MICHIGAN CITY

city, La Porte county, northern Indiana, U.S. The city is situated on the southern end of Lake Michigan, 25 mi (40 km) east-northeast of Gary. It was laid out in 1830 by Maj. Isaac Elston as the terminus of the Michigan Road (whence its name) from the Ohio River. Once a major lumber port, it is now one of the state's leading vacation spots, near the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (1966), as well as an industrial centre. Manufactures include Pullman cars (started in 1852 when the railroad arrived) and mining equipment. Steel mills constructed in the 1960s at nearby Burns Harbor are part of a growing industrial complex. The Old Lighthouse (1858), one of the first on the Great Lakes, is now a museum. The Indiana State Prison (1860) is in the city. Purdue University North Central Campus is at Westville, 5 mi south, and International Friendship Gardens, 1 1/2 mi east, has plantings representative of many nations. Inc. 1836. Pop. (1990) 33,822.