Decay Devils

A small house with a big story.

This is the Land Company House in Gary. Built during the earliest days of the city, it once served as an office responsible for selling lots and helping shape the brand new steel town being built around U.S. Steel in the early 1900s. (And a school / post office)

Over the decades the little building has been moved multiple times, adapting as the city around it evolved. What remains is one of the few physical reminders of Gary’s earliest planning and development years.

In 2019, we did some small beautification work here to help draw attention to the site and its story. Behind the house sits the historic EJ&E 765 Steam Locomotive, which our team resurfaced and repainted in 2022 to help preserve another piece of regional history.

It’s encouraging to see the house now showing signs of stabilization work. Places like this may be small, but they hold big pieces of the story of how cities are built, changed, and remembered.

Gary’s history is still standing... sometimes it just needs a little help to keep doing so.

PreserveHistory IndustrialHeritage

On 3/1 I had the chance to visit Fernwood Botanical Garden and talk about Decay Devils, travel, and photography.

Slipped in a few slides about the books and short film too because all of it connects.

Art opened more lanes than I ever planned for. New places. New rooms. New growth.
Grateful for spaces that make room for the story.

Good afternoon everyone.

If you’ve noticed we’ve been a little quiet, it’s because I disappeared to finish a book. Turns out writing 420 pages takes some time.

Now that it’s done, we’re back at it. We have great events coming up and some beautiful architectural gems in the region ready to be showcased.

Thanks for sticking with us. Stay tuned.

Gary preservation advocate publishes new book Tyrell Anderson’s new book, “Still Frames and Soundtracks,” will be released Feb. 16, and it’s a collection of his daily reflections.