Great Lakes Trip 2019 Day 13

Grave of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the United States

John Dillinger is buried here in Crown Hill Cemetery.
THAT John Dillinger
(Famous bank robber in the 1930s)

We toured this iconic landmark in Indianapolis. This is the location of the famous Indianapolis 500 race which is usually held over Memorial Day weekend every year. It also is the home of the Brickyard 400, a NASCAR race that is held the weekend after Labor Day.

The monuments here are of race cars, not people!

We took a ride on a tour bus for a lap on the actual track. It was pretty cool. This view is looking back at the third turn.

This view is looking at the fourth turn.

This is the pit area.

The “Pagoda” which has suites for race viewing.

Winners podium. Tradition is that the winner of the race drinks milk (for an endorsement of the dairy industry). Before the race, all the drivers select which milk they want – whole, 2%, 1%, skim – but it has to be white milk, not chocolate or strawberry, and it has to be cow’s milk, not almond milk or other non-dairy milk.

This is the “yard of bricks”. The original track was made of millions of bricks. Over time, the bricks were paved over to smooth the track. They kept three feet of bricks for the finish line. A tradition has developed that the winner of the Indianapolis 500 runs out to the track and kisses the bricks, so…

… this was pretty cool.

The museum contains many, many cars, mostly winners of past races. There is also an entire section of Mario Andretti’s cars. Here is his 1979 Lotus. Zoom in on the picture to read the details.

Andretti won the 1978 World Driving Championship driving this Lotus Type 79-4.

A 1960’s-1970s garage.

This car is similar, although perhaps a little larger, to the race cars Mary Jean’s father used to race. He designed and built his cars and their engines.

This car won the 1912 Indianapolis 500.

There are many cars here. It is quite impressive.

Cars from the 1950s and 1960s.

This car won the 1977 Indianapolis 500.

The man in the blue car in this painting resembles Mary Jean’s father.

This is the home of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the United States. He was the only president whose grandfather was also president. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was our 9th president (and also shortest-serving – 32 days).

President Harrison served one term from 1889-1893. He was defeated for reelection in 1892 by President Grover Cleveland, whom Harrison had succeeded. (Cleveland was the only man to serve non-consecutive terms). Harrison suspended his campaign a week before the election in 1892 because First Lady Caroline Harrison died on October 25, 1892. He simply didn’t want to continue in office. He lived for another nine years after leaving the presidency.

First Lady Caroline Harrison was a very active woman, a leader in women’s rights and advancement in the late 1800s.

Formal parlor

Informal parlor. The portrait above the fireplace is Harrison’s grandfather, President William Henry Harrison, 9th president of the US.

Reginaphone Music Box/Phonograph. The docent played a few seconds of this hand-crank machine! I recorded about 20 seconds of it.

Harrison’s office

This is a souvenir President Harrison received when the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s inaugural in 1789. It is called a centennial stick. There is a carved head of each of the presidents up until Harrison stacked on top of each other.

The kitchen is furnished with period pieces. This is a Hoosier Cabinet with many interesting drawers and cubbyholes. The high chair actually belonged to the Harrisons. Children would eat in the kitchen with the servants until they learned table manners.

This stove is similar to the model the Harrisons used.

Dining room

The Harrisons’ White House china.

Benjamin Harrison’s actual baby crib

This is Benjamin Harrison the Fifth’s (President Benjamin Harrison’s great-grandfather and a signer of the Declaration of Independence) actual crib from the 1700s!

Benjamin Harrison’s bed. This is the bed he died in. So this house contains his actual baby crib, AND his deathbed!

Harrison’s home gym

Front view of the Indiana State Capitol.
Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train stopped in Indianapolis in 1865 and lay in state inside this building, as it did in several locations on its way to his burial in Springfield IL.

Front view of the Indiana State Capitol

Looking up at the inside of the dome.

Bust of President Benjamin Harrison, the only president from Indiana.

Skylight

Colonnade

House of Representatives chamber. Zoom in to see how beautiful the chandelier is.

Senate Chamber

Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts

Downtown Indianapolis

President William Henry Harrison, 9th president of the United States. He was a native of Virginia, and he was a hero for battling the Indians in the Northwest Territory (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois). He earned a nickname “Old Tippecanoe” for his exploits. He served at territorial governor of Indiana prior to winning the presidency in 1840. His inaugural address was the longest, and he delivered it outside in a terrible storm and developed pneumonia. He died 32 days after he was inaugurated. First Lady Anna Harrison was too sick to travel to Washington, so she never made it to the White House. Only Anna Harrison and Martha Washington were First Ladies that never lived in the White House (it didn’t exist when George Washington was president).

The approach to the crypt

The graves of President William Henry Harrison and Frist Lady Anna Harrison.

Near the grave of President William Henry Harrison in North Bend OH is the birthplace of his grandson, President Benjamin Harrison. He was born on a farm on this site, but the farm no longer exists.

A bend in the Ohio River at North Bend OH.

We stayed in a hotel across the river from Cincinnati in Covington KY, so we took this boat across the river to see the Reds-Phillies game at The Great American Ballpark.