With an economy tied to the steel industry, it saw extraordinary growth at the beginning of the 20th century.
The city got its name from Elbert Henry Gary, the founding chairman of the US Steel Corporation.
It has also maintained some surprising connections to Hollywood.
As the birthplace of Michael Jackson, Gary hosts an annual tribute to the legendary singer.
The city has also served as a location for films like Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Though Gary is just 30 minutes outside Chicago, luring residents to the area has proven difficult.
Gary's Dollar Home Program isn't the first of its kind.
The program was modeled on an initiative by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which indirectly sold Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson her first home.
Freeman-Wilson originally hoped to sell 50 of the dollar homes each year, but only a handful are listed on the site.
The city opened its Dollar Home Program to non-residents to attract more buyers.
Source: The Times of Northwest Indiana
Like many former manufacturing towns, Gary hopes to reverse a period of longstanding blight.
Historian S. Paul O'Hara summed up the city's dollar home program to the New York Times: "It's not flashy," he said. "It doesn't come with promises, but it does come with possibilities."
