Adam Benjamin Metro Center

Gary Metro Center (also known as the Adam Benjamin Metro Center) is a multimodal commuter hub operated by the Gary Public Transportation Corporation. It was built in 1984 as an elevated replacement of the previously ground-level Broadway Street station.^[2] Named in honor of local US Representative Adam Benjamin Jr.,^[3] who died in 1982, it serves as the central bus terminal and the Downtown Gary station on the South Shore Line. It also serves as a stop for Greyhound Lines and other intercity bus systems.

Gary Metro
Metro Center station in April 2016.
General information
Other names	Adam Benjamin Metro Center
Location	200 West 4th Avenue Gary, Indiana
Coordinates	41°36′17″N 87°20′18″W
Owned by	The city of Gary, Indiana
Platforms	1 low-level island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Gary Public Transportation Corporation
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	Yes
Architect	H. Seay Cantrell Associates
Other information
Fare zone	5
History
Opened	1984
Electrified	1,500 V DC
Passengers
2019	426 (average weekday)[1]
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station Gary/​Chicago Airport toward Millennium Station South Shore Line Miller toward South Bend Airport
Former services Preceding station NICTD Following station Ambridge Closed 1994 toward Randolph Street South Shore Line Miller toward South Bend Airport
Track layout Legend to Millennium SR 53 (Broadway) I-90 / Indiana Toll Road to South Bend Airport
Location

It is one of three NICTD electric train stations in Gary, and serves the Genesis Convention Center and the U.S. Steel Yard baseball park, home of the Gary SouthShore RailCats baseball team. The RailCats's full name, SouthShore RailCats, honors the South Shore Line.

The station is just south of the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) and the disused Gary Union Station. The tracks of the former Baltimore and Ohio (now CSX) and New York Central Railroads (now Norfolk Southern) also lie near the station.

Structure

The station consists of a single elevated low-level island platform with mobile wheelchair lifts to allow passengers with disabilities to board and disembark. The platform can be accessed from the second floor of stairs located adjacent to Broadway as well as via the second floor of the station building.^[4] The station was designed by Gary-based architectural firm H. Seay Cantrell Associates.^[3]

Bus connections

Gary Public Transportation Corporation

Local Routes

• Route L1: West-Central via Grant
• Route L2: Oak/County Line via Aetna
• Route L3: Crosstown Connector
• Route L4: University Park

Regional Routes

• Route R1: R1: Lakeshore Connection
• Route R3: Burr Street and Lake Ridge
• Route R-BMX: Broadway Metro Express

Greyhound Lines

History

A westbound train at Gary in August 1975

Gary station opened in 1908 as an inaugural stop along the new Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway; it was located at Broadway and Third,^[2] near the United States Steel Corporation plant and several steam railroad stations. The station building had a footprint of 23 by 78 feet (7.0 m × 23.8 m) and featured a tile roof. A 200-foot (61 m) platform, level with car floors, was provided for passengers and freight handling. A storage yard and wye were also provided. It contained a ticket office, waiting rooms, and baggage room.^[5] A new station building had replaced the original by the 1950s.^[2]

The modern station was dedicated on October 16, 1985.^[6]