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It’s important for city residents to have pride, Tyrell Anderson said, which is part of the reason why the Decay Devils installed a new art piece at the SouthShore RailCats SteelYard.
“How do you encourage people who do have pride to speak up more?” said Anderson, president of Decay Devils. “I think the more we do that in unison, the more of an impact it has.”
The Decay Devils installed an “I Love Gary” sign outside the RailCats’ stadium. The group received funding for the sign through a $60,000 grant from the Legacy Foundation, Anderson said.
The mayor’s office and U.S. Steel contributed to the funds, Anderson said, but the Legacy Foundation distributed the money.
The 20-foot sign is larger than the group expected, which Anderson said made the stadium a great place to display it. They didn’t want it to be in a more limited space.
RailCats General Manager Anthony Giammanco said in an email that the Decay Devils and City of Gary Mayor’s Office approached the organization about the sign. The RailCats “jumped at the opportunity” to have it featured at the stadium.
“We are proud to be a longstanding staple of downtown Gary and look forward to having many visitors stopping by the ballpark to see and take pictures with the sign,” Giammanco said in an email.
The Decay Devils worked with ACC Signs and Design in Crown Point to create the “I Love Gary” sign, Anderson said. The sign was near completion in August before a fire broke out at the facility, and the company had to restart the project.
Although there were setbacks, Anderson said Decay Devils liked working with the sign company and understood the situation.
“They came through and finished it up for us,” he said. “We still have a few more things to touch up, but we all were adamant about at least getting the bulk of the sign in place this year.”
Since the installation, the group has received a lot of interaction on social media, Anderson said, including more than 80,000 impressions within the first 24 hours on Facebook. He thinks the Instagram engagement was about 20,000 people.
“It’s nice to see people going out, taking pictures with the sign, sharing their fond memories,” Anderson said. “I believe this city has had people reach out to them interested in actually developing and installing more signs, and this is the direction that we were hoping it would go.”
Although feedback from the “I Love Gary” sign has been great, Anderson said the Decay Devils plan to focus on its Union Station project.
The nonprofit has worked since 2016 to preserve the former train station.
Decay Devils plans to raise $2 million to transform the station into a mixed-use community space, with dining and offices, according to the organization’s website. The project will cost at least $6 million, and the nonprofit has received funding from private donors, grants and tax credits.
The group plans to work on events with the Gary Art Council, but Anderson said the majority of their focus will be on Union Station.
“We haven’t touched too much art for 2025,” Anderson said. “If something major falls in our lap we might look at it, but our focus is more so on how we can finish up Union Station.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
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