Glen Park (Gary)

Glen Park, also sometimes called University Park, is the most populous neighborhood in Gary, Indiana. It is situated on the city's far south side, south of the Little Calumet River and Borman Expressway. The neighborhood is often divided into Glen Park East and Glen Park West, on the respective sides of Broadway. Within Gary, Glen Park borders on Black Oak to the west and Midtown and Pulaski to the north; beyond Gary, it adjoins Hobart, Merrillville, and unincorporated Calumet Township. As of 2000, the neighborhood had a population of 25,454, approximately a third of Gary's total population. In terms of race, as of 2000 Glen Park was 86% African-American, 9% white, and 5.5% Hispanic.[1]

Gleason Park Golf Course
Glen Park
Neighborhood
Intersection of 39th and Broadway
Intersection of 39th and Broadway
Location within the city of Gary
Location within the city of Gary
Coordinates: 41.553072°N 87.336509°W / 41.553072; -87.336509
Country United States
State Indiana
CountyLake County
CityGary
First settled1894
Annexed by Gary1926
Population
 (2000)[1]
 • Total25,454
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
46408, 46409
Area code219

History

Glen Park predates the founding of Gary by two decades. It was platted in 1894 by Chicagoans William Reissig and Charles Williams, near the intersection of the Nickel Plate Railroad and Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad ("Joliet Cutoff").[2] A post office was established in 1898. The community was originally named "Kelly," but had come to be called "Glen Park" by 1900.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19202,887—
193015,974453.3%
194017,94912.4%
195021,37319.1%
196027,32927.9%
197032,67119.5%
198032,399−0.8%
199027,705−14.5%
200025,454−8.1%
201018,875−25.8%
Source: US Census Bureau

After the city of Gary was founded in 1906, the county built a bridge across the Little Calumet to extend Broadway to Glen Park.[3] The portion of Glen Park north of 45th Avenue was annexed shortly thereafter, and the southern part followed in 1926.[3] The first school in Glen Park was built in 1909,[4] and the first church in 1911.[3] Streetcars along Broadway allowed millworkers to commute from Glen Park to the Gary Works at the northern end of Broadway.[3]

The area was strictly segregated until the 1960s, with blacks not allowed to cross the Little Calumet bridge except for work.[5] After Richard Hatcher became Gary's first Black mayor in 1967, a group of Glen Park citizens attempted to disannex from the city. Hatcher characterized the disannexation movement as "white reaction to black ascendency".[6] Glen Park disannexation efforts continued into the early 1970s but were ultimately unsuccessful.[7]

Glen Park today
Indiana University Northwest, in Glen Park.

Glen Park is home to Indiana University Northwest and the Gary campus of Ivy Tech Community College. The neighborhood is served by the Borman Expressway directly to its north, which has exits at Broadway and Grant streets, and by Interstate 65 to the east, which has an exit on Ridge Road. Public transportation is provided by the buses of the Gary Public Transportation Corporation, which run along Broadway, Grant and Ridge. Bike trails cross the northern and southern edges of the neighborhood, and there are numerous city parks including the Gleason golf course; the Little Calumet floodplain also provides significant greenspace.

The housing stock is dominated by single-family homes, of which about 50% are owner-occupied.[8] There is little industrial development, and most commercial development is clustered along the Grant and Broadway thoroughfares.[8]

References
  • City of Gary (2008). City of Gary, Indiana Comprehensive Plan (PDF).
  • Schoon, Kenneth J. (2003). Calumet Beginnings. ISBN 978-0-253-34218-8.
  1. City of Gary 2008, p. 162.
  2. Schoon 2003, p. 153.
  3. Schoon 2003, p. 154.
  4. Schoon 2003, p. 156.
  5. Millender, Dharathula (2003). Gary's Central Business Community. p. 41. ISBN 0-7385-2347-X.
  6. Hatcher, Richard G. (November 1969). "The Black Role in Urban Politics". Current History. 57 (339): 288.
  7. McKinlay, Archibald (1997-11-02). "Glen Park divided by move to secede from Gary". The Times. Munster, Indiana – via Newspapers.com.
  8. City of Gary 2008, p. 163.
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