In 1975, Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary, Indiana enlisted the Whitley and Whitley Architecture firm for a bold effort to transform an urban landscape into an area of opportunity. Hatcher with Whitley and Whitley envisioned an outdoor civic platform to expand the functionality of existing urban assets and generate new ways of thinking about how cities can resiliently and resourcefully respond to the increasing needs of their citizens. This included the Gary Farmers Market, an open-air market situated on a triangular plot bordered by Adams, 10th, and the “Adams Loop.” 

The disappearance of the Market in 1977 meant both the loss of a hub for social interaction and weakened efforts to address ongoing urban food insecurity. Steel Studio aims to revitalize the urban social potential of this historic project by taking up its legacy. Today’s Gary Farmers Market is an initiative that has the potential to reintroduce a mini urban park to Gary, providing a variety of private and public moments in the otherwise utilitarian commercial area. The Market can serve as an iconic urban structure of maximized potential with functional elements reflected by the people of Gary and the Northwest Indiana region.