Whiting

Small Town Breakdown

Small Town Breakdown: Whiting, Indiana

Indiana’s northwestern-most town is Whiting, often called the “Little City on the Lake.” Nestled on Lake Michigan’s southern shore, its small-town vibes, history and festivals make it worth the visit before or after your trip to Chicago.

Fast Facts

📍LOCATION: Northwestern Indiana

• Whiting is located in the northwest corner of Lake County

• U.S. Routes 12 and 20 run concurrently through the city, and U.S. Route 41 also passes through

• 2 hours and 40 minutes north of Indianapolis

• 2 hours and 50 minutes northwest of Fort Wayne

• 1 hour and 25 minutes west of South Bend

• 45 minutes south of Chicago

👥 POPULATION & RANKING

• 4,506 residents (as of 2023)

• Ranks as Indiana’s 143rd-largest city

• Third-smallest of 19 incorporated towns/cities in Lake County, ahead of only New Chicago and Schneider

📏 LAND AREA

• 1.8 square miles

📅 FOUNDED

• Lake County was founded in 1837 and named for its location on the southern end of Lake Michigan

• It is the second-most populated county in Indiana behind Marion County

• Liverpool was Lake County’s original county seat until Lake Court House (eventually renamed Crown Point) was chosen in 1840

• The area where Whiting is today was initially part of what was classified as swampland

• In 1851, the Michigan Southern Railroad was built as the first of three railroads in the area that attracted German settlers

• The town was originally named “Pop Whiting’s Siding” for railroad engineer Herbert Lloyd “Pop” Whiting, who was involved in a major railroad accident in 1869 when he ditched his heavy freight train to give way for a faster passenger train coming behind him

• The naming of Whiting came in 1871, but it was officially founded in 1889 when the Standard Oil Company purchased lakefront land for its Midwestern site

• Whiting became incorporated as a town in 1895 and city in 1903

🏥 MAIN INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing

• The bp refinery in Whiting is bp’s largest in the world, and it’s the largest oil refinery for any oil industry company in the Midwest. It has approximately 1,500 employees and processes roughly 440,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

  

Festival Fun

The annual Pierogi Fest is an absolute hit in the region. The first edition took place in 1993 and had just a few vendors, a few dozen people in the parade, and roughly 1,200 pierogies served. Fast forward to present day, and the Pierogi Fest has grown to hosting dozens of food vendors, over 300,000 attendees, and over 1 million pierogies served each year. The parade and festival have been featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel. If you’d like to attend this year’s Pierogi Fest, mark your calendar for July 25-27.

A lesser known but growing festival is the Empanada Fest, set later this summer on Saturday, Sept. 6, during Hispanic Heritage Month. First organized by the Whiting Hispanic Heritage Organization in 2022, the Empanada Fest is a scholarship fundraiser and brings awareness to the Latino Hispanic community in Whiting. Enjoy empanadas, food and craft vendors, music, a beer garden, and more.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Oil City Stadium at Standard Diamonds Park is home to the baseball programs from Whiting High School and Calumet College of St. Joseph, plus the Northwest Indiana Oilmen of the collegiate Northern League.

The stadium was part of Whiting’s $50 million Lakefront Development Project and was named as such to celebrate the city’s history as a refinery town. The BP Refinery is located beyond the outfield fence.

Lakefront Views

The boardwalk in Whiting Lakefront Park runs along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The park also has pavilions to rent, four tennis courts, two sand volleyball courts, a baseball diamond, fishing pier, and fishing pond.

Adjacent to Whiting Lakefront Park is Whihala Beach Park, the perfect spot for swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding. It’s also home to the WhoaZone, an inflatable on-water obstacle course where kids and teens can jump, bounce, run, splash and play. The WhoaZone is open daily through Aug. 17.

Keith’s

Open since 1990, Keith’s Bar and Grill is a favorite for locals. Keith’s Shrimp Cocktail (St. Elmo-esque) is the go-to appetizer. The main menu includes seafood options like salmon, tuna and scallops along with baby back ribs, chicken saltimbocca and prime rib.

Wins In and Around Whiting

• Cielito Lindo Cafe is a great spot to start the day with locations in both Whiting and nearby Hammond. The Latino-inspired coffee shop and bakery serves Mexican pastries like Pan Dulce (sweet bread) along with horchata lattes, champurrado, abuelita frappes, iced coffee, and boba tea.

• In Hammond, Festival of the Lakes – which began as AugustFest in 1984 to commemorate Hammond’s 100th anniversary and the Centennial of Wolf Lake Park – has free concerts, carnival rides, food vendors, and more. This year’s edition runs from July 16-20 and includes live performances by John Fogerty, Brantley Gilbert, Akon and Third Eye Blind.

• Whiting High School was founded in 1898 when locals decided that eight students attending neighboring high schools were enough to start a local high school. Since then the school has won three IHSAA state championships.

  • Boys swimming & diving won the school’s first state title in 1933, and it took another seven decades until the Oilers climbed to the top in any sport.

  • Softball won championships in 2006 and 2008. The ‘06 squad finished a perfect 33-0 season with a 3-0 win over Lanesville in the 1A state finals, and the ‘08 team went 34-0 and defeated Tecumseh 3-0 in the 1A championship game. The softball team also lost in the state semifinals to the eventual 1A champions in 2003, 2004 and 2009.

• Part of the 1993 biographical sports movie “Rudy” was filmed in Whiting. Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger had dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame, but his family didn’t have the income to cover tuition and his grades didn’t qualify him for a scholarship. He eventually broke away from the steel mill in which his dad worked and made his dream a reality with the Fighting Irish.

The “Little City on the Lake” has a lot to do, whether you want to enjoy life near Lake Michigan, take in a ballgame, or attend one of the largest festivals in the Midwest.

Check out Nate’s breakdown of Whiting ⬇️