The Story of How the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Began

From the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) site.

Sure missed going to the show this year.  I have been going to the last 8 or 9 Indy 500s with friends and, let me tell you, this is one real fun party.  Good times for all and we sure had them.  We normally go from Thursday and come back on Monday.  Alas, no Indy 500 this year.  Hopefully next year.

I never ever thought I'd be interested in any kind of auto racing, even though I'm originally from North Carolina.  But when my friends said they had an opening for one person to go to Speedway, Indiana (the IMS is actually in Speedway, not Indianapolis) and stay in their RV across from the track, that was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Anyway, the IMS owes its existence partially to one Carl Fisher, who was the man behind the Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway and Miami Beach.  To say Carl never did anything small is an understatement.

By the way. our seats are called the catwalk, all the way up at the top of the south stands, about where the man's right hand is in the picture.

Maybe Next Year.  --RoadSpeed

The Dixie Highway Brought Paved Roads to the South-- Part 2: Carl Fisher, Man of Many Hats and the Dixie Highway.

The Dixie Highway began with an organizational meeting of 5,000 delegates in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on April 3, 1915.  There were representatives from some 100 towns in seven states:  Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Four routes were mapped out for the new highway and all were completed by private landowners and local governments by 1927.

The Father of the Dixie Highway was Carl Fisher, the automobile, auto racing and real estate entrepreneur who had already spearheaded the nation's first intercontinental road, the Lincoln Highway, in 1913.  He became the first director of the Dixie Highway Association and he went through a lot to get the road off the ground, especially since it would be providing routes to a resort community he was developing in Florida called Miami Beach.  So, there was a definite method to his madness.

A photo of him accompanying the article is captioned:  "Carl Fisher made his name making auto parts, developing Miami Beach and helping create the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.

Miami Beach was incorporated on March 25, 1915.

--RoadCarl

The Road That Created Florida: Carl Fisher's Dixie Highway-- Part 3: A Miami Beach Connection

"Dixie Highway modernized the South by providing the first farm-to-market road while simultaneously creating the dream of a winter Florida vacation," historian Tammy Ingram writes.

Credit for the Dixie goes to Carl Fisher, one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the famed Indy 500 this May).  he also was one of the leading forces for the creation of the famed transcontinental Lincoln Highway.

Part of the reason for the Dixie Highway was to provide better transportation to his Miami Beach development.

Eventually, there were several Dixie Highway routes stretching across 5.786 miles across northern states from the Canadian border at Sault Ste. Marie to Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay.

--RoadDog

Al Capone's Miami Beach Home Being Restored-- Part 2

PRISON AND RETURN:  Charged and convicted of tax evasion in 1931, Capone was sentenced to eleven years in prison, much of it at Alcatraz.  released in 1939 and spent rest of his life at this mansion.

CAPONE'S END:  Capone contracted syphilis as a young man and never had it treated.  As he got older, dementia set in.  He suffered a cardiac arrest at the house on Jan. 25, 1947 and died at age 48.

MANSION RESTORATION:  MB America says the mansion was falling apart when it was purchased.  The new owner hopes to cash in on on the Capone mystique and rent it out to commercial, video and movie shoots.

"Meet My Little Friend."  --RoadDog

Al Capone's Miami Beach Mansion Being Restored-- Part 1

From the March 20, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Al Capone's restored mansion gets new life" by Curt Anderson, AP.

He bought it in 1928 for a warm getaway and consists of three houses and overlooks Biscayne Bay.It was bought by Marco Bruzzi for $8 million and has had an additional $1.75 million in renovations.  They are keeping as many 1920s touches as possible.

FAMILY LIFE:  Deidre Marie Capone, Capone's grandniece, learned to ride a bike and swim there and remembers him as "Uncle Al" who wore an apron when cooking.

ESCAPING CHICAGO WINTERS:  Capone paid $40,000 for it in 1928 and spent time there during the winter.  Protected by a seven foot high wall and a heavy gate.  Capone loved to hit the local nightclubs and racetracks.

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE:  Capone had an alibi for the Feb. 14, 1929, killings.  He was in Miami Beach at the house.

--RoadDog

One Honey of a Whale

Today, I remembered to check out a small grocery store to see if they had some of that Tupelo Honey that I wrote so much about last week.  They didn't.  Just clover honey.  And since I've gotten a taste for such an item in my head, I will check out other stores.

Then, in yesterday's entry, I wrote that, according to the article, Mr. Carl Fisher was Miami Beach's first whale.  I have to admit, I did not know exactly was meant by the term whale.  So, I looked in some other sites and found out that whale is Las Vegas slang for high roller and big spender.

That is exactly what Carl Fisher was, and not just in Miami Beach, but early highways, car racing and some places in the northeast.

If Ever a Man Better Deserved That Name, I Can't Think of One Better Than Carl Fisher.  --RoadDog

Lincoln Highway's Carl Fisher and Miami Beach's First Whale

From Curbed Miami "Lincoln Highway Living Like Carl Fisher, Miami Beach's First Whale."

"Carl Fisher, the real estate speculator and automobile man, could easily claim the title of Miami Beach's first whale."

He started Indy 500, the Lincoln Highway and the Dixie Highway, which he had built to get people to his Miami Beach where he had speculated and was waiting to make big bucks.

He never thought small, but big, bigger and biggest.  He had a pet elephant named Rosie, a chain of luxury hotels across from Miami Beach, golf courses and a main street named Lincoln Road and had the Dixie Highway paved right up to the foot of the Collins Bridge to Miami Beach.

In 1927, he decided to replace his first Miami Beach house on the ocean with an even bigger one.  This new house was called "The Shadows" and had a big observation tower which he used to show people how wonderful his land was., a double grand staircase, 4 car garage, a pool and boathouse.    It was just a mere 21,000 square feet.

At one point, this man had over $100 million, but lost it all in the Great Depression.  He had to sell "The Shadows" and eventually died almost penniless in a small home in Miami Beach.

I was unable to find out if "The Shadows" still stands or what the writer meant  by calling Fisher a whale.

An Interesting person to Say the Least.  --RoadDog

Miami Marine Stadium and the Coppertone Girl

The October 8, 2009, Miami Herald reported that the Miami Historical Preservation Board voted 8-0 to give historical designations to these two sites.

A group called the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium have purchase the site. It was built in 1963 for use in power boat racing.

The Coppertone Girl billboard had stood on Biscayne Boulevard for decades until the sign, without neon, was moved to a Flagler Street building. The Dade Heritage Trust donated it to the Mimo Biscayne Association which is promoting the revitalization of that historic district that highlights 1950s Miami Modernism architecture (and you though Miami was only famous for its Art Deco),

Coppertone will cover the restoration costs (good move for that company). Coppertone was developed by Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green in the early 1940s. The toddler with bare butt thanks to a mischievious pooch was developed by a Florida artist in 1959.

Save the Girl!! --RoadDog