain that has been abandoned to death and now, mortally wounded, it breathes its last, lost in nostalgia and regret. There is no moral to impart and no lesson to be learned, only a tear to be shed.
Been obsessed with Gary for years, I check in on Google Street view at least once a year to see the changes, make sure the theater is still there. Thanks for the tour, it's hard finding content since everyone is afraid to get out of their cars
Hey.
Is Gary really that bad?
Gary Indiana murder capital of the world
Some parts are rough their
@@jeffalbillar7625 yeah, it's pretty bad. You can really find houses there for less than 1000 bucks, but you're really just buying the plot of land. It's a very very tragic community. There are a couple good docs on it just type in Gary IN in you tube search
@@kylephillip6433 In what way and how did things become “ rough “ ? So sad that apparently nice places become desolate and depressed.
Dude don't you ever think for 1 second that people don't appreciate these vlogs. They really do help keep me going and are way better than therapy. However if you need to take some downtime do it. Just know that there will always be an audience for this kind of thing. Godspeed and keep up the good work.
Check out a channel called dream poet. He does vlogs mostly in TN where I live but he finds thing I've never heart of. I think u would like it.
Yeah me too. The perfect places to let it all hang out. I can speak my mind and straighten motherfudgers out!
Documenting reality is not a crime. Get over it. Don’t like it? Thumbs down and move on.
This is the first I've heard about that "Demon House". But I do know about Gary Indiana being an empty city, with whole streets of houses in ruins, or streets where houses used to be. That area at 17:31 looked like Phragmites, which are the invasive Giant Reeds. They grow in wetlands and take over, and crowd out all native species. They can grow up to 15 feet tall, IIRC.
This is heartbreaking. The small town I grew up in had textile mills and they’re all gone so the town has fallen. The mayor is one of our school mates who graduated with us and he’s working to bring some growth back in. It’s sad to see them go down like this. ❤️
As long as he doesn't try any of that tax cut bs to try and bring in business, you should be good. No reason to give corporations welfare and then do wage theft on the workers they do hire.
The Rust Belt is the most interesting place in America. The decaying cities and empty corridors are haunting. Every visit I make to the Rust Belt makes me want to explore more. I hope you stop in Cleveland.
Yeah parts of ohio are getting worse. Norwood in Cincinnati had a lot of factories and auto plants. That left. One side of the city is boarded up. Unless they finally tore the apartments and plant buildings down. Some parts of Cincinnati are really bounsing back.
The Music Man was all i could think of while watching , love that musical
I like how respectful you were of this town and it’s people. A very professional video :)
The basement was below were I'm standing now and the back of the house was back here. Brilliant!
I was born in Hobart, IN. I also lived in Glen Park for awhile. Gary used to be a beautiful and thriving city. People from all over came to Gary when US Steel came to the area. When most of the steel started to be made overseas, that destroyed the area. When I lived in Gary in the '70's, the area was already going to hell. It's hard to see the area as it is now. I had family there back in the day.
I grew up in Bangor PA and in a lot of ways it reminds me of Gary. Very poor with very little opportunity. There are many small country towns like Bangor throughout PA. However, that's where the similarities end. In Bangor you can walk the streets at night, you can leave your car and home unlocked. The crime rate is almost nonexistent. And what's more amazing is just about everyone owns a gun. Hunting is big in Bangor and its not uncommon to see a gun cabinet in most peoples homes. Despite this, there's no gun crime, none. Bangor may be poor, but its extremely safe. Family is strong in Bangor, so is respect for your neighbor and neighborhood. Trust me when I say this, being poor does not lead to criminality. A breakdown of the family and loss of respect to the community is what leads to criminality.
"Just about everyone owns a gun" - thats pretty much all of Pennsylvania outside of Sixburgh and Philly. PA is the deer hunting capital of the US, with 5 times the number of gun shops as McDonalds.
Well said and I agree 👍
Everybody in Chicago has a gun too, despite the crazy gun laws.
Yes
Profound insight...
The steel mills in Gary and the south side closed and the town died. My Uncle use to live west of the mills, in Chicago by Wolf Lake. He worked at US Steel. I was too young to remember exactly where. It was in the 70s.
In 1994, 95, 96, My brother and I played for a semi-pro football team from Springfield, il. We would travel to Gary to play their team, the Golden Bears, along with Hammond Yellow Jackets, Midway Jets, Chicago Falcons, Lake County Vickings, Racine Raiders and a few others. I have a lot of good memories of that time. Thanks
That marquee said "Jackson Five Tonight" on it for like 35 years.
It's a city designed to hold 200,000 people and the population today is like 70,000. That's a lot of empty.
I STILL LIVE IN GARY INDIANA AND THIS TOWN IS JUST A SHELL OF IT'S FORMER SELF.....THE JACKSON FAMILY ONLY CAME HERE BECUZ THEY KNEW THE PRESS WOULD BE HERE AFTER MJ DIED.....TOO BAD YOU DIDN'T SEE THE WAY THEY OLD HOUSE LOOKED BEFORE MJ DIED.....THEY EVEN CAME AND TOOK HIS HUGE HEADSTONE THAT WAS IN THAT YARD BECUZ THEY KNEW THEY WERE NEVER GONNA RETURN....TOO BAD THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING FOR OUR HOMETOWN....WE REALLY COULD USE IT.........I LOVE THIS DOC.....COME NEXT TIME AND INTERVIEW US....
Miller is a thriving community in Gary, IN. You should have shown the beauty of Lake Michigan. From the Miller side, far East you can view the entire Chicago skyline from across the lake. It's my favorite thing to do here
This is so sad and depressing. Eye-opening. A harsh reality of an unspoken aspect of life in America. Thank you for sharing this. You brought us to places most would never see otherwise.
1:04 "The People of Gary Welcome You" - and one of those welcoming people ripped off half of the damn sign! The picture is gone from the sign! 1:04 That says it all about the type of city it is. The cops tell people passing through Gary to not even stop at the stop signs cause you'll get robbed if you stop.
An often repeated lie.
Obama's kids
Been living in Gary my entire life, born and raised. It’s really not as bad as you think it is lol
@@davonsmith6594 I'm guessing it has good parts and bad parts, like most cities?
I lived in Sauk Village Illinois which is fairly close to Gary, back in the 70's and 80s when it was still pretty decent.We used to go there regularly for different things. My stepmother used to work at Gary National Bank back in the 70s. This is sad to see! This is what happens when things are moved overseas to save a buck. Lives are destroyed because of greed. Very sad. That whole area is a war zone now, even across the border where I grew up in Illinois. My family was lucky, my parents saw what was coming and moved to Southwest Missouri in the early 80's. Glad they got us out of there!
Our government as a whole is responsible for businesses moving overseas.
, W😎 W great post 👌👌👍👍 if I've had a nickel for every time I've been to Sauk village you could call me John D Rockefeller 🤣🤣‼️ I'm from Calumet Park Blue Island am I helped my closest friend to move the Sauk village in 74, and to reiterate your post yeah it wasn't as bad, but I remember when United States steel went under, thank you Richard Nixon's deregulation they sold out to China, I left in 75 to go in the Marine Corps and I've never looked back, and the only time I do go back is for funerals, of loved ones that didn't get the hell out of there when they had the chance,
Marshall1959
Why did this town turn so crummy!! And when did it start turning so bad!!
@@Guillotines_For_Globalists the USA is the biggest traitor of them all!!
@@dalia5357 When the jobs left to go overseas, the people left, and property values plummeted. Since then all you have left is a mixture of slums, gangs, crime, and violence that fills in just like any other city.
When I was very little, a mean cousin told me there was a man living in the walls of their old farm house named Gary Indiana. I never knew there was such a place until I went to college nearby there. I was educated about this city quickly. Very heart breaking to see these photos, but good you document. Very interesting. Thank you.
I worked my whole life in the steel mills of Gary. Like my father before me, I helped build this land.
The rain hit the old dog in the twilight's last gleaming
He said "son it sounds like rattling old bones"
Aren't you lifting John's song?
Hi From Adelaide, South Australia. Really enjoying your videos of the roads less travelled.. America is top on my Bucket List. Cheers!
Fellow Adelaidian here! Glad to know I'm not the only person from Adelaide enjoying Adam's roadtrips!!
I've been watching opal miners at Lightening Ridge Australia on TV. You got some rough but beautiful country.
@@rickdaystar477 Yeah we sure have. I have been to every state and territory in Oz, its really diverse and full of amazing places and people.. In SA we have Coober Pedy and Andamooka which has some of the best opals in the World :)
@@iamzerogravity55 it really is a small world :)
@@Scottyr05 I saw Coober Pedy mining but couldn't recall the name. I always wanted to visit Australia as I have relatives I never met. I also have great memories serving with some Aussies in Vietnam. OMG great guys and they showed me how to tip a proper pint or two. 👍😎🍺 LoL
I remember driving through Gary in the 60's when the steel plants were still going and that city like other steel towns had horrible air pollution, I guess if anything came about from all the jobs leaving and the general decay is the air is now more or less breathable.
When I was a kid and lived in Glen Park, the skies glowed orange at night.
Well I guess if starving people to death and making them homeless has the accidental byproduct of “going green” then someone will be happy it happened.
breathable for who the birds? the planet is here for us not the other way around.
@@louisfinley4631 If you ever visited a chemical factory type town or a steel industry town in their heyday before regulations came into play, you had a difficult time breathing in those areas. The air is way less polluted these days in those towns and nearby areas.
I live 20 25 miles east of Gary, it's sad how it's changed, my father and I worked all over the area back in 70s we worked for Indiana insurance for about 10 years, that's why we spent so much time there, really do miss going to the bars in Gary and hustle pool.
My older brother went to Tri-State College there in the Sixties majoring in chemical engineering and was on the deans list; he and a friend, Joe Uskurt, attempted to homestead in Alaska but didn’t succeed and also didn’t finish college. I had a friend in Virginia that worked for the Horace Mann insurance company.Thanks for the tour.
When that red car pulled up I thought we’d be getting the rest of the vlog on the iPhone after they robbed Adam. 😳😳
Trust me I thought the same
Me too...it looked very sketchy. After all--the area is deserted--and this car pulls up quickly, out of nowhere... right beside Adam. I was relieved when the video continued normally!
I live near Gary and work in Gary everyday...it's so crazy to think how the town use to be back when my father was growing up. If your ever back in town DM me there's many haunted areas around here that could make good vlogs
I work in Gary but live 35 min away. Can you share other haunts?
Cool episode, especially the antique signs and old buildings, the crow at the end says it all...
The neighbors at the demon house are pretty confident that demons like a roof over their head and abide by property lines,
Such an interesting presentation of The Empty City. Probably the best I've seen with no sensationalist BS. I'm from the small crowded island that is the UK and we just don't have the space for all this abandonment. We have the opposite problem, too many people and not enough space. Another thoroughly enjoyable video. Please keep up your excellent work and thank you.
From the UK also and I just can't get over the scale of abandonment the Woo brings us day after day. All those small towns and hamlets with almost everything closed from schools, town halls and countless businesses. All those broken dreams. Sometimes you get a hint of very prosperous past times with the remains of drive-thru restaurants for example. That's when we looked out from the worn-out, post-war UK at America with a standard of living we could only imagine.
Adam! A country in denial we are. Overwhelming uncontrdicted evidence that we have failed in the urban experience. We see the result but the causes are as vast and complicated as the symptoms. The first step is to admit we have failed in this great experience. Much suffering because of it. Gary,Detroit, Chicago, parts of NYC are a testament to this failure.
All of metro Atlanta
Government politicians in Washington DC caused this problem over the years. It was all planned with the United Nations agenda
You are absolutely 100% correct.
Its a direct reflection of all of USA.
When jobs aren't available, and drugs and alcohol and prostitution thrive, thats the end.
Its all reflected of what exists in people.
Don't vote dem
Relied on government. Government bosses bleed the cities dry and leave
Watching from Melbourne, Australia.
There is so much about this video that really is haunting. (No pun intended:))
The whole appearance of the town of Gary, and that almost deserted look are both eerily calming, and poetic at the same time. It actually looks beautiful in its own way - and the stark contrast, as you pan from the neighbourhood surrounds to the Jackson house and its grounds, is just surreal!
Adding a further sombre feel to the journey: the fact that the "demon house" no longer stands - which I was aware of, having watched Bagans' video of its demolition - is oddly sad. The vacant lot serves as only a reminder of what was formerly, in its unique and unfortunate way, an icon of sorts.
On the one hand you have the birthplace of, arguably, the most famous entertainment family in American history, whose architectural monument serves as a reminder of reaching for the stars...
Then, on the other end of the scale we acknowledge the former existence of a different kind of home - one that supposedly served to only shatter one's hopes and aspirations.
This is absolutely one of the more enjoyable videos I've seen, taking us around Gary and focussing on both the Jacksons' family home and the Devil's family home! ;)
Thanks for the awesome tour, mate!
From all of us here, in Australia.
That was a nice service station, such a waist and such a strange town thanks for uploading
When I was a truck driver I spent many nights at the PILOT off of the freeway. Lot Lizard heaven for some.
I really enjoy your commentary/perspective. You are very reverent to these places and the people who were inhabitants there. Bravo, please keep up this great work!
New subscriber! Some of the places you shown like time stood still! The buildings are so full of so many stories! And I seen a video on that demon house, I tell ya I wouldn’t of wanted to live in it!!
Great video, Thank you
I'm seeing the comments from the baby boomers that grew up in a once beautiful Northern city with good memories. I'm one too, but from a Detroit suburb. Detroit grew to the 4th largest city in the United States with a booming auto industry fed by Ohio and Indiana. It's so sad what happened to those cities. The populations might have naturally decreased anyway as boomers didn't have as big of families, but this is a disgrace brought on by politicians. I once again live in the 4th largest American city; but it's far from Detroit.
I can remember as a kid staying overnight in Gary while on a long road trip. Back then it was disgustingly polluted and the entire family was glad to get out of it early the next day. Even the tap water tasted like it was 25% assorted chemicals.
That's simply not true and pure hyperbole. Gary's water has never been more that 22.3% assorted chemicals.
Gary very much reminds me of Trenton NJ. Was raised just outside in Hamilton and watched it deteriorate year after year. Pretty much the same situation. Industry left and businesses closed up followed by a chunk of its population. Somehow Trenton continues to limp along.
I live across the bridge in PA
@@michaelperry3694 out in az now but was born and raised on the outskirts of trenton
used to visit an uncle in Trenton during the 60s as a teen..we would drive from NYC..by 70' it was a shooting range..my uncle was old school Bronx carried around a handgun lol. and had a small pizza place downtown with a buddy.. constantly getting robbed over night..they left in 72'...I drove back around 25 yrs ago and couldn't believe how bad his area was.. completely abandoned and DRUGS EVERYWHERE..
From what I’ve seen, Clifton, NJ is the same thing way.
I just remember Gary from the Music Man. The song is stuck in my brain right now!
I think all cities should just have random dude names…like Clarence…or Tyrone.
Russell or miketown
You and I are kindred spirits. As I travel the US I've taken thousands of pictures of abandoned farms, towns, and such, but Gary appears to be an abandonment mecca. Thanks for the tour. I'll have to pass that way one day.
It would have been nice if you would have showed the east side of gary (Miller). It is a beautiful area along the shores of lake Michigan.
It's like time stood still which makes it so interesting. Glad this town hasn't been modernised and look just like every other modern town.
Very nice tour thank you
In the 80's i drove a truck a few times a month for my boss n we passed thru Gary, couldn't wait to get to Gary for breakfast, can't remember the name of the place but they had the best breakfast ever, waited 4-5 hours of driving to eat, worth it....
While sad to see the downfall of some of these cities, I agree with you there is a certain beauty to it all. I think we wax nostalgic for the good old days. And to see some of the relics and mementos it brings it all back to us . Art in ruins you could say. Appreciate your work Adam 👍
I can't always see the beauty with that. Sorry. Even for a guy who has an Aesthetic philosophy. I'd rather just see the past. And have it come back to life. Maybe just look at a photo of a once-there house, like Adam held up.
I used to live in Hammond,IN. My parents would drive us through Gary once in a while. We never had any issues. Cool video!
One thing that has not been mentioned is the Gary High School basketball legends. I am from central Indiana, always had at least one Gary HS basketball team in the Regionals and State finals. Oscar Robinson, WILSON EISOn, DICK BARNETT, GLENN ROBINSON, and the list goes on. Gary is not the only town in Indiana to die when industry left, Marion was hit very hard.
Nothing to do with industry leaving, every city boarding Gary is growing
Even in the state it's in Gary is beautiful. I can only imagine how it was when it was vibrant with activity, and would love for that to come again.
Your footage from the Demon House along was epic - “Demon House” was such a good documentary, I’m gonna go and watch it again 👍
I grew up in Hammond, which is directly west of Gary. My family always knew Gary to be a scary and dangerous place and we wouldn't go there unless we had a good reason to.
One night in the early '90s, my uncle fell asleep on a train in Chicago and woke up at the Gary station, so my parents had to drive there to pick him up. Once they got there, they had to be careful driving back because the crappy car they had would backfire at high speeds and it sounded like a drive-by shooting. My mom said that was one of the scariest nights of her life.
It's a shame what happened to Gary. It used to be a great American city a long time ago, but now it's a ghost town.
Fun fact: There was a town east of Gary that was formerly called "East Gary", but its name was changed to Lake Station in the 1970s because it didn't want to be associated with the rapidly declining city next door to it.
Fun Fact: East Gary was called Lake Station before it was East Gary, so it was Lake Station then East Gary then back to Lake Station
bro thank you this is so much better than most of the "LOOK POOR PEOPLE HOW SCARY" videos people always post of this area
I grew up in Merrillville. I married and moved away in 1972 when I was 20 years old. Went to the Palace Theatre as a pre-teen for the movies of the day. My mother would just drop us off and come back later to pick us up. We could also take a city bus to downtown Gary. It was safe to do that in the 60's.