Ramble with a Plan: Gary, Indiana

Gary, a former steel-producing powerhouse, is a town full of neglected brick buildings, boarded-up windows, and grey nothing for a skyline, which are ideal conditions for urban exploration.

If you want to understand the long-faded vibrancy of this town, look no further than its collapsing Methodist Cathedral. It was our first and only stop, providing us with more broken beauty than we could’ve asked for.

At first, we surveyed its shattered stained-glass windows from the safety of the sidewalk.

Then, feeling bold, Ali and Renee scurried quickly through overgrowth in the church’s side-yard to enter.

Ali stood declaratively on a green chair situated in the middle of the aisle.

Not long ago, this church was full of hope. Now, its decay tells a different story. We all remained reverently quiet.

A presence was there, shining in through broken glass, framed in arches, and sneaking illuminations through the cracks under closed doors.

Sure, everything was falling apart, but even its ruins were lovely. It felt appropriate to pay it respect by appreciating the way it still stood strong among the rubble.

Staircases with grand banisters piled high with dirt were begging to be climbed.

It was easy to imagine how warm and inviting this front room once was with a big fire roaring in the winter time.

Hallways stretched down a ways and then disappeared in shadows.

The wind was biting cold and our fingers were becoming too numb to push buttons on our camera, so we picked up our pace and disappeared deeper into the guts of this old building.

We found our way to the roof and crossed a precarious rusty bridge that straddled two buildings.

Once on the other side, we found ourselves standing in what was once the bottom of a pool. Its tar paper bottom was the only thing left as evidence that water once covered its surface.