Becoming the Brickyard

This is a collection of articles published during the Fall of 1909 concerning the work to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 3.2 million bricks. The great speed facility was tagged with the name, "The Brickyard" before the work was done.


First I should note the quality of this article is pretty darn poor. Ok, it's crappy. I've found that's what you get sometimes when dealing with microfilm of 100+ year old newspapers.
 

This article about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's plans to expand and improve its garage facilities in the wake of their controversial first auto meet August 19-21 1909. This article was originally published in the September 5, 1909 Indianapolis Star.

The article in the attachment IMSNews091109 was originally published in the September 11, 1909, Indianapolis Star. This article discusses the Speedway management's considerations for the best way to pave the oval with a durable running surface.
 

The article in attachment IMSpave091609 originally appeared in the September 16, 1909, Indianapolis Star. It is a significant artifact as it notes the exact day that work began to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with bricks. After considering other paving material options Speedway management selected bricks.
 

The article in attachment IMSdeath091909 was originally published on September 19, 1909 in the Indianapolis Star. The article is an update on the brick paving work going on at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that reportedly began September 16.
 

The brief article in attachment IMSchanges100109 was originally published on October 1, 1909 in the Indianapolis Star. It is an update on the brick paving work going on at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that reportedly began September 16.
 

The article in attachment IMSpaving100309 discusses the ongoing push to complete the brick paving of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in time for a desired November 1 race. This article was published October 3, 1909, in the Indianapolis Star.
 

The article in attachment IMSplans102409 was originally published on October 24, 1909 in the Indianapolis Star. Almost unfathomable, but Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials still harbored ambitions of holding a race meet on the new Brickyard on November 1.
 

The article in attachment IMSavail102109 was published in the Indianapolis Star on October 21, 1909. The story reads like a public announcement as it declares that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would not only be a facility simply for racing but also a test track for automobile manufacturers. The article forecasts that the Speedway would be open and available for testing by November 1.
 

The article in attachment IMS1910plans112109 first appeared in the Indianapolis Star on November 21, 1909. It discusses plans for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1910 as well as providing an update on progress toward completing the giant brick-paving project that was underway.