Campus

IU Northwest

Installation Date

9/26/2019

Marker Text

In 1955, the city of Gary donated land for the site of a new Indiana University campus, the Gary Extension Center. The first building, Gary Main, opened in 1959. The Indiana limestone structure housed all campus facilities: classrooms, science labs, administrative and faculty offices, a library, a bookstore, lounges, a lobby for exhibits, and a 600-seat auditorium. Serving as a cultural catalyst, Gary Main established the first regional campus theater program in 1961. It became a cultural hub for the region, sponsoring many community/campus theater productions, art exhibits, and other performances. A large addition was completed in 1966. Upon the inauguration of the IU regional campus system in 1968, the Gary Extension Center became Indiana University Northwest. In 1977, Gary Main was renamed Tamarack Hall, after a tree species common in the region. Devastated by a flood in 2008, it never reopened and was demolished in 2012.

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