Portal:Indiana/Cities/4

Gary is the largest city in Lake County, Indiana, USA. The city is located in the southeastern portion of Chicagoland and is approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 102,746 and is the largest Indiana city that is not a county seat. The city sits on the southern end of the former lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Chicago, and the current Lake Michigan. Most of the city's soil nearly one foot below the surface is pure sand. The city was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant, and named after the chairman of U.S. Steel, Elbert H. Gary.