Whiting is a city located in the

Chicago Metropolitan Area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

in Lake County, Indiana, which was founded in 1889. The city is located on the southern shore 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 ...

. It is roughly 16 miles from the

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

and two miles from Chicago's South Side. Whiting is home to Whiting Refinery, the largest oil refinery in the Midwest. The population was 4,997 at the 2010 census.

History

A post office was first established at Whiting in 1871. Whiting was incorporated in 1895. It was named after a trainman who was killed in a crash there. The Hoosier Theater Building, Henry and Caroline Schrage House, and Whiting Memorial Community House are listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Whiting has a total area of , of which (or 55.74%) is land and (or 44.26%) is water. The Whiting post office (46394) serves not only the city of Whiting, but also the adjacent

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

neighborhood of Robertsdale, immediately to the west. Addresses in this Hammond neighborhood show “Whiting, Indiana.” While not legally a part of the city of Whiting, locally the area has long been informally considered to be a culturally integrated part of Whiting. References to Whiting businesses or residents often include those technically from Hammond's Robertsdale.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 4,997 people, 1,899 households, and 1,210 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 2,197 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.3%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 3.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 15.7% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 40.7% of the population. There were 1,899 households, of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.32. The median age in the city was 34.4 years. 26.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.3% were from 25 to 44; 24.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Parks

Whiting is home to five parks. Whiting Park, located on the

shoreline, is the most well known. It is a popular picnic spot for residents of Lake County, the South Side of Chicago, and Southland. Whihala Beach is located next to Whiting Park between Whiting and neighboring

Education

School City of Whiting School City of Whiting is a school district headquartered in Whiting, Indiana, United States. The district serves Whiting. School uniforms All Whiting schools require their students to wear school uniforms. Schools The district includes three sc ...

serves Whiting. Whiting High School is the sole public high school serving Whiting. The city is also home to a historic Carnegie Library, built in 1905. Whiting Public Library is located at 1735 Oliver Street.

Calumet College of St. Joseph Calumet College of St. Joseph (or, Calumet College) is a private Roman Catholic college in Whiting, Indiana. It was founded in 1951 as an extension of Saint Joseph's College and is associated with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. In fal ...

is a

private college Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. D ...

affiliated with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

through the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Its main campus is in Whiting, Indiana, with additional campuses located in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and Merrillville, Indiana. The college was founded in 1951 as an extension of the now defunct Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana and currently enrolls 1,262 students.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Amtrak's Wolverine line stops at Hammond–Whiting station in nearby Hammond. Airports serving Whiting are

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

, Midway International Airport, and Gary/Chicago International Airport located 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 mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

Notes of interest

Polish Dancers at Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana (2010)

Pierogi Fest is held each year on 119th Street in downtown Whiting to honor the venerable

pierogi Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water. They are often pan-fried before serving. Pierogi or their varieties are associated with the cuisines of Central, ...

dumpling. Spanning three days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during the last full weekend of July, the event draws in crowds from around the Calumet Region with guests coming from all over the globe. The city was featured in an episode of MTV's ''High School Stories''. Scenes from the movie '' Rudy'', starring Sean Astin, as well as the 1981 drama '' Four Friends'', were shot in Whiting.IMDb listing #2 for ''Four Friends''
/ref> Standard Oil of Indiana, later Amoco, was founded and headquartered here. The

Mascot Hall of Fame The Mascot Hall of Fame, formally "The Mascot Hall of Fame Interactive Children's Museum", is a hall of fame for North American sports mascots. It was founded by David Raymond, who was the original Phillie Phanatic The Phillie Phanatic is the ...

, honoring costumed characters from college and professional sports, is located in Whiting.

Notable people

George Buksar George Benjamin Buksar (August 12, 1926 – February 22, 2011) was an American football fullback and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Colts. He also played for the Chicago Hornet ...

, football player * George Burman, football player * William Merriam Burton, worked at the Standard Oil refinery in Whiting; became president of Standard Oil * Mary-Lou Daniels, junior world champion tennis player * Richard Dufallo, clarinetist, author, and conductor * John M. Ford, science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet; raised in Whiting * Joe Kopcha, football player *

Steve Kraly Steve Charles (Lefty) Kraly (April 18, 1929 – March 7, 2016) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played five games for the New York Yankees in 1953, compiling a 0–2 record, with a 3.24 ERA over 25 innings. He batted and threw left-handed. ...

, baseball player * Ferid Murad, co-recipient of 1998

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ( sv, Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin) is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or ...

* James J. Nejdl, State Senator and pioneer of Indiana Old-Age Pension Legislation. Former City council member, postmaster general, school board and public work board member. * Al Pilarcik, baseball player * Patrick Lucien Price, video game designer and editor; worked on Dungeons & Dragons game * Irene Purcell, actress *

Joe Sotak Joseph John Sotak (February 9, 1914 – December 11, 2007) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for Whiting/Hammond Ciesar All-Americans and averaged 4.1 points per game. References 19 ...

, basketball player * David Wagoner, poet

External links

City of Whiting, Indiana websitePierogi Festival website
*

References

{{authority control * Cities in Indiana Cities in Lake County, Indiana Northwest Indiana Populated places established in 1889 1889 establishments in Indiana Indiana populated places on Lake Michigan Sundown towns in Indiana