More than 100,000 racing fans are expected to descend on the nation’s capital this weekend to watch as the streets around the National Mall become an IndyCar course. But not everyone is cheering.
Preservationists from across the country are worried about the side effects of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, particularly the vibrations from race cars thundering at speeds in excess of 185 miles per hour past landmarks including the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building. They say these vibrations could damage the precious treasures housed inside.
“I’ve been to an IndyCar race,” said Mary Okin, the assistant director of the Living New Deal, a nonprofit research project and public archive of New Deal history. “Your whole body shakes. You can blow out an eardrum.”
The National Gallery of Art, home to a massive Alexander Calder mobile suspended from the ceiling of its East Building, commissioned a vibration study to assess possible impacts. Though the museum would not give specifics, it has taken steps “to ensure the safety of our staff, visitors, collection and facilities during the race.”
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Museum spokesperson Chris Abanavas emphasized that the measures were being taken out of a “great abundance of caution.”
Officials at several Smithsonian museums along the race course referred all inquiries to the central Smithsonian office, which responded with information about museums’ operating hours and entry procedures during the race and details of Grand Prix-related food specials that will be offered — including “high-octane lattes” — but not to questions about the impact of the race on their collections.
Officials at the National Archives also did not respond to requests for comment.
Drivers in the first-ever race to take over the streets of the nation’s capital will run 147 laps — roughly 250 miles — around the 1.7-mile, seven-turn course. There will be practice sessions and qualifying events on Saturday before the race on Sunday, which will begin on Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol.
President Trump has been among the event’s biggest boosters.
“It’ll be an awesome display of American patriotism and raw horsepower, ingenuity,” he said during the Freedom Grand Prix Showcase last month. “They’re going to go all around the National Mall at speeds … if we did that during the regular day, I think people would be put in jail, perhaps, for the rest of their lives.”
Okin raised her concerns in a letter sent to the National Park Service last month. In the letter, first reported by the New Republic, Okin wrote that vibrations from the high-speed race could cause an “adverse effect” on historic properties under federal preservation rules.
“This is unprecedented,” said Michelle Arcari Rose, a former associate general counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Why would we risk it? Why would you do it repeatedly over the course of two days, when we know there’s super fragile art that can’t be moved?”
Okin has urged officials to install low-cost vibration monitors on murals at the Cohen Building to measure whether the works are harmed by speeding cars but has received no response.
“You don’t have to be an expert to know fragile murals and race cars don’t mix,” Okin said.
In a statement, the General Services Administration, which oversees and manages real estate for the federal government, said it conducted a review of the proposed route and identified “no areas of concern.”
Some precautionary measures, however, have been taken. More than 200 manhole covers have been welded down to prevent them from flying loose during the race.
The National Park Service referred all inquiries to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix organizers, who did not respond to a request for comment. However, in a March 20 letter to David Maloney, D.C.’s state historic preservation officer, the agency’s National Mall and Memorial Parks unit concluded the race would have no adverse effect on historic properties. The D.C. planning office concurred in a letter dated April 21. But Arcari Rose and Okin say a more in-depth examination of the potential impact should have taken place.
As the popularity of motor sports has increased, more cities have sought to host such events. But some historic preservationists argue that certain venues are better suited to hosting them than others.
“I don’t think that anyone feels like having races on the streets of Las Vegas is inappropriate,” said Susan Kern, the director of the historic preservation program at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. “This feels inappropriate.”
“These older structures were not designed with this in mind,” she added. “[It’s] shortsighted.”
Trump first laid the groundwork for this weekend’s events in January, when he signed an executive order, “Celebrating American Greatness with American Motor Racing,” establishing the race as one of several events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Now, the race has arrived and the District is bracing for a one-of-a-kind event.
“Reasonable people would not risk this,” said Arcari Rose. “I call this a Jurassic Park problem. Just because you can bring back the dinosaurs doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.”