Polk Street Terraces Historic District, Historic residential district in Gary, United States.
Polk Street Terraces Historic District is a residential neighborhood in Gary containing about 20 buildings that display features of Bungalow and American Craftsman architecture. The houses sit in rows along Polk Street and form a cohesive ensemble from the early 1900s.
The district took shape in 1910 when the United States Sheet & Tin Plate Company hired architect D.F. Creighton to design worker housing. The designs drew from construction concepts developed by Thomas Edison.
The district shows how industrial workers lived and organized their homes during the city's manufacturing boom. The style and arrangement of these houses reflect the needs and daily life of this working community.
You can explore the houses along Polk Street where most of the buildings are clustered together on a short stretch. Comfortable shoes work well for walking and viewing the exterior details of each home.
The buildings were constructed using concrete methods that Thomas Edison developed, which represents a rare surviving example of this experimental building technique. This makes the district a notable testament to early innovation in home construction.
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