Midtown, also called Central, is a neighborhood in central

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

. For many decades it was the only

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American. ...

in the city. It is located south of Downtown West and north of Glen Park along Broadway, Gary's principal thoroughfare. It adjoins the neighborhoods of

Tolleston Tolleston is a neighborhood and former town in west-central Gary, Indiana. It is situated south of Ambridge, west of Midtown, east of Westside and north of Black Oak. Tolleston is the site of two large city parks (MC Bennett Park and Tolleston ...

to the west and Pulaski to the east. As of 2000, Midtown had a population of 12,056. The Midtown neighborhood began as a community of poor

white ethnic White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they were ...

millworkers, who were excluded from the more upscale neighborhoods close to the

Gary Works The Gary Works is a major steel mill in Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel ...

. Significant African American immigration began after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; the neighborhood remained integrated for a time, but gradually the whites moved out as housing became available elsewhere, while the blacks were kept in Midtown by segregationist city ordinances. The neighborhood's white population dropped from 25% in 1940 to 4% in 1950. In the 1950 census, Midtown accounted for 97% of Gary's black population. Prior to desegregation, Midtown was a largely self-contained African-American community: because blacks were largely excluded from

Downtown Gary Downtown Gary is split by Broadway into two separate neighborhoods in north-central Gary, Indiana. Emerson and Downtown West combine to form what is known as Downtown Gary. It was part of the original plat built by the United States Steel Corpor ...

, most retail activity was kept within the neighborhood. Charlies

During the

Richard Hatcher Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

administration in the 1960s and 1970s, Midtown was targeted for

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

, and thousands of substandard homes were demolished. Today Midtown's housing stock is a mixture of single-family and multi-family homes, including a number of affordable housing developments. As of 2000, the

owner-occupancy Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, ...

rate was 36.6%. Commercial activity is concentrated along Broadway and Grant streets. The neighborhood was served by the W.E.B. DuBois branch of the

Gary Public Library Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Uni ...

until it was consolidated with the main branch, and also has its own post office. Public transportation is provided by buses of the

Gary Public Transportation Corporation The Gary Public Transportation Corporation (GPTC) is a commuter bus system in Gary, Indiana that offers service to numerous stops throughout the city and neighboring suburbs. GPTC is a public corporation owned but not directly controlled by the ...

running along Broadway. The neighborhood is the site of Theodore Roosevelt High School. Famous people from Midtown include the musicians of the

Jackson family The Jackson family is an American family of musicians and entertainers from Gary, Indiana. Many of the children of Joseph Walter (or Joe) and Katherine Esther Jackson were successful musicians, notably the brothers that formed the Motown boy b ...

, such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

. Other noted Midtown residents include educator Ida B. King. The neighborhood also hosted many jazz and blues musicians during the segregation period.

References

* * {{Gary neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Gary, Indiana