Why I Went Around Indy Looking at Tall Buildings

Here is why I went to look for the spot in Indianapolis where the first guy to drop something really huge off a building in America first started doing that. (And before I forget, here is a Library of Congress photo of the guy who dropped that something, a photo of him at the wheel of a race car, racing, even though he couldn't really see.)

Indy is notable for reasons having to do with the history of roads as well--for Indy was the home of Carl Fisher. Fisher was a bicycle enthusiast who became a bike salesman who then became a car enthusiast and then a car salesman. He was a builder and developer, building the Indianapolis raceway and inaugurating the Indy 500, as well as developing Miami Beach. He also developed the national road, the first coast-to-coast highway, which became known as the Lincoln Highway. We consider him to be the father of dropping big things off of buildings to great public enthusiasm, in his case bicycles and then cars.

As far as the Indianapolis 500 goes, he developed the raceway because people were dying in auto races, which were primarily held in towns, cars running off into crowds of spectators. As far as the Lincoln Highway goes he believed that America ought to be able to cross itself, he is a country crossing enthusiast in a long line of country crossing enthusiasts, that begins with Jefferson, who sent Lewis and Clark across the country, and winds up with Eisenhower, who, with the Interstate highway system, makes it possible for any of us to be Lewis and Clarks at any time. As far as dropping things off buildings goes, he did it to promote his bicycle business, and then his car business.


Last time I was in Indy, I went to try and figure out where exactly was born the American tradition of dropping giant things off buildings, in particular bikes and even cars.