Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

May 19, 2015

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

There are all sorts of interesting ancillary events leading up to the Indianapolis 500. In my many years of attending, I have tried to do as many of them as possible which has led to my attendance at events as diverse as the great tortoise race at the Indianapolis Zoo, to the Indianapolis 500 Fashion Show. 

James Davison

This year there were a couple of events that I had planned to attend, one that I had been to before and another the first time grand opening of a new venture by the family of the legendary 4-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt. I also managed some time to squeeze in a visit to the wonderful Children’s Museum of Indianapolis so that I could check out the Hot Wheels racing exhibit that they have up this year.

A.J. IV & A. J.

Larry Foyt

The first event that I went to was the grand opening of the new Wine Bar owned and operated by A.J. Foyt’s son Larry and grandson A.J. Foyt IV. The Foyt’s have owned a winery for many years and the new wine bar, called the Foyt Wine Vault- in part because the location is a former bank and the huge vault is still in place. 

A.J. Foyt

Located on Main Street across from the Dallara Indy Car Factory and next to the Foyt Racing offices, the Foyt Wine Vault is a beautiful wine bar that is decorated in a classy racing décor featuring memorabilia from A.J. Foyt’s long Indy Car career. These include the final car that A.J. drove when he retired and many of A.J.’s various helmets that he wore through the year.

The highlight is of course the wine and it is pretty good. I was able to hang out with A.J. who was on hand to celebrate the opening along with Larry and AJIV and his wife. It was a wonderful evening and I was thrilled to be included. Hope to return soon. My next stop was at the nearby Speedway where the annual Last Row Party was being held.

James Davison & Bryan Clauson

The Last Row party was being held in the historic Pagoda at the Start/ Finish line at the track and featured a catered dinner, drinks and a sort of roast of the last row starters for the Indy 500 where they received checks for 31 cents, 32 cents and 33 cents for the final three positions in the field.  The last three drivers in the field included Ryan Briscoe (subbing for James Hinchcliffe), James Davison and Bryan Clauson.

It was really enjoyable and fun with great food and drink and best of all access to the incredible Pagoda which I had never been in. It offers commanding views of the entire track and surrounding areas all the way to a fantastic view of downtown Indianapolis.

I also had the chance to visit another of the top attractions in Indianapolis, the Children’s Museum which had a couple of exhibits that I really wanted to check out. The museum is consistently rated as the best museum of its kind in the Nation and going there you easily see why it has achieved the accolades. 

There were two exhibits that I wanted to see, the Hot Wheels racing exhibit and another exhibit about TV and film that featured props from famous television and film features including the likes of Fonzie’s jacket, the Ghostbuster’s uniforms and weapons from the Men in Black films and many, many others. It is a magical museum that also had a wonderful exhibit on underwater archaeology that made me feel right at home. 

https://www.childrensmuseum.org/