Gary’s first Methodist church was established in 1906. In October of 1916, Dr. William Grant Seaman became pastor. Seaman relished his role in the growing congregation, but he had bigger dreams; he wanted to build a new church to serve the social, cultural, and spiritual needs of the town’s citizens.
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Over the years several attempts were made to renovate and re-appropriate the City Methodist church, but none would come to fruition before October of 1997 when a large fire ravaged downtown Gary. The fire destroyed most of the roof, exposing the interior to the elements and accelerating decay.
It wasn't until 1999 the city finally put up a fence around the long-abandoned church to protect it from vandals and drug dealings.
Today the church still stands, but most of the complex is beyond repair. There isn’t much left of the gym; after the 1997 opened up the roof, it later completely collapsed in 2010 (below). Nearly every window in Seaman Hall is missing, and the building is crumbling inside and out.