Gary, the Most American of All American Cities

by O'Hara, S. Paul

• ISBN13: 9780253222886
• ISBN10: 0253222885
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-06
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

U.S. Steel created Gary, Indiana. The new steel plant and town built on the site in 1906 were at once a triumph of industrial capitalism and a bold experiment in urban planning. Gary became the canvas onto which the American public projected its hopes and fears about modern, industrial society. In its prime, Gary was known as "the magic city," "steel's greatest achievement," and "an industrial utopia"; later it would be called "the very model of urban decay." S. Paul O'Hara traces this stark reversal of fortune and reveals America's changing expectations. He delivers a riveting account of the boom or bust mentality of American industrialism from the turn of the 20th century to the present day.

Author Biography

S. Paul O'Hara is Assistant Professor of History at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Introduction: "Built as It Is on Shifting Sand"	p. 1
Gary, the Magic City: Creation Myths
"An Industrial Utopia": The Search for Industrial Order	p. 19
"Making a City to Order": U.S. Steel and the Building of an Industrial Center	p. 38
A City Built on Sand: Paradox and Meaning
"The Youngest City in the World": The Early Years of an Industrial Frontier	p. 57
"The Gibraltar of the Steel Corporation": Narrative Meaning in a Steel Strike	p. 74
"You're a Damned Liar-It's Utopia": Imagining Industrialism between the Wars	p. 93
The Very Model of Modern Urban Decay: Decline and Fall
"Gary Is a Steel City, Young, Lusty, Brawling": Declension Narratives about Gary	p. 121
"Epitaph for a Model City": Race, Deindustrialization, and Dystopia	p. 144
Conclusion: "In Search of America"	p. 166
Notes	p. 173
Selected Bibliography	p. 187
Index	p. 193
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