{"id":14401,"date":"2019-05-31T07:22:14","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T14:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/?p=14401"},"modified":"2025-07-25T12:14:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T19:14:00","slug":"old-time-bicycle-stair-ramp-at-the-athenaeum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2019\/05\/31\/old-time-bicycle-stair-ramp-at-the-athenaeum\/","title":{"rendered":"Bicycle Stair Ramp at the Athenaeum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Long time Indianapolis cyclist, Larsen Perry<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0 told me about the bicycle ramp that is still on the stairs at the Athenaeum that lead down to the popular <\/span>Rathskeller Restaurant<\/span><\/span> there. When this began as a German athletic club in 1893, Indianapolis was a prosperous city swimming in the wealth of America’s first oil boom in the northeast part of the state. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Many of Its citizens were able to afford the ultimate extravagance of the day, the HiWheel bike. And one of them t<\/span>he Eagle Bicycle<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span>, you see me on the stairs with here, was so popular, due in large part to the legendary Carl Fisher, that Indianapolis was a stronghold for them per this page<\/strong><\/a> from my book <\/span>How Indianapolis Built America.<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It was also here in 1912, that Fisher held probably **the most important meeting of all time**, one that changed the landscape of the United States. A man who walked the talk of his boldness, he had started the first Auto Row in the world, when he built the first auto dealership where Krogers on Michigan St is now. He also had already helped to bring about the Indy 500 speedway.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The meeting he had arranged was so powerful, in fact, that by the time he was done telling his audience, many of whom had arrived by bike, that he wanted to build a road across United States from New York to San Francisco, he had raised several millions dollars to do so!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Katarina Paschall<\/span><\/span>, a server at the Rathskeller, took the pictures of me going up and down the stairs with the Eagle, a bike we’d all be riding today (independent steering, the header was eliminated and they could climb hills) if it hadn’t been for another Indianapolis company. When the <\/span>Diamond Chain Company<\/span><\/span> of 1890 began mass producing chain, they made chain that had been invented in 1880 affordable. Because of Diamond Chain, it wasn’t long before two smaller wheels were doing the work of one and the bicycle that we know today pushed the HiWheel into the dust bins of history. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Here from my book, is the Diamond Chain story<\/a><\/strong>..<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Long time Indianapolis cyclist, Larsen Perry,\u00a0 told me about the bicycle ramp that is still on the stairs at the… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,127,83,128,149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eagle","category-how-indy-built-america","category-indianapolis","category-indianapolis-history","category-indy-points-interest"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3VuuR-3Kh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13652,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2018\/10\/20\/athenaeum-das-deustsche-haus-built-1893\/","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":0},"title":"Athenaeum (Das Deustsche Haus) Built 1893","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"October 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Originally called Das Deustsche Haus when it was built in 1893 it was constructed by one of\u00a0the grandparents of the famous author Kurt Vonnegut. A German social club, it had gymnastics as its theme. Because of World War I, in 1917 with anti-German sentiment at an all time high, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Indianapolis Cultural Trail"","block_context":{"text":"Indianapolis Cultural Trail","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/indianapolis-cultural-trail\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8296.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8296.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8296.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8296.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8296.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8296.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16503,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2022\/03\/04\/indianapolis-points-of-interest-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":1},"title":"Indianapolis Points of Interest Index","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"March 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"-\u00a0\u00a0Athenaeum (Das Deustsche Haus) Built 1893 - Belmont Beach - Central Canal -\u00a0Christ Church, an Episcopal church built in 1857 on Monument Circl - Circle City Industrial -\u00a0Louis Schwitzer, First IMS Winner and Builder of Circle City Industrial Complex -\u00a0City Market 1886 with Bicycle Garage Indy -\u00a0Columbia Club at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Indianapolis"","block_context":{"text":"Indianapolis","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/indianapolis\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/TopOfMonumentLadyVictory.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13645,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2018\/10\/19\/st-marys-church-1910-one-block-from-cultural-trail\/","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":2},"title":"St Mary’s Church 1910 (one block from Cultural Trail)","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"October 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"St Mary's Catholic Church, the steeples of which can be seen from many parts of the city's downtown, as well as from\u00a0 the Cultural Trail, was built by the German Catholic community in 1910. It is one block from the German built Athenaeum. About a mile away, in Fountain Square,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Indianapolis Cultural Trail"","block_context":{"text":"Indianapolis Cultural Trail","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/indianapolis-cultural-trail\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8306.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8306.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8306.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8306.jpeg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8306.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8306.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17951,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2025\/07\/26\/nbg-indianapolis-history-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":3},"title":"NBG Indianapolis History Index","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"July 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Athenaeum (Das Deustsche Haus) Built 1893 Bicycle Stair Ramp at the Athenaeum Boston based Sasaki Associates Transformation of the Indianapolis Riverfront! Cadillac Co. of Indiana\/Automobile College Carl Fisher\u2019s original bike shop on Pennsylvania Ave Carl Fisher saturated Indianapolis with the Eagle HiWheel Indianapolis and the Nation, the Houses that Carl\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Indianapolis History"","block_context":{"text":"Indianapolis History","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/indianapolis-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13823,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2019\/01\/16\/table-of-contents-how-indianapolis-built-america-and-how-it-will-rebuild-it-with-the-national-bicycle-greenway\/","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":4},"title":"Table of Contents: “How Indianapolis Built America and H\u0010ow it will Rebuild it with the National Bicycle Greenway”","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"January 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Table of Contents Preface Timeline of Coast-to-Coast Travel 1\u00a0 Manifest Destiny and Taming the Western Frontier for Carl Fisher and the Automobile Age 2\u00a0 Diamond Chain of Indianapolis, 1890 to present 3\u00a0 Carl Fisher, PT Barnum of Automobile Age 4\u00a0 Lincoln Hwy of 1914, first Coast-to-Coast Road 5\u00a0 Why Lincoln\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How Indy Built America"","block_context":{"text":"How Indy Built America","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/how-indy-built-america\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-16-at-10.18.27-AM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13707,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2018\/10\/26\/city-market-1886-with-bicycle-garage-indy\/","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":5},"title":"City Market 1886 with Bicycle Garage Indy","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"October 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"At Market St. and Alabama,\u00a0dating back to as far as\u00a0 1821,\u00a0\u00a0this part of town is where fresh food was sold. The sheds from which the various meats and produce items from nearby farms were made available for purchase were replaced in 1886 by one of many\u00a0 German constructions that shaped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Indianapolis Cultural Trail"","block_context":{"text":"Indianapolis Cultural Trail","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/indianapolis-cultural-trail\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-11-at-1.40.37-PM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-11-at-1.40.37-PM.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-11-at-1.40.37-PM.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-11-11-at-1.40.37-PM.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14401"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17967,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14401\/revisions\/17967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}