When the Pagoda was a Pagoda

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Anyone familiar with the recent versions of the glass and concrete control towers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway might wonder why they call it “The Pagoda”. After all, they really only has a passing resemblance to the Japanese* architectural style—particularly between ’56 and ’98.

Not so with the pre-1956 versions.

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* A few emails have pointed out that the pagoda isn’t strictly a Japanese design. What we think of as the pagoda has its origins in Nepal before migrating through Tibet to China and the rest of Asia. Thanks for the clarification everyone.