Calumet Regional Archives

Inventory

26.50 Linear Feet
Collection Begun: December 1985

Introduction

Mr. David W. Marr, Executive Secretary, City of Gary Department of Redevelopment, donated the Mid-City Investment Company Records to the Calumet Regional Archives on September 9, 1983.

Property rights in the collection are held by the Calumet Regional Archives; literary rights are dedicated to the public. There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Linear feet of shelf space: 26.50
Number of containers: 27 boxes
Calumet Regional Archives Collection 162
Arranged and Described by : Stephen McShane
Date: December, 1985

Scope and Content

The Mid-City Investment Company Records document the history of real estate activities in Gary from 1918 to 1973. The collection contains records from a number of related Mid-City Investment firms, including Mid-City Realty Company, Mid-City Savings and Loan, Mid-City Company of America, Consolidated Investments, County Realty Company, Credit Corporation, Glueck Brothers, and the South Gary Real Estate Company; the major portion of the collection deals with the Mid-City Realty Company. Several Series constitute the collection, such as Property Files, Correspondence / Office Files, Financial Records, Glueck Family Personal Papers, Photographs, Blueprints and Maps.

The major series in the collection comprises the property files (1911-1974), with the heaviest concentration during the period 1914-1950. These records include mortgagor / mortgagee correspondence, deeds, surveys, mortgages and notes, and other papers generated during the property transaction. Many of the files include appraisal reports, detailing the value of the property, descriptions of buildings and neighborhoods (including ethnicity), and projections for the future. Also personal credit reports appear in some files and offer data on employment, nationality, age, family, and financial history. A small sample of the files contain various bills and invoices for repairs and maintenance.

While most of the correspondence in the property files traces routine communications, such as demanding and / or acknowledging payments, some files' (particularly from properties in Mack's 1st Addition to Gary) correspondence concern mortgagee's problems with health or unemployment and hope for a better life in Gary. For example, many buyers lived in southern states, bought lots without inspecting them, and sent descriptive letters along with their monthly payment. In return, the Mid-City representative (usually Louis Glueck, the firm's founder) would respond with reports of new industries and a booming economy in the "Steel City." Thus, the property files reveal not only technical and statistical information in individual property purchases, but also provide insight in the economic and social trends of the buyers and residents of Gary during the early period of rapid growth in the city. Although most of this series deals with Gary Midtown and Glen Park properties, property files for locations in Hammond, Munster, East Chicago, Lake Station, East Gary, Hobart, and Lansing, Illinois exist in the collection. The files are arranged by street address and by legal description within specific subdivisions - the boundaries for these subdivisions are listed in the inventory.

The Correspondence / Office Files series supplies information on the processing of loans and collections of taxes and payments. In addition, legal disputes concerning lending practices and competition among mortgage firms are highlighted in the series. Of special interest is correspondence from L. Hayman Company, embracing helpful narratives of Gary's building boom and opportunities for investment. Also the Uncompleted Sales correspondence contains many letters from workers in other states seeking housing and relocation in Gary. Finally, a sub-series of Louis Glueck's correspondence with local politicians is included.

The Financial Records series focuses upon tax matters, assets and liabilities, income, and the financial health of several of the Mid-City companies. Receiver's correspondence and working papers (1932-1942) reveal the administration of the various companies operating under receivership in the Great Depression. Annual Reports and Examination Reports (1937-1951) offer continued information on the financial stability of the Mid-City firm. The Glueck Family Personal Papers Series furnishes additional financial records of the companies as well as personal economic data of several family members.

An extremely valuable series in the collection contains photographs and mortgage surveys with photographs of houses for many of the properties listed in the Property Files series. The images reveal physical details of neighborhoods and dwellings as well as domestic architecture in the 1920s through the 1950s. Combined with price and cost information in the property files, the photographs portray a useful record of housing and economic and social status relationships in the city.

Finally, Plat Maps provide the means to locate the position of a property parcel and particularly helpful is using files with only legal descriptions as address.

The Mid-City Investment Company Records document partially the economic development of Gary during a period of tremendous expansion in the city. In addition, those records provide insight into housing and lifestyles of Gary's "ordinary people." For the economic or business historian, the social historian, or the genealogist, the Mid-City collection will serve as a useful resource for the study of Gary's history for most of the twentieth century.

Researchers should note that historical information on the Mid-City firm is located in Box 1, File Folder 1. Also, researchers should be aware that many additional files of the company were lost due to the abandonment of the Mid-City Bank Building at 1300 Broadway; the building was destroyed in late 1984 or early 1985. For more details see the Calumet Regional Archives Newsletter, #7, Autumn 1985, attached to this inventory.