The lost motor city : Indianapolis automobile manufacturers 1900-1966

Abstract

This research and documentation project of surviving Indianapolis automobile factories examines the importance of Indianapolis, Indiana, as a center of automobile manufacturing in its early days. Automobile factories appeared in the city as early as 1895, and were often an outgrowth of bicycle or carriage-building companies. This followed a national trend. As the industry grew, Indianapolis firms continued to produce low-volume, high-quality cars instead of the more popular, low-cost cars being produced by Ford and other Michigan-based manufacturers. The recession of 1921 and the Great Depression of 1929 decimated the market for expensive cars and by 1937 all Indianapolis-based firms were out of the automobile business. A number of their production facilities remain and are employed in a variety of uses. This project documents these buildings and recommends a range of adaptive re-uses based on successful conversions.