When Hotel Gary opened in 1928, the ten-story hotel in the heart of Gary’s downtown was within walking distance of Memorial Auditorium. It was most likely where performers at the Auditorium would stay when in Gary. While the actual number of events and performances that took place in the Auditorium were many and varied, Mahalia Jackson, BB King, The Annual City-Wide Music Festival, Golden Gloves Boxing, and The Hoosier Art Salon exhibits were just some of the events held there. There were also conventions, rallies, trade shows, and special speakers including President Harry S. Truman, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., astronaut Frank Borman, singer Marian Anderson, activist Paul Robeson, entertainers Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Hope, and Ray Charles. The hotel closed in the 1970s and reopened as Genesis Towers, a senior citizens high rise.