Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum)
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400, but it also includes exhibits reflecting other forms of motorsports, passenger cars, and general automotive history. In 2006, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. The museum foundation possesses several former Indianapolis 500 winning cars, and pace cars, and they are regularly rotated onto the display floor exhibits.
The museum is independently owned and operated by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) organization. The museum dates back to 1956, and moved to the current building in 1976. It is located in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race course, and is open year-round, except on certain holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The first museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was completed April 7, 1956. The original building was designed by C. Wilbur Foster and Associates and sited on the property's southwest corner at the intersection of 16th Street and Georgetown Road. Exhibits included Ray Harroun's 1911 Indianapolis 500-winning car and a handful of other vehicles. Karl Kizer became the first curator. When it opened, it only had six cars; however, within a few years, dozens of collector cars were being donated and acquired, quickly outgrowing available space. According to Speedway publicist Al Bloemker, by 1961, the museum was seeing an average of 5,000 visitors per week (not including month of May crowds).
In 1975, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway broke ground on a new 96000 sqft museum and administration building in the track's infield. In addition to the museum, the two-story building housed the speedway's administrative offices, ticket office, a gift shop, and photography department. The relocated and expanded museum reopened to the public on April 5, 1976, coinciding with the year-long United States Bicentennial celebration. It officially operated under the name Hall of Fame Museum, but was known colloquially as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The original museum building outside turn one was converted into additional office space.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. A plaque commemorating the property's historic designation is displayed in the museum.
In the summer of 1993, the original museum building outside of turn one was demolished. In its place, a multi-million dollar administration building was erected. The administrative and ticket offices were moved out of the infield museum building and relocated to the new administration building.
In 1993, the museum parking lot hosted the first "Indy 500 Expo" during race festivities, an outdoor interactive spectator exhibit. In 1995, it was expanded and renamed "Indy 500 FanFest". It was discontinued after 1997, but in recent years, smaller displays sponsored by Chevrolet have featured former pace cars and other exhibits. Also, at some point in the 1990s, the photography department added a Halon fire suppression system to the storage room where original film negatives and even glass plates for every race hosted at the track since the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. (However, no known negatives exist for the inaugural 1909 balloon race event.)
In 2016, a revitalization and modernization project was initiated to expand the museum's floor space and add interactive displays. In April 2016, the museum was officially renamed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and the mission was changed "to specifically honor achievement at, and outstanding contributions to, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway." A substantial process of deaccession began to further refine, improve, and update the collection.
The museum is independently owned and operated by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) organization. The museum dates back to 1956, and moved to the current building in 1976. It is located in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race course, and is open year-round, except on certain holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The first museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was completed April 7, 1956. The original building was designed by C. Wilbur Foster and Associates and sited on the property's southwest corner at the intersection of 16th Street and Georgetown Road. Exhibits included Ray Harroun's 1911 Indianapolis 500-winning car and a handful of other vehicles. Karl Kizer became the first curator. When it opened, it only had six cars; however, within a few years, dozens of collector cars were being donated and acquired, quickly outgrowing available space. According to Speedway publicist Al Bloemker, by 1961, the museum was seeing an average of 5,000 visitors per week (not including month of May crowds).
In 1975, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway broke ground on a new 96000 sqft museum and administration building in the track's infield. In addition to the museum, the two-story building housed the speedway's administrative offices, ticket office, a gift shop, and photography department. The relocated and expanded museum reopened to the public on April 5, 1976, coinciding with the year-long United States Bicentennial celebration. It officially operated under the name Hall of Fame Museum, but was known colloquially as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The original museum building outside turn one was converted into additional office space.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. A plaque commemorating the property's historic designation is displayed in the museum.
In the summer of 1993, the original museum building outside of turn one was demolished. In its place, a multi-million dollar administration building was erected. The administrative and ticket offices were moved out of the infield museum building and relocated to the new administration building.
In 1993, the museum parking lot hosted the first "Indy 500 Expo" during race festivities, an outdoor interactive spectator exhibit. In 1995, it was expanded and renamed "Indy 500 FanFest". It was discontinued after 1997, but in recent years, smaller displays sponsored by Chevrolet have featured former pace cars and other exhibits. Also, at some point in the 1990s, the photography department added a Halon fire suppression system to the storage room where original film negatives and even glass plates for every race hosted at the track since the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. (However, no known negatives exist for the inaugural 1909 balloon race event.)
In 2016, a revitalization and modernization project was initiated to expand the museum's floor space and add interactive displays. In April 2016, the museum was officially renamed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and the mission was changed "to specifically honor achievement at, and outstanding contributions to, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway." A substantial process of deaccession began to further refine, improve, and update the collection.
Map - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum)
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