Robertsdale is a neighborhood in northernmost

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, north of 129th Street and south of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. It is bounded to the south by Pulaski Park, to the west by the

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neighborhood of East Side, to the north by

, and to the east by the cities of Whiting and East Chicago. The neighborhood's boundaries correspond to Hammond's Planning District I. The neighborhood is traversed by the Indiana Toll Road, which has an exit into the neighborhood at the Indianapolis Boulevard immediately east of the state line.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

passenger trains pass through Hammond/Whiting station in the neighborhood. The Whiting post office (46394) serves not only the city of Whiting but also this adjacent neighborhood in Hammond. Robertsdale and Whiting are "inextricably linked", sharing for example a single chamber of commerce. In the early 20th century, Whiting and Robertsdale shared a common ethnic composition: nearly 90% Slavic and 50% Slovak. The economies of both Whiting and Robertsdale have historically been dominated by the

Whiting Refinery The Whiting Refinery is an oil refinery located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal and operated by BP. The facility is primarily located in Whiting, Indiana, USA, though portions of the complex span i ...

, originally built by

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and now operated by British Petroleum.

History

The portion of the neighborhood near the northern tip of Wolf Lake corresponds to the former town of Roby. The name "Roby" continued long after the town was absorbed into Hammond, and the area was known in the early 20th century as a criminal haven. The Roby Speedway, a popular automotive racetrack, operated in the area from 1920 to 1936.

Geography

Robertsdale's geography is dominated by bodies of water: Wolf Lake and Lake George, largely surrounded by parkland, take up much of the neighborhood's southern half. The remainder of the neighborhood is divided between industrial uses north of Wolf Lake and residential uses to the east of Wolf Lake. Commercial corridors run along the Calumet Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard arteries. Local attractions include the

Horseshoe Hammond Horseshoe Casino Hammond, located in Hammond, Indiana, is a property containing gaming, entertainment, restaurants, bars, and lounges. History Horseshoe Casino originally opened as Empress Casino in 1996 as a , four-level gaming vessel. Horse ...

casino, on the

shore.

References

{{Hammond, Indiana Hammond, Indiana