Posted by FLAMINN This thing is insane. what a beautiful piece of architecture. the history she holds must be quite the story
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Probably the same as every other abandoned house of worship.
The decline is a story of a collapse of the middle-class in Gary. The primary employer in Gary was US Steel. When the steel crisis hit in 1972-73, US Steel made substantial cuts to the Gary plant and membership in the church began to decline.
By 1975, at the height of the steel crisis in 1975, the church membership was so small, it could no longer continue to operate. The property was sold to Indiana University(IU), who used it as a satellite campus. Presumably to retrain steel mill workers for other careers.
IU didn't do any upkeep on the property and it steadily fell into disrepair. The church has been abandoned since about 1995, but hasn't had any upkeep or maintenance since the congregation folded in 1975. There was a fire in 1997.