The Indy 500 is one of the biggest racing events of the year, but did you know that
it got its start over 100 years ago?
Hi everyone, Ken here, Welcome to This House Today we are exploring the mansion of James
A. Allison, co-founder of the Indianapolis 500.
In 1872, James Allison was born into a well-to-do family.
By the age of 12 years old, his father had put him to work at the family Business, the
Allison Coupon Company.
So when his father unexpectedly passed away, James was able to take over the family business
at the young age of 18.
He enjoyed everything about running a business and quickly became a cereal entrepreneur,
creating companies and selling everything from bicycles to fountain pens, but what he
was really interested in was the newly emerging economy surrounding automobiles.
Up until this time, cars were not equipped with headlights, making night driving exceedingly
difficult and dangerous.
Fred Avery had invented a solution for this problem, but it was strictly hypothetical.
He had filed the patent for the first viable headlights and James wanted to put them into
production.
James and his business partner, Carl Fisher, partnered with Fred to form the Concentrated
Acetylene Company which would eventually be renamed to Prest-O-Lite.
The once novel idea of reliable and safe headlights became a reality for the first time and the
team sold more units than they could have ever imagined, making each of them incredibly
wealthy.
James and Carl, now with more money than they could ever spend, set out to make their fantasies
a reality.
Together they built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to race cars, but with more money
comes more problems, super-fast cars were not something they could readily buy.
Since James couldn’t buy a super fast car to race his friend, he took matters into his
own hands by founding the Indianapolis Speedway Team Company with the sole purpose of building
and engineering racecars for his track.
While he waited for a car fast enough to satiate his need for speed, he spent 3 years building
his dream house.
The 2 story, red brick mansion was designed in the Arts and Crafts style with a wide port
cochere to welcome guests.
The stately home was planned with an emphasis on long, clean lines with few, but effective
ornamental elements.
As we head inside, we will see a mix of old and new photos to give us the best idea of
what his home looked like while he lived there.
After passing through the front doors we arrive in the entrance hall with barrel vaulted ceilings
soaring above carved, mahogany balustrade.
Not much has changed in this room over the last century aside from the furniture being
removed.
Even the bronze chandelier with inlaid silver remains suspended over the parquet floors.
The dining room’s walls were finished with a semi-shiny velour above wainscotting capped
by a plate rail in the true fashion of a stately Arts and Crafts style home.
This flair continues into the Library with built in, glass pained, mahogany book cases
flanking a rockwood pottery fireplace.
In this old photo of the library, we can see how pronounced the patterns were on the pressed
leather walls surrounding the bookcases.
As a special gift for his wife, James had a marble aviary extended from the home to
house a collection of exotic birds.
And while she was spending time upstairs, he could relax in his basement smoking room
finished out with pressed leather walls in gothic styling.
Going back upstairs to the first floor, we will stop by the French Room with white gumwood
wall panels broken up by silk wall coverings with embroidered appliques.
Continuing these finishes, the breakfast room offered views over the lake and introduced
a subtle rose branch motif into the millwork.
On the second floor, we will find the guest bedroom with herringbone wood floors running
below a pink, marble fireplace.
Both James and his wife shared a bedroom finished out in white mahogany, though, as was common
for the time, they slept in different beds.
And when the summer sun heated up the interior to unbearable temperatures, the family could
slumber on the sleeping porch to enjoy a cool night’s breeze.
James enjoyed his life in the mansion and continued spending his free time at the racetrack.
In his later years, he attempted to give away a large portion of his fortune by building
a hospital and donating to various charities and religious organizations.
When he passed away in 1928, his heirs sold his companies to GM and later on the mansion
was conveyed to the Sisters of St. Francis.
While many changes had been made to the mansion over the years, it continues to boast many
of its original architectural and artisan features, living on as part of Marian University’s
campus.
Did you have a favorite room or detail?
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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