The city of Gary (Indiana) was founded in 1906 by United Steel Corporation. The jobs created by the steel industry provided Gary with very rapid growth, many people arrived quickly (mostly immigrants) as a result of the job opportunities. In the 1930s it became the fifth most populous city in Indiana. During these years, deep racial changes also occurred. Gary becomes the first city in the USA to have an African-American mayor. In the 60s due to global competition, the steel industry begins to decline. As a consequence, the company lays off many workers which leads to a drastic decline in its population. Currently, Gary is dominated by an interesting amount of stripclubs as well as a lot of churches that can literally be found opposite each other. “United Steel Life” is a piece of anthropological investigation through the objects of Gary: from the plastic plants of the cafeteria of the steel factory, the cans of soda with name in Spanish that were produced in that time until the wall that has more than 100 years and was created by Thomas Edison.
