Hammond, Indiana

File:Hammond, Indiana (circa 1908).jpg

The first European-descended residents arrived around 1847 to settle on land between the Grand and Little Calumet Rivers, on the south end of Lake Michigan. Those first residents of European descent were German immigrant farmers looking for land and opportunity. Before that time, the area was a crossroad for Indian tribes, explorers, stagecoach lines and supply lines to the West. Convenient location and abundant fresh water from Lake Michigan led to the beginning of Hammond's industrialization in 1869 with the George H. Hammond Company meat-packing plant following merchants and farmers to the area. Hammond was incorporated on April 21, 1884, and was named after the Detroit butcher.{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5404|title=Profile for Hammond, Indiana|publisher=ePodunk|access-date=June 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915064330/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5404|archive-date=September 15, 2015|url-status=dead}}

Hammond is one of the oldest cities in Lake County, with Crown Point being the oldest (established in 1834).

According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, George Henry Hammond, a pioneer in the use of refrigerated railcars for the transport of fresh meat, first used this method with his small packing company in Detroit, Michigan. In 1868, Hammond received a patent for a refrigerator car design. In the early 1870s, he built a new plant in northern Indiana along the tracks of the Michigan Central Railroad. By 1873, the George H. Hammond Co. was selling $1 million worth of meat a year; by 1875, sales were nearly $2 million. The company's large packing house in Hammond rivaled those located at the Union Stock Yard in Chicago. By the middle of the 1880s, when it built a new plant in Omaha, Nebraska, Hammond was slaughtering over 100,000 cattle a year and owned a fleet of 800 refrigerator cars. After Hammond died in 1886, the company became less important and no longer challenged the giant Chicago packers, who acquired Hammond at the turn of the century and merged it into their National Packing Co.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The Hammond Whiting & East Chicago Electric Railway Company trolley service ran from 1893 to 1940.{{Citation|url=https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/calumet-roots-trolleys-were-hammond-success/article_e5a5231d-5658-5405-b848-67c490bd0297.html |title=Calumet Roots. Trolleys were Hammond success |first=Archibald |last=McKinlay |newspaper=The Times of Northwest Indiana |date=January 26, 1997 |location=Munster, Indiana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617041911/https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/calumet-roots-trolleys-were-hammond-success/article_e5a5231d-5658-5405-b848-67c490bd0297.html |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}

On June 22, 1918, the Hammond circus train wreck occurred about {{convert|5.5|mi|km}} east of the city, killing 86 and injuring 127 persons.{{cite book|last=Lytle |first=Richard M. |title=The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918: Tragedy on the Indiana Lakeshore |publisher=The History Press |date=2010 |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire, England |isbn=978-1596299313}}

The downtown Hammond shopping district along State Street and Hohman Avenue included major chains such as Sears and J. C. Penney. The largest stores in downtown were the Goldblatt's and E.C. Minas department stores.{{Citation|url=http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=70&ArticleID=51176 |title=Hammond's downtown shopping district once a retail mecca |first=Jeff |last=Burton |newspaper=The Times of Northwest Indiana |date=November 27, 2009 |location=Munster, Indiana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228060238/http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=70&ArticleID=51176 |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all |quote=At various points in the city's 125-year history, major national retailers like Sears, J.C. Penney, Kresge's and F.W. Woolworth all had downtown storefronts, but the giants of Hohman and State were local stores, E.C. Minas and Goldblatt's. The two department stores occupied more than 300,000 square feet of retail space.}} The E.C. Minas store was constructed in 1894 and was in business until August 1984.{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/minas-building-downtown-fixture-for-years/article_eccd5756-9a86-5612-bb91-480d8782c62d.html|title= Minas building downtown fixture for 108 years|first= Sharon|last= Porta|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= February 6, 2002|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617032854/https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/minas-building-downtown-fixture-for-years/article_eccd5756-9a86-5612-bb91-480d8782c62d.html|archive-date= June 17, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote=The Minas building was constructed in 1894 and the neighboring building, the Henderson building, was constructed prior to 1904...The store closed its doors for good on August 15, 1984.}} The building which housed the Goldblatt's store had been purchased by the Chicago-based retailer in 1931 and operated until 1982 when it closed due to bankruptcy.{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/when-goldblatts-closed-hammond-lost-a-part-of-its-identity/article_99f3b1b6-6ced-5783-ace0-39eb4b390be5.html|title= When Goldblatts closed, Hammond lost a part of its identity|first= Alison|last= Skertic|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= October 12, 1999|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617033858/https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/when-goldblatts-closed-hammond-lost-a-part-of-its-identity/article_99f3b1b6-6ced-5783-ace0-39eb4b390be5.html|archive-date= June 17, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= The Goldblatts building had stood on Hohman Avenue since the 1920s, when it was known as the Lion's store. Goldblatt Brothers Inc. bought the store in 1931 and retained control until the store closed in 1982.}}

The Pullman Standard Car Company built M4 Sherman tanks in Hammond during World War II.{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/hammond-made-tanks-star-in-world-war-ii-movie-fury/article_70121e22-c37d-54cf-a6d4-c513b538be35.html|title= Hammond-made tanks star in World War II movie Fury|first= Joseph S.|last= Pete|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= October 25, 2014|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150128204557/https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/hammond-made-tanks-star-in-world-war-ii-movie-fury/article_70121e22-c37d-54cf-a6d4-c513b538be35.html|archive-date= January 28, 2015|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= Pullman made railroad cars on Chicago's South Side but was pressed into military service during the war. In less than a year, Hammond native Raymond Fox set up a tank and weapons factory at 165th Street and Columbia Avenue in south Hammond.}}{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/wwii-veteran-joins-historians-for-program-on-hammond-tank-production/article_7aba9939-d5a7-51cc-b1ff-daeb5d8f15d7.html|title= WWII veteran joins historians for program on Hammond tank production|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= April 16, 2015|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617035435/https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/wwii-veteran-joins-historians-for-program-on-hammond-tank-production/article_7aba9939-d5a7-51cc-b1ff-daeb5d8f15d7.html|archive-date= June 17, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= Hammond was one of 10 locations in the U.S. that built the M4 medium tank.}}

Architect Victor Gruen designed the Woodmar Mall{{cite book|last= Hardwick|first= M. Jeffrey|chapter= Chapter Five: A 'Shopper's Paradise' for Suburbia|title= Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream|publisher= University of Pennsylvania Press|date= 2003|location= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page= 118|isbn= 978-0812237627|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=u3ljCgAAQBAJ&q=Woodmar+Victor+Gruen&pg=PA118}} in the Woodmar neighborhood. The mall opened in 1954 and was anchored by a Carson Pirie Scott and Co. store.{{Citation|last= Bierschenk|first= Edwin|title= A sporting chance for revival at former Woodmar site|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= June 7, 2016|location= Munster, Indiana|url= http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/a-sporting-chance-for-revival-at-former-woodmar-site/article_c5e0a2c4-4e1b-52bb-901d-7a90e64bb10e.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116073720/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/a-sporting-chance-for-revival-at-former-woodmar-site/article_c5e0a2c4-4e1b-52bb-901d-7a90e64bb10e.html|archive-date= January 16, 2017|url-status= live}}

According to the 1960 United States census Hammond's population reached a record high of 111,698 residents.[http://www.hammondindiana.com/history2.htm History] hammondindiana.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427142016/http://hammondindiana.com/history2.htm |date=April 27, 2007 }} Hammond, like other industrial cities in the Rust Belt, went into decline during the 1970s and 1980s, with the city's population plunging to 94,000 in 1980, and 83,000 in 2000. However, Hammond's economy was more diversified than neighboring Gary, Indiana, East Chicago, Indiana, and the south side of Chicago, which all relied on heavy industry (primarily steel production). Hammond's economy, on the other hand, depended on light manufacturing, transportation & warehousing, retail, banking & insurance, healthcare, hospitality & food service, and construction.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} In 1981, a toxic flood in Gary led Hammond to erect a barrier on 165th Street, one of several roads connecting the two cities, which led to lasting tensions with Gary.{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=William E. |title=Hammond Journal: Earthen Barrier Serves as Both Dam and Symbol |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/05/us/hammond-journal-earthen-barrier-serves-as-both-dam-and-symbol.html |access-date=October 26, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date= September 5, 1988 |page=6}}

Prominent manufacturing companies in Hammond include Unilever's soap factory, Atlas Tube, Cargill food processing, Munster Steel, Lear Seating Corporation, Jupiter Aluminum, Tri-State Automation, and Dover Chemical. Warehousing and storage is also prominent, with ExxonMobil and Marathon Petroleum having large oil storage facilities, and FedEx has a distribution center. Large railroad marshalling yards are also present in the city, with the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad's headquarters in the city. The State Line Generating Plant operated on the Indiana-Illinois state line from 1929 to 2012, and was demolished in 2014.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The Empress Casino opened in Hammond in June 1996 and was replaced with the Horseshoe Hammond casino in 2001.{{Citation|url= https://www.nwitimes.com/business/gambling/for-nwi-casinos-it-s-been-years-and-billion/article_6a4cba22-c304-54bf-ab73-9237c9ddb0db.html|title= For NWI casinos, it's been 20 years and $20 billion|first= Andrew|last= Steele |newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= June 26, 2016|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161002111214/https://www.nwitimes.com/business/gambling/for-nwi-casinos-it-s-been-years-and-billion/article_6a4cba22-c304-54bf-ab73-9237c9ddb0db.html|archive-date= October 2, 2016|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= The original Empress Casino in Hammond — officially open for business on June 29, 1996 — was a standard boat at 43,000 square feet of gaming space.}}

In February 2006, the decision was made to demolish Woodmar Mall except for the Carson's store.{{Citation|last= Holecek|first= Andrea|title= Wrecking ball aimed at Woodmar Mall|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|date= February 8, 2006|location= Munster, Indiana|url= http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/wrecking-ball-aimed-at-woodmar-mall/article_c7c20b69-d236-5a22-b3c6-f3577eecf5ea.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116072253/http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/wrecking-ball-aimed-at-woodmar-mall/article_c7c20b69-d236-5a22-b3c6-f3577eecf5ea.html|archive-date= January 16, 2017|url-status= live}} The Hammond Redevelopment Commission announced plans in June 2016 for a $12 million sports complex to be built on the site of the former mall.{{Citation|last= Quinn|first= Michelle L.|title= Former Woodmar property eyed for sports complex|newspaper= Post-Tribune|date= June 8, 2016|location= Merrillville, Indiana|url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-hammond-woodmar-st-0609-20160608-story.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160609150133/http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-hammond-woodmar-st-0609-20160608-story.html|archive-date= June 9, 2016|url-status= live}} The Carson's store closed in 2018, and was demolished in 2019, as part of its parent company's liquidation.{{cite web|url= http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/carson-s-to-close-in-southlake-mall-hammond-and-michigan/article_02349fe6-ce16-5408-b2a9-5eb02b3c2ab1.html|title= Carson's to close in Southlake Mall, Hammond and Michigan City

|first= Joseph S.|last= Pete|date= April 29, 2018|newspaper= The Times of Northwest Indiana|location= Munster, Indiana|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180504012004/http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/carson-s-to-close-in-southlake-mall-hammond-and-michigan/article_02349fe6-ce16-5408-b2a9-5eb02b3c2ab1.html|archive-date= May 4, 2018|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= Carson's will close its department stores in Southlake Mall in Hobart, the Marquette Mall in Michigan City and in Hammond, where the three-story store is all that remains of the once-thriving but now largely demolished Woodmar Mall.}}

The city sits within the boundaries of the former Lake Chicago, and much of its land area consists of former dune and swale terrain that was subsequently leveled. Most of the city is on sandy soil with a layer of black topsoil that varies from non-existent to several feet (a meter or more) thick. Much of the exposed sand was removed for purposes such as industrial use to make concrete and glass.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{cvt|23.827|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which, {{cvt|22.741|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{cvt|1.086|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.

• Robertsdale
• North Hammond
• Central Hammond
• South Hammond
• Woodmar
• Schleicher
• Hessville

• Grand Calumet River (partial)
• Lake George
• Lake Michigan (partial)
• Little Calumet River (partial)
• Oxbow Lake
• Wolf Lake (partial)

• Burnham
• Calumet City
• Chicago
• Lansing

• East Chicago
• Highland
• Munster
• Whiting
• Gary

{{US Census population

|1880= 699

|1890= 5284

|1900= 12376

|1910= 20925

|1920= 36004

|1930= 65559

|1940= 70183

|1950= 87595

|1960= 111698

|1970= 107983

|1980= 91985

|1990= 84236

|2000= 83048

|2010= 80830

|2020= 77879

|estyear=2023

|estimate=76193

|estref={{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |date=July 12, 2024|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 12, 2024}}

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}
2020 Census

}}

As of the 2020 census, there were 77,879 people, 29,486 households, and 18,580 families residing in the city.{{Cite web|title=US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Hammond%20city,%20Indiana%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=July 12, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The population density was {{cvt|3426.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 31,822 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 39.2% White, 26.0% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 18.5% from some other races and 14.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40.2% of the population.{{Cite web|title=How many people live in Hammond city, Indiana |url=https://data.usatoday.com/census/total-population/total-population-change/hammond-city-indiana/160-1831000/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |publisher=USA Today}} 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.3% were under 5 years of age, and 13.2% were 65 and older.

As of the 2010 census, there were 80,830 people, 29,949 households, and 19,222 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|3549.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 32,945 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1446.2|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 59.4% White, 22.5% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 13.3% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.1% of the population.

There were 29,949 households, of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.36.

The median age in the city was 33.3 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.3% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 10.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

As of the 2000 census, there were 83,048 people, 32,026 households and 20,880 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|3630.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 34,139 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,492.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 72.35% White, 14.57% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 9.32% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.04% of the population.

There were 32,026 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,528, and the median income for a family was $42,221. Males had a median income of $35,778 versus $25,180 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,254. About 12.0% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

According to the city, those businesses employing 200 or more employees in Hammond are:{{cite web|url=http://www.gohammond.com/departments/planning-and-development/economic-development/hammonds-top-10-employers/ |title=Hammond's Top 10 Employers |date=April 18, 2018 |website=City of Hammond, Indiana |publisher=Mayor's Office of Economic Development |access-date=March 17, 2019 |archive-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120144416/http://www.gohammond.com/departments/planning-and-development/economic-development/hammonds-top-10-employers/ |url-status=dead}}

The following single properties and national historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Morse Dell Plain House and Garden
• Forest-Ivanhoe Residential Historic District
• Forest-Moraine Residential Historic District
• Forest-Southview Residential Historic District
• Glendale Park Historic District
• Hohman Avenue Commercial Historic District
• Indi-Illi Park Historic District
• Northern States Life Insurance Company
• Pullman-Standard Historic District
• Roselawn-Forest Heights Historic District
• Southmoor Apartment Hotel
• State Bank of Hammond Building
• State Street Commercial Historic District
• George John Wolf House

Hammond Public Library, located at 564 State Street, includes the Suzanne G. Long Local History Room. The system used to operate the E.B. Hayward Branch at 1212 172nd Street and the Howard Branch at 7047 Grand Avenue. Both branches have since been closed. The Hammond Public Library was the first library in the state to form a recognized union, a local of AFSCME. Patricia E. Robinson was the first president of the library union."[http://www.hammond.lib.in.us/libraryinfomenu.htm Library Information, Locations, Hours] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215164121/http://www.hammond.lib.in.us/libraryinfomenu.htm |date=December 15, 2008}}." Hammond Public Library. Retrieved on January 21, 2009.

Hammond was defeated by the team from Taipei, Taiwan in the 1972 Little League World Series.{{cite web|url=http://www.littleleague.org/series/history/year/1972.htm|title=Little League World Series|website=littleleague.org|df=mdy-all|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709233747/http://www.littleleague.org/series/history/year/1972.htm|archive-date=July 9, 2013|url-status=dead}}

• Past teams
• Hammond Rollers, an American Basketball Association team founded in 2006, was sold to the owner of the Quad City Riverhawks the same year. The team relocated and became the Sauk Valley Rollers of Rock Falls, Illinois.
• Hammond Ciesar All-Americans (1938–41) and Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–49), were professional basketball teams in the National Basketball League. Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau and UCLA basketball coach John Wooden both played for the Ciesar All-Americans.

The Hammond Pros was one of the earliest professional football teams in the United States. When the American Professional Football Association was formed in 1920, the Hammond Pros was a charter member, as it also was when the league changed its name to National Football League in 1922. However, four years later, when the NFL decided to reduce the number of teams, it did so by simply folding smaller franchises. The Hammond Pros never played a home game in Hammond.

During the four years of the Hammond Pros' existence, the NFL had nine African-American players, six of whom played for the Pros. The NFL's first African-American head coach was Hall-of-Famer coach Fritz Pollard of the Pros.

Hammond is incorporated as a city under Indiana law. It therefore has a mayor and a nine-member city council. Hammond's City Hall is located at [https://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=5925+Calumet+Avenue,+46320 5925 Calumet Avenue]. The Hammond City Council has meetings scheduled for the second and fourth Mondays of each month.

The city maintains a city court on the second floor of the City Hall,{{cite web|url=http://www.lakecountybar.com/courts_city_hammond.html|title=Courts – Lake County Bar Association – Indiana|website=lakecountybar.com|df=mdy-all|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070731065410/http://www.lakecountybar.com/courts_city_hammond.html|archive-date=July 31, 2007|url-status=dead}} exercising a limited jurisdiction within Lake County. The court handles not only local ordinance violations and certain minor criminal matters, but also a significant portion of the debt collection and eviction actions brought in Lake County.

• Janet Venecz (D, At Large), President
• Katrina D. Alexander (D, At Large)
• Daniel P. "Dan" Spitale (D, At Large)
• Mark Kalwinski (D, 1st)
• Alfonso "Al" Salinas III (D, 2nd)
• Barry Tyler, Jr. (D, 3rd)
• William "Bill" Emerson, Sr. (D, 4th)
• David "Dave" Woerpel (D, 5th)
• Scott Rakos (D, 6th—Council president in 2023–2024)

All of Hammond is served by the School City of Hammond,{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st18_in/schooldistrict_maps/c18089_lake/DC20SD_C18089.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lake County, IN|publisher=United States Census Bureau|page=1 (PDF p. 2/3)|access-date=April 21, 2024}} a school corporation under Indiana state law that is independent of the civil city.

In June 2021, the School City of Hammond permanently closed two junior/senior High Schools: Donald E. Gavit and George Rogers Clark, first opened in the 1930s and 1960s respectively.

• High schools
• Area Career Center
• Hammond High School
• Morton High School
• George Rogers Clark High School (Closed 2021)
• Gavit High School (Closed 2021)
• Middle schools
• George Rogers Clark Middle School (Closed 2021)
• Henry W. Eggers Middle School
• Gavit Middle School (Closed 2021)
• Scott Middle School
• Elementary schools
• Columbia Elementary School
• Edison Elementary School
• Benjamin Franklin Elementary School
• Warren G. Harding Elementary School
• Joseph Hess Elementary School
• Washington Irving Elementary School
• Thomas Jefferson Elementary School
• Kenwood Elementary School
• Lafayette Elementary School
• Lincoln Elementary School
• Maywood Elementary School
• Morton Elementary School
• Frank O'Bannon Elementary School
• Lew Wallace Elementary School
• Charter schools
• Hammond Academy of Science and Technology (6–12)

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Bishop Noll Institute (high school)
• City Baptist High School {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051125021738/http://www.citybaptistschools.com/ City Baptist High School]}}
• Hazel Young Academy
• Montessori Children's Schoolhouse
• St. Casimir (elementary school)
• St. John Bosco (elementary school)
• St. John the Baptist (elementary school)

}}

Catholic schools are under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary.

St. Catherine of Siena, a Catholic elementary school, opened prior to 1959. Prior to 2009 its enrollment had declined, with 130 students that year, and its financial state had deteriorated. The school closed in 2009.{{cite web|author=McCollum, Carmen|url=https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/students-staff-parents-mourn-closing-of-longtime-catholic-school/article_748d472e-042b-571b-ac9f-b950543e8af5.html|title=Students, staff, parents mourn closing of longtime Catholic school|work=NWI Times|date=May 30, 2009|access-date=April 7, 2020}}

• Calumet College of St. Joseph
• Kaplan University
• Purdue University Northwest

File:Eastbound Borman Expressway, Hammond, Indiana.jpg

Most of Hammond's streets are laid out in a grid pattern similar to Chicago's streets. While Madison Street in Chicago acts as the reference point for north–south street numbering the first "1" is removed; this makes what would be a five digit address number in Illinois into a four digit address number in Hammond. The state line is used as the reference point for east–west street numbering.

Other cities and towns in Northwest Indiana that use the Hammond numbering system are Whiting, Munster and Highland. Dyer also uses the Hammond numbering system but the first number removed from the north–south streets is a "2," as by that point the Illinois numbers across the state line start with the number 2 (Munster's street numbers start with a "1" north of the Dyer line, making them 5 digits); and East Chicago uses the canal located in the middle of the city as the east–west reference point, while embodying Hammond's numbering system for the north–south streets.

• I-90 – Indiana Toll Road, exits (listed northwest to southeast):

:*Indianapolis Boulevard – U.S. 12/20/41

:*Calumet Avenue – U.S. 41

:*Cline Avenue – State Road 912

• I-80/94 – Borman Expressway, exits (listed west to east):

:*Calumet Avenue – U.S. 41 North

:*Indianapolis Boulevard – U.S. 41 South/State Road 152

:*Kennedy Avenue

:*Cline Avenue – State Road 912

The South Shore Line, a Chicago to South Bend, Indiana commuter rail line, stops at Hammond Gateway station. It is operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. The South Hammond station, on the South Shore Line's Monon Corridor, is expected to open in 2025.{{cite news |last1=Steele |first1=Andrew |title=WATCH NOW: 8-mile rail line from Hammond to Dyer is on way |url=https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/watch-now-8-mile-rail-line-from-hammond-to-dyer-is-on-way/article_86a26f2b-e275-50ff-a5f9-4505412a62c0.html |access-date=1 November 2020 |agency=The Times of Northwest Indiana |date=28 October 2020}}

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides twice-daily service in both directions, operating its Wolverine through the Hammond-Whiting station between Chicago and Pontiac, Michigan, just north of Detroit.

The nearest commercial airport is Chicago Midway International Airport about 25 miles away in Chicago.

Bus transit was provided by the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority, which assumed responsibility from the city's Hammond Transit System in 2010, establishing EasyGo Lake Transit system in its place.{{cite web|url=http://www.rba-nwi.org/fixedRoute.cfm|title=Transit System: Routes and Schedules|publisher=Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority|access-date=July 5, 2010|archive-date=August 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816131439/http://www.rba-nwi.org/fixedRoute.cfm|url-status=dead}} All EasyGo buses were discontinued on June 30, 2012, due to a lack of funding.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rba-nwi.org/index.cfm |title=Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority: Welcome |access-date=March 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209172228/http://www.rba-nwi.org/index.cfm |archive-date=February 9, 2013 |url-status=dead}} In addition, Pace routes 350 and 364 and GPTC Tri-City Connection Route 12 from Gary, Indiana stop at Hammond's Dan Rabin Transit Plaza.

The only hospital in Hammond was Franciscan St. Margaret Health on Stateline Road, across the street from Calumet City, Illinois. It is an accredited chest pain center serving Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs of Chicago. The hospital was founded in late 1898 and was originally called St. Margaret Hospital, later merging with Our Lady Of Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Indiana, in the 1990s and was part of the former Sisters of St. Francis Health Services. The hospital closed in December 2022.

File:State Line Generating Plant by ikcyzrteip.JPG in Robertsdale]]

• Electricity and Natural gas – Nearly all of the electricity and natural gas used in Hammond is produced by NIPSCO, a NiSource company.
• Water – Water service for nearly all consumers of water in the city is provided by the Hammond Water Department, a state-owned utility that is operated by the civil city government.

{{main|List of people from Hammond, Indiana}}

• Galați, Romania (since 1997)

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• Hammond Indiana Barrier Controversy

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• [https://www.gohammond.com/ City of Hammond – Official Website]

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Category:1884 establishments in Indiana

Category:Chicago metropolitan area

Category:Cities in Indiana

Category:Cities in Lake County, Indiana

Category:Northwest Indiana

Category:Populated places established in 1884

Category:Indiana populated places on Lake Michigan

Category:Majority-minority cities and towns in Indiana