IMS Pagoda History

(By Sigur Whitaker)
 
The iconic Pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a history of over 100 years. To many, seeing the Pagoda brings back a flood of memories of racing at the Speedway.  
 
When the Speedway opened in 1909, there were two three-story buildings located at the start/finish line. The primary focus of the buildings was the scoring of the race. The two buildings did not last long. After the 1912 Indianapolis 500, management tore down the buildings and built a five-story control tower. It had a Japanese influence and looked like a Pagoda. At the time, the Japanese influence was in vogue, and IMS co-founder Frank Wheeler’s home, Hawkeye, had a Japanese garden including a pagoda. This building, like the others at IMS, was painted green and white.
 
A massive fire destroyed the pagoda after the 1925 running of the Indianapolis 500. While the building was intentionally burned down to make more space between the track and the pagoda, IMS secretary/treasurer, T. E. “Pop” Myers told the Indianapolis newspapers that the cause of the fire was a carelessly discarded cigarette with an estimated loss of $7,000.
 
A new, larger six story wooden control tower with 5,000 square feet was built. The bottom floor was for concessions while the second floor was spectator seating. The press was seated on the second story with stair step tier so that every writer would have an unimpeded view of the race. The timers and checkers occupied the fourth and fifth floors, while the top floor was for officials and Speedway management.
 
As a predecessor to the scoring pylon, the 1926 building had a special drivers’ scoreboard on the roof which showed the order of the first five racers. Not only did it show the position, it also indicated if they were on the same lap or were running a lap or more behind.
 
After the 1955 Indianapolis 500, IMS owner Tony Hulman had the 1926 wooden frame building torn down. As part of a $1 million project, the control tower, the Tower Terrace stands with seating for 12,000, and a new pit lane were constructed. The 1956 control tower was built of glass and steel giving the building a very modern style. Any visual ties to the historic pagoda were missing. Filming of the race could be done from the top of the press box.
 
Two days after Jeff Gordon became the first two time winner of NASCAR's Brickyard 400 in 1998,workmen began removing electronic equipment from inside the 1956 Control Tower for its demolition which began ten days later. Rather than have the structure imploded, the Speedway had it taken apart piece by piece. This was so the Tower Terrace seating and a proposed Formula One road course would not be adversely affected.  
 
The new control tower was designed by the Indianapolis firm of Browning, Day, Mullins and Dierdorf which returned to the earlier pagoda style. The throwback look was intentional. Tony George, then CEO of IMS, told the Associated Press, “We wanted to tie in to our history. The first two control towers were pagoda style, so we thought it was a proper way to show respect for our history and tradition by including design elements that reflected our history.”  One of the unique visual aspects of this control tower is that the decks extend outward north and south but not east and west. So, while the control tower looks like a pagoda from the east and west, the view from the north and south does not.
 
The $150 million construction project of 1998-2000 also included a 2.605 mile road course that ran inside the oval track, a new media center, pit lane garages and suites, and a flagman stand.
 
The 2000 Pagoda has ten stories with 65,000 square feet. While the Pagoda is only ten stories tall, in a traditional commercial building, that would be 13 stories. With the flagpole, the Pagoda stands 199 feet tall. This is an important number as the Speedway is on the flight path to Indianapolis International Airport. If it was one foot taller, IMS would have needed federal approval for the structure.   It stands 153 feet from the ground to the roof.
 
It is from the ground floor of the Pagoda where the drivers walk out to be introduced to the crowd on race day.  It is also where the official pace car is displayed. The pace car and the backup pace cars are worked on and tested to make sure that everything will run without a hitch on race day.  On the day of the Indianapolis 500, the first floor also has the Borg-Warner trophy which is normally on display at the IMS Museum.
 
On the second floor is the race control room with a bank of fifteen video screens fed by 100 cameras showing all aspects of the track. From this room, the race is run…all the decisions are made including red flagging (stopping the race). From there, when there is a problem, they can direct the emergency vehicles, sweepers, tow trucks, and the track repair, if needed. There are also people stationed around the track who can quickly relay to race control happenings on the track or in the stands. If there is a crash, the observer will yell out “Yellow, Yellow, Yellow.” The spotters/observers can also spot small things that could be very dangerous such as a bolt.
 
Floors three through eight contain suites. The third floor’s suite for the title sponsor of the IndyCar series, currently NTT. Floors four and five are used by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation for business development purposes where the guests can interface with some of Indiana’s premier companies such as Eli Lilly and Cummins. IMS Suite 67 is on floors 6 and 7 where Roger Penske and IMS can entertain key partners, sponsors, dignitaries and celebrities. It is 4,200 square feet and can accommodate 360 people.
 
The ninth floor is the Pagoda command center. If you are at the Speedway and have a medical emergency, your 9-1-1 call is redirected to the Pagoda command center. They can deploy emergency personnel including EMS. If you have a heart attack or some other medical emergency at IMS, you are probably better off than if you have one in your home. Not only does the Speedway have a fully equipped medical building, but it is not far from IU Methodist Hospital, a level one trauma facility.  One of the most remarkable things to me is that ninth floor personnel also interface with outside dispatchers so that if there is an incident at an intersection, they can help to divert traffic on the way to or from the Speedway.
 
The Indianapolis 500 is a level 2 event on the Department of Homeland Security’s special event assessment rating. That means that it is a “significant event with national and/or international importance that may require some level of federal interagency support.” As such, they also have
 personnel from the FBI, TSA, FAA, National Weather Service, and District Attorney’s office. On race day, they also have bomb sniffing dogs to sniff the cars before they enter. In 2019, there were 32 dogs and their handlers on duty—twice the number as were on duty for the Super Bowl.
 
The 43 large video boards spread throughout the Speedway are controlled by personnel on the ninth floor.
 
The penthouse on the 10th floor is for the title sponsor for the Indianapolis 500, currently Gainbridge. The roof is also important during the pre-race facilities. It is there that they coordinate the flyover of the fighter jets with the National Anthem. When downtown Indianapolis is shown during race day coverage, it is from the roof of the Pagoda which has the best view of downtown Indianapolis throughout the metropolitan area.
 
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The Society of Automotive Historians’ Author’s Signing event will be held in conjunction with the AACA Library Yard Sale under the tents in AACA HQ & Library parking lot in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I will be participating in the SAH book signing from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. The AACA Library Yard sale is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
 
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