Archive for March, 2012

Ligonier Indiana Automotive Landmarks

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Yesterday, I enjoyed a great day at the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association Retreat for board members and guests in Ligonier, IN. In the morning, we took a walking tour of downtown and discovered some Indiana automotive landmarks.


Reo Cars Ghost Sign

Reo Cars Ghost Sign
in Ligonier Indiana
Copyright © 2012 Dennis E. Horvath


As we walked north on Cavin St. (the former N. Lincolnway) someone noticed a ghost sign for the Ligonier Garage on the south façade at 106 South Cavin. A little while later, we visited the Ligonier Historical Museum on Main Street. The folks there were very helpful in providing reference materials to attempt to date the sign. A 1914 Sanborn map noted that the first floor of the building was a garage with a cement floor, but no proprietor was listed. A 1916 Chautauqua program had a Reo advertisement with the same address.

Mier Carriage & Buggy

Mier Carriage & Buggy
in Ligonier Indiana
Copyright © 2012 Dennis E. Horvath


Earlier while driving around town, I noticed a three story building with a crumbling west façade at 104 North Water St. While perusing the same 1914 Sanborn map, I discovered that this was the former site of the Mier Carriage & Buggy Company. The map provides a description of how materials and finished vehicles flowed through the building. Sales, body making, wood working, and wheel shop were on the first floor; with painting, varnishing, axles, and rubber tiring on the second floor; and body finishing and upholstering on the third floor.

The Mier Carriage & Buggy Company had the distinction of building the first three-story building in town. A.B. Mier joined his father Solomon Mier in the buggy business at the turn of the twentieth century. They ventured into the automotive field in 1908, when they added a two-cylinder engine with a friction transmission and double-chain drive to their buggy offerings. They sold about 100 of these high-wheeler runabouts with solid rubber tires and right-hand drive controls for less than $600. Longer wheelbase motorized runabouts, stanhopes, and surreys were offered for 1909. Thereafter, the Miers returned to exclusive manufacture of horse drawn carriages and wagons.

Unfortunately, with the deteriorating condition of this structure, it looks like we will soon lose another Indiana automotive landmark. I understand that currently, there are no plans to save this building.

It’s time to get out and enjoy some Indiana automotive landmarks along the Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway, National Road, and the Michigan Road. In the future, I’ll share upcoming events along these highways. Visit the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association website for more information.

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Celebration of Automobiles is expanding for 2012

Sunday, March 11th, 2012

Great news! The Indianapolis Motor Speedway recently announced that the Celebration of Automobiles is expanding for 2012. Everyone I know thoroughly enjoyed the celebration last year. This year’s event will feature three events in one track wide celebration. The celebration scheduled for Saturday, May 12, expands on the original mission of the Speedway to be a showplace for the American automobile.

The Vintage and Historic Car Show, last year’s inaugural event featuring cars from 1920-1970, continues as the keystone Celebration of Automobiles event. Another existing May event, the Emerging Tech Showcase, is integrated into the celebration. The new event is the Automobile Festival, featuring current and late model vehicles, plus automotive performance and accessory companies.

The Vintage and Historic Car Show will gather 200 automobiles produced by manufacturers participating in the Indianapolis 500 during the 1920-1970 era and other significant manufacturers around the Pagoda Plaza area. The cars around the plaza should be some of the best from the collectible car universe. If it’s anything like last year’s event, this will be the chance of a lifetime to see many of these autos.

Celebration of Automobiles
A Jackson Touring Car and a Stutz Bearcat on view
at the Celebration of Automobiles
Copyright © 2011 Dennis E. Horvath


The Emerging Tech Showcase features activities showing the future of automotive sustainability. Events inside the showcase are the Purdue Collegiate evGrand Prix, which students form colleges and universities race their electric-powered karts on a course near the IMS Hall of Fame Museum; the EV Rally, which allows owners of electric cars to participate and drive a lap around the track; and the Electric-Powered Manufacturer Ride and Drive, where interested customers can take these cars on a lap around the Speedway.

The new Automobile Festival features hundreds of current and late model vehicles displayed inside of Turn 4. Domestic and import sports, muscle, and pony cars are scheduled for display. Automotive aftermarket and accessory companies will display high performance autos in the car corral.

This year’s Celebration of Automobiles promises to be an event for all to remember. The event takes place from 9 am to 6 pm, on May 12, Opening Day for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. I know that with all of the great cars around the plaza, it will take some planning to experience the other events around the speedway. So, start planning your experience now. Who knows? Maybe I’ll see you there.

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Indiana Historic Map Resource

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

Recently Indiana Landmarks shared a link to an Indiana Historic Map Resource. This link is to the Indiana Sanborn Historic Maps 1883-1966 repository at the Indiana University Herman B. Wells Library Map Collections.

The Sanborn Map and Publishing Company was a primary publisher of fire insurance maps between 1883 and 1966. The maps present a detailed account of urban development and change in communities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The large-scale (1:600) Sanborn maps are useful to auto enthusiasts for street layouts, building footprints, building use, and house and block numbers.

The Sanborn maps in the Indiana University Herman B Wells Library Map Collections are a joint project between Indiana University and the Historical Information Gatherers, Inc., providing digital color versions to the Indiana Spatial Data Portal (ISDP).

Many Indiana urban areas, such as Indianapolis and South Bend, have multiple map volumes. Sanborn divided large city volumes into multiple maps covering smaller areas. The first map in each volume provides a key map to the other maps in the same volume.

Here’s the process to find the respective map of your choice. For this demonstration, I’ll show you how to locate a 1915 Indianapolis map for the Stutz Motor Car Company at 1002-1008 North Capital Avenue. First, click on this metadata link. Here, you double click on (IN_Sanborn_Historicmaps_in formation.xls) to access the Excel data file for the year, city, and file name of the city index file.

In the archive, the filename of each map image includes: (1) the five digit HIG code used to identify the location (2) the volume number (3) the year the map was created and (4) additional information regarding map location and volume. For us, this would be 02371, volume 4, 1915, index filename noted as 02371_04_1915-0000.

With this filename you dig deeper. Go to the public directory link. Here, you have a choice of mosaic, pdf, or tif files, click on the file type of your choice. Next, you scroll down and click on 1915. Then, scroll down to the Indianapolis index file 02371_04_1915-0000 and click to download the file. With the index file on your screen, scroll down to the bottom of the map and you’ll notice that 1002-1008 North Capital Avenue is on map number 356. Go back to the previous screen to the 1915 Indianapolis section, scroll down and click to download file 02371_04_1915-0356.


Stutz Motor Car Company on 1915 Sanborn Map

Stutz Motor Car Company
Copyright © 1915 Sanborn Map & Publishing

Peruse the information for the Stutz Motor Car Co. It talks about building construction and how the autos progressed through the plant from frame assembly on the first floor all the way up to the fourth floor final assembly.

I also checked out Federal Motor Works (former Marion Plant) 321-341 W. 15th St.; Ford Motor Co. Indianapolis Assembly Branch 1307-1323 E. Washington St.; Parry Manufacturing Co. 1002 W. Henry St.; The Pathfinder Co. 1140 Division St., Nordyke & Marmon Co. 1131 W. Morris St.; National Motor Vehicle Co. 1101-1147 E. 22nd St.; and the former site of the Empire Motor Car Co., W. 29th St. & the Canal.

Hey, I even checked to see if my grandparents’ last home in South Bend existed in 1917. Sure enough, there it was a couple of blocks just south of Lincoln Way.

I invite you to check out this great Indiana historic map resource.

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Indianapolis Auto Row

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

In the 1920′s, a 10-block area along North Capitol Avenue in Indianapolis became the home to several segments of the auto industry. If you wanted a new car or service in Indianapolis, this is where you would come. So, let’s take a stroll along N. Capitol to visit sites and structures of that bygone era.

The genesis for Indianapolis Auto Row began with Carl G. Fisher relocating his Fisher Automobile Co. showroom to 400 North Capitol Avenue in 1909. The Fisher Gibson Co. followed in 1910 at 416; with the following firms over the next decade, National Motor Vehicle Co. showroom (1911-1912) at 426-428; Fisher Automobile Co. (1918) at 434-442; and Colonial Automobile Co. (1917) at 444-450. Along the east side of the 400 block of N. Capitol were: Peterson Keyes Automobile Co. (1915) at 401-411; Central Motor Parts Co. (1913) at 419-425; Gates Masters Co. (1911) at 431; and the only currently existing building the Gibson Co. (1916-1917) at 433-447.


The Gibson Co. in 2007

The Gibson Co. Building in 2007
Copyright © 2007 Dennis E. Horvath

The Cadillac Co. of Indiana/Automobile College at 500-514 N. Capitol was built from 1910-1911. The first floor housed a Cadillac dealership and on the second floor was the college that was reputed to be one of the first “technical” schools related to autos. Just north on the west side of the block was Cooper Tire Service built in 1910.

Continuing up the west side of the street to the 600 block of N. Capitol, we come to the William Small Co. (1915) at 602. At this site in 1920, Louis J. Chevrolet built four Monroe and three Frontenac race cars. His brother Gaston Chevrolet drove a Monroe to victory in the 1920 Indianapolis 500.

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. built its regional service center at 640 N. Capitol in 1913. Across the street on the east side was the Williams Building, known as a “cafeteria of auto parts companies,” built in 1916-1917 at 611-617. Just north was the Hatfield Ford Co. showroom and service center at 627 N. Capitol built in 1920. This building served as a Ford dealer into the 1970’s.


The Stutz Motor Car Company

The Stutz Motor Car Company
Copyright © 2007 Dennis E. Horvath

Walking a few blocks north we come to the Stutz Motor Car Co. (1914-1920) at 1002-1008 N. Capitol and the Ideal Motor Car Co. (1911) at 221 W. 10th Street. The first Stutz automobile was built at Ideal for the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911. A Stutz Model A torpedo roadster served as the pace car at the 1912 Indianapolis 500. In June 1913, the Ideal Motor Car Company was reorganized as the Stutz Motor Car Company. Following the initial success of the Stutz Bearcat roadster, construction of new facilities commenced at the 1002 N. Capitol. Stutz production continued here until 1934.

Further along the street we have the Harry V. Hyatt Graham-Paige Co. at 1327 N. Capitol built in 1929. This building is a good example of a single-story showroom. In the next block was the Stutz Fire Engine company at 1411 N. Capitol built in 1919. Across the street was the HCS Motor Car Co. at 1402 N. Capitol built in 1920-1921. This was Harry Clayton Stutz’s last auto venture.

I believe this area deserves a more formal designation as “Indianapolis Auto Row” for its large concentration of automotive related sites from the first three decades of the twentieth century. Most people are unaware that they are passing by some Indiana automotive landmarks as they motor down North Capitol Avenue in a hurry to work or to an entertainment venue.

So, take a look during your next visit to downtown Indianapolis.

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