Brick from Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Add to SetSummary
When Carl Fisher and his partners opened Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, the crushed stone and tar track surface quickly proved too dangerous. Fisher had the entire track resurfaced with 3.2 million paving bricks. The track was fully paved with asphalt by 1961, but a three-foot brick strip -- at the start/finish line -- remains, as does the speedway's nickname: the Brickyard.
When Carl Fisher and his partners opened Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, the crushed stone and tar track surface quickly proved too dangerous. Fisher had the entire track resurfaced with 3.2 million paving bricks. The track was fully paved with asphalt by 1961, but a three-foot brick strip -- at the start/finish line -- remains, as does the speedway's nickname: the Brickyard.
Artifact
Paving brick
Date Made
circa 1909
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
2011.264.43
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Lyn St. James.
Material
Brick (Clay material)
Color
Reddish brown
Dimensions
Height: 3.25 in
Width: 9.25 in
Length: 4 in
Inscriptions
Stamped into front: WC CO / CULVER BLOCK / PAT MAY 21 1901
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