Some beautiful detail inside the City Church in Gary Indiana, officially the City Methodist Church, once the largest Methodist church in the Midwest, it ceased as a place of worship in 1975 after a relatively brief life of just over 50 years.
After Gary declined in the 1960s and 70s, the church’s fortunes began to likewise crumble. Predominantly a white middle-class institution, the church lost large numbers of parishioners to white flight as Gary’s social makeup altered and better-off inhabitants moved away. Crime rates in the area soared, causing more departures, and maintenance costs were ruinous, owing to the church’s huge dimensions and the harsh lakefront climate. By 1973, there were only 320 members in the then-aging congregation, about a third of whom regularly attended. After attempts to sell the building to another congregation proved fruitless, the decision was eventually taken to close the church in 1975.
Despite being abandoned for 47 years, there is still hidden beauty in all these old forgotten places.
Thanks for looking!
