Indy's legendary Speedway Motel closes
The Brickyard Crossing Inn came to be known as the Speedway Motel, and back when it was built 45 years ago, there wasn't another hotel in sight. Now there are 30,000 hotel rooms in the vicinity -- many of them much, much newer -- and it's been decided by the powers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that the Speedway Motel just doesn't have a place in the modern world. After a year of deliberations, they concluded that bringing the establishment up to modern standards would simply cost too much, so the hotel has been closed and its fifteen workers sent home for good. Our guess is that turning it into a museum where Paul Newman's Winning was filmed, Jeff Gordon ate pizza to celebrate his 1994 win at the Brickyard 400, and a number of unmentionables happened simply wasn't compelling enough. The building will be razed in a few months (sparing the pub, restaurant, and pro shop), and nothing new, as yet, is planned.[Source: Motor Trend | Photo: MotelPostcards.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Frank Hoffman 1:22PM (12/21/2008)
Anybody notice how you don't see too many historical buildings in this country? Nobody seems to care about history any more.
Let's just make the entire country one gigantic strip mall.
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Galley 1:28PM (12/21/2008)
Has anyone ever asked us if we actually LIKE strip malls? I loathe them.
BowserUSC 11:38AM (12/22/2008)
Interesting how you say there are no historical buildings in the US considering the buildings where I live in Los Angeles and New York are both historical landmarks.
JIm Lee 6:47AM (12/28/2008)
Ask your favorite doctor about strip malls, It seems that quite a few of them find them a great avenue to invest in
Jim 10:57AM (12/27/2008)
Try visiting one of your National Park Service sites. There are around 500 of them across the country including Guam, Saipan, Samoa, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. If that is not enough, try visting your state parks and historics sites or your county and city historic landmarks. There are a lot of them thanks to all the preservation organizations.
HE 5:52PM (12/27/2008)
"Don't it always seem ta-go, that you don't know whatcha got til it's gone ....... pave paradise - put up a parkin' lot !!!"
jrhmobile 1:51PM (12/21/2008)
Romance aside, the Speedway Motel essentially looked like strip mall. It was a hole. A historic hole, maybe, but not significantly better than any late '60s Holiday Inn.
If a newer, nicer building was put in its place, it would be no great loss. As long as the White Castle is still handy, and the cars can be heard in the distance, the vibe is worth more than the nostalgic smell of Old Motel.
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VP 3:19PM (12/21/2008)
It's the Brickyard 400 & not the 500.
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Fremont 8:53AM (12/27/2008)
Who said it was the 500? The race may be called one thing, so the hotel might be called the other.
I don't know, nor do I really care. Aside from seeing cars crash into each other and wreck - I don't watch races. My brother does, but I don't.
Jugomugo 4:50PM (12/21/2008)
That hotel is very frumpy and would best be replaced by a new building.
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Erik 10:16PM (12/21/2008)
I live in Indy and have talked with friends that worked there. The family that owns the speedway decided to drop the hotel, and there are no real plans to replace the hotel.
The history that did occur in the hotel in the building is small yet still impressive. If you made it over to the bar at the right time during the race, you would find AJ Foyt and other legends.
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Rizzo 2:10AM (12/22/2008)
I stayed there about 10 years ago and it was not too nice. I did it just to say I did.
Glad I bought a bunch of postcards and trinkets whilst I was there. Should fetch a hefty sum in a few years on the Bay of E...
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chris 10:30PM (12/22/2008)
I live in a large urban city with 3 major mall complexes and then a bunch of strip malls. Guess what? In the 30 years I have lived here, I have visited these malls less than 10 times, and then only to purchase cheap glasses once or to pick up something I just couldn't get elsewhere at the last minute. I NEVER walk the malls or shop them, and I am able to get everything I need to live comfortably more pleasantly. It would seem to me that we don't really need malls when there are smaller businesses and of course now the internet. I detest malls and get agitated as soon as I am subjected to the big spaces, the noise, the canned music, and all the crap for sale. My vote would be to shop the way they do in Europe, in pretty little neighborhoods where you can shop for what you want and walk around, eat there and enjoy life.
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Martha 10:34PM (12/22/2008)
I for one am devestated. In the early 80's to mid-90's, my family spent many wonderful time trials and race weekends there. Very often the first weekend of Time Trials would be Mother's Day weekend we we would take my Mom to the Speedway Motel restaurant for Mother's Day breakfast. Many nice memories...
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Robert 11:14PM (12/22/2008)
Some people out there really need to get their head examined !!
I mean lets face it i stopped going to concerts years ago simply becuase of the price . And the price of housing ??? Get REAL !! How many square fet of living space do you REALLY need and is it worth paying 100,000 and more for that ??
My answer is with out question NO! So why the slump in the housing Industry ??
Because to many idiots bought what they could'nt afford ,plain and simple!
And the Auto industry is just as much to blame for their mess ,jack the price up on parts, labor,etc etc and chalk it all up to the technology ....BS~! Look where it got them too.And its does not stop there ! Plain and simply we as Americans have goten waaaaaaayy too free with paying the price for what we want and in the end we are geting screwed. Wake up before its too late ! Quit trying to be the one with all the "toys " instead of all the "joys"!
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lmh 5:29PM (12/27/2008)
What does this have to do w/ the Indy motel closing?
Steve 11:25PM (12/22/2008)
Hate to hear this bad news. Many a legend stayed there, some of the greatest drivers of all time. I would think it would be worth the price of modernizing the facility and cashing in on the history of the place. Some people would pay any price to stay where the Unsers, A. F. Foyt, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, et al., stayed. I guess history doesn't count these days. I always enjoyed seeing the people leaning over the walkway during the race - they had a bird's eye view. Maybe that's the reason behind it all - they were seeing it for free!
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Duane 11:39PM (12/22/2008)
They'll probably put up a strip mall that will have a 70% vacancy rate with butcher paper in the windows or going out of business signs. Raceway owners are idiots.
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Sandy 1:07AM (12/23/2008)
Another symbol of a time of peace and prosperity and when people really cared - bites the dust.
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Penny 4:20AM (12/23/2008)
NO,No you cant do this. I grew up there. Skipping school to go to the track. Going into the pit, getting a tan playing Freizbee. meeting people who are now friends, I have to this day. We were young and dumb, Halter topes and Bellbottom jeans. You could book that hotel full if you did not charge a arm or leg. We were there when they were there. We just wanted a good time and they wanted us to have that. You cant take it away. I Met Charlie Daniels there. The pit was always open. Go back to the old days. When people had love and Peace in there hearts. Open the Pit back up. The kids today are as Peace loving as we where. Give them a chamce to meet people that will be in history. I met more than a few. That hotel could be booked 24- 7 if you would let it be.
Im a Montanian I was born here but High school there was the Indy 500. You really need to look at what people hold dear. The answer is there. I pray that the closing wont happen. Look past your waltes, pride and money. When you do thats when it will be ginen to you.
Paj from Moorsville Ind.
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