Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
January 1997
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
2 February 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
2 folders of photographs, 1 OVA photograph folder |
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COLLECTION |
Ca. 1928–ca. 1962 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Fred W. Rosenbrock, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1988 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
None |
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RELATED |
None |
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ACCESSION |
1988.0041 |
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NOTES: |
Lemon H. (Lem) Trotter operated the Lem H. Trotter Real Estate and Insurance Company of Indianapolis, and the Speedway Realty Company. In 1908 he selected the site of the future Indianapolis Motor Speedway on behalf of friends Carl Fisher, James Allison, A. C. Newby, and Frank Wheeler. He chose the site because it was “nearly level” and suited the purpose of testing automobiles. In 1912 Trotter purchased 350 acres of land surrounding the track, and platted the town of Speedway.
Born in Hendricks County near Danville, Indiana, in 1870, Trotter moved to Marion County in 1888. He worked as a stone cutter, sold insurance, and operated a turkey farm before establishing the Lem Trotter Real Estate and Insurance Company, ca. 1900, and the Speedway Realty Company in 1913. He served on the Indianapolis Board of Public Works during Mayor John L. Duvall’s administration (1926–27). Trotter married Cleo Turner in 1927. He died 6 June 1966.
Sources:
History Committee of the Speedway Civic Committee, compiler. The Story of Speedway. Indianapolis: 1976.
“Lem Trotter Dies; Picked ‘500’ Site,” Indianapolis Star, 7 June 1966, p. 1.
Polk’s Indianapolis Directory, 1902. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1902.
Polk’s Indianapolis Directory, 1928. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1928.
Polk’s Indianapolis Directory, 1933. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1933.
Polk’s Indianapolis Directory, 1935. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1935.
The collection contains eighteen photographs, primarily of buildings. The Bass Photo Company made most of the photographs for the Speedway Realty Company. The images include exterior views of the Union Bus Station at 123 West Market Street in 1928; the Bradford Auto Company at 532 North Capitol Street in 1933; the United States Post Office Garage at 318 West New York Street in 1933; the Indianapolis Warehouse Company at 330 West New York Street in 1935; and interior and exterior views of a Nash automobile showroom, the Losey-Nash Motor Company at 400 North Capitol, Indianapolis, in 1931.
Two photographs show Lem Trotter and two unidentified men in the elevator at the State Life Building, 15 East Washington Street ca. 1960. One photograph of men standing in line outside a brick building may relate to union activity associated with the closing of Ball Corporation facilities in Muncie, 1962. The Indianapolis Star newspaper made the photograph. A penciled annotation on the verso reads: “Strike Ball City Desk.” The collection also includes a signed portrait of Indiana Governor Ed Jackson. The image is signed on the mount: “To my old Friend Lem, Ed Jackson.”
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Union Bus Station, 123 West Market Street, 1928] [Bradford Auto Company, 532 North Capitol Street, 1933] [United States Post Office Garage, 318 West New York Street, 1933] [Indianapolis Warehouse Company, 330 West New York Street, 1935] [Losey-Nash Motor Company, 400 North Capitol, 1931] |
Photographs, Folder 1 |
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[Lem Trotter in elevator] [group of men in line, Indianapolis Star photograph] |
Photographs, Folder 2 |
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[Portrait of Governor Ed Jackson] |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0337).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.