Stagnant Hope: Gary, Indiana

Through archival photographs, raw modern day footage, and interviews you will witness the rise, fall and uncertain future of Gary, Indiana; while examining the many perceptions and misconceptions about the city.

Gary, Indiana during the early 1900s was primarily a place for immigrants to receive work and made up a majority of this city. It was considered to be a miniature version of Chicago, due to it being smaller in size, but it had many of the luxuries desired by those who populated the city. Despite this the greatness of Gary, Indiana began to wither as the trademark name began to be removed from the daily Newspaper and companies stationed in Gary began to outsource to other locations.

It leaves the question of what Gary would have looked like it if it did not take the negative turn that it did. Would it be as famous as New York, LA and Chicago? Indiana has never been the state with the most limelight if any at all. It has mainly been known for its college basketball program and in the last two decades their professional football team.

Storyline

It took Gary, Indiana less than twenty years to grow from a fledgling company town to a mini-Chicago. After several decades of prosperity, it took roughly the same amount of time to resemble a post-industrial ghost town. For decades the place known as the 'Miracle City of the 20th Century' has been plagued with a series of social, economic, and perceptual problems that is keeping it fighting for its life in the 21st century. In Stagnant Hope, you will see first-hand four decades of Gary's abandonment and decay as well as what has been proposed to be done about it. While proposals for new development may offer hope for some, persistently negative perceptions surrounding Gary have done little to bring about any sizable positive change.