Images from Indy Race Reviewer & chicago.cubs.mlb.com
Sui generous. Hallowed ground. Witness to history. Host of legendary greats and unforgettable events. All these phrases and more apply to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as its Midwestern sister stadium Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The over century old venues – IMS was built in 1909 while Wrigley was constructed five years later – stand proudly as symbolic gems from the past while retaining their modern relevance. They’re not mere stadiums, they’re sports shrines.
Photo from Indy Race Reviewer
That’s truly a rare combination in a time and place where buildings, mountains, monuments and men are routinely torn down to make way for the new. In Chicago and Indy, progress has swirled like a tempest around these landmarks of longevity, yet thankfully they remain standing. Imagine for a minute if there were no IMS and no Wrigley Field. Then recall that it almost happened, as both sacred spaces were slated for demolition at certain points in their history. Interrupted only by the occasional world war or – rarer still – millionaires on strike, IMS and Wrigley have stood witness to hundreds of races and thousands of games. All while the whole world changed around them, then changed again.
Photo from usatoday.com
IMS and Wrigley have changed too, yet they always remain somehow the same. Continue reading →