Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis and Indiana both use the Indianapolis 500 as a badge of identification, with the race's checkered flag marking virtually everything in the city during the month of May leading up to the race..
The site of the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was built in 1909 by Carl Fisher, James Allison and partners on land just outside of Indianapolis. All the men were involved in the nascent automotive industry : they developed manufacturing plants to serve the industry; they inaugurated the 500 to publicize it ; and they laid out the town of Speedway to encompass their interests.
Now owned by the Hulman family of Terre Haute IN, the Motor Speedway has undergone numerous renovations and improvements over the years as the 500 has developed and grown. So has the surrounding town of Speedway. These aerial photos demonstrate how the race and the landscape around it have changed over the years.
Note: these are all JPEG files. Copies of aerial photos are available from the Archives.