Once an almost impenetrable landscape of dunes, marshes, and woodlands hugging the southern shore of Lake Michigan, the land comprising what would become East Chicago was a developer's dream for the emerging steel industry. Considered one of the country's ultimate melting pots, four out of five of its citizens hailed from other countries, each bringing their valued cultures and traditions to this thriving metropolis. The industrial jobs, requiring hard work and much grit, provided a way out of poverty, but the area also offered beautiful parks and mansions along the waterfront, as well as great schools, neighborhoods, and civic organizations. East Chicago had a sense of vitality and the essence that the American dream was available for all.