{"id":16251,"date":"2021-10-19T06:34:33","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T13:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/?p=16251"},"modified":"2023-10-18T19:58:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T02:58:35","slug":"indianapolis-long-has-led-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2021\/10\/19\/indianapolis-long-has-led-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Indianapolis Long Has Led the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This is how my chapter about Indianapolis as being home to the NBG ends.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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I<\/strong>n sum, with a transportation legacy that opened the frontier where there were no roads, with its National Road Wood Covered Bridge over the White River<\/span> of 1834, Indianapolis set in place the momentum that would civilize all of America. As gold seekers streamed over the White River, it was also on its way to becoming known as the Railroad City of the West (in the early 19th century, anything west of Appalachia was considered the West). From its Union Station, the first in the world to act as one terminal for all the different railroads, it then made transcontinental trains to San Francisco accessible to the East.<\/span><\/div>\n
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For those wanting to stay closer to home, one of its companies, Diamond Chain, by making chain affordable, made the bicycle affordable for the masses. One of the principal leaders of the Industrial Revolution, Diamond Chain also made most motor vehicles, the assembly line and the Wright Brothers flight possible.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Before the automobile, Indianapolis also led America with the largest inter-urban train system in the world. Then when cars did come around, before Detroit made its first automobile in 1899, there are records of one, the De Freet, being made Indianapolis in 1895. In fact, Indianapolis was once home to 97 different car manufacturers, more so than any other American city.<\/span><\/div>\n
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It led America again when it built the first test track for automobiles, the Indy 500 Motor Speedway. Before the IMS, car makers did not have a way to test their products under extreme conditions.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Through Presto-O-Lite, Indianapolis also made car headlights affordable and widely available. This allowed the public to drive to recreation and errands when the sun went down. It also meant they could work longer hours. As a result, the productivity of factories all over America increased dramatically.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Indianapolis also led the way by creating the movement for the first coast to coast car highway in the world, the road that built America, the Lincoln Highway.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Here now over a century later, Indianapolis is still on the leading edge. As the Greenway Capital of the World, cities all over the globe come here to learn how to replicate such success in their own locales. This is also true for the world\u2019s first and only downtown Greenway, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail that has made Indianapolis the most bikeable downtown on Planet Earth!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This is how my chapter about Indianapolis as being home to the NBG ends.\u00a0 —— In sum, with a transportation… 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":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-indianapolis"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3VuuR-4e7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16503,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2022\/03\/04\/indianapolis-points-of-interest-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":16251,"position":0},"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":17951,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2025\/07\/26\/nbg-indianapolis-history-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":16251,"position":1},"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":15065,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2019\/11\/18\/new-national-bicycle-greenway-web-features-indianapolis\/","url_meta":{"origin":16251,"position":2},"title":"New National Bicycle Greenway Web Features Indianapolis","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"November 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Click on the image to see our all new BikeRoute.com page for Indianapolis. A lot of the reason I am here in Indianapolis to enjoy this is because of Ray R Irvin . Known as Mr. Greenway, I have also come to learn that for his work on the riverfront\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\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-18-at-8.04.46-PM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-18-at-8.04.46-PM.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-18-at-8.04.46-PM.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13530,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2018\/10\/05\/united-methodist-church-at-start-of-fountain-square-indianapolis\/","url_meta":{"origin":16251,"position":3},"title":"United Methodist Church at Start of Fountain Square, Indianapolis","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"October 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the United Methodist Church at Fletcher and Virginia where the\u00a0Fountain Square section of the\u00a0Indianapolis Cultural Trail begins. Built in 1880, they have been converted to luxury condominiums...... \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Indianapolis"","block_context":{"text":"Indianapolis","link":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/category\/indianapolis\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8053-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8053-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8053-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8053-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8053-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/IMG_8053-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13565,"url":"https:\/\/www.bikeroute.com\/NationalBicycleGreenwayNews\/2018\/10\/10\/kurt-vonnegut-mural-on-indianapolis-cultural-trail\/","url_meta":{"origin":16251,"position":4},"title":"Kurt Vonnegut Mural on Indianapolis Cultural Trail","author":"awakeagainmartin@gmail.com","date":"October 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Kurt Vonnegut, the famous author who wrote \u201cSlaughterhouse Five\u201d. 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