On The Map

Created by artist Eduardo Mendieta, and situated along Speedway’s historic Main Street, this mural honors the city’s century-long love affair with auto racing. The car depicted in the mural is the Blitzen Benz, and it sits atop a map of Speedway featuring the iconic oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The child in the upper left hand corner represents the joy of discovering “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and finding it here in Indianapolis.

The Blitzen (Lightning) Benz was the first car to be purpose-built to break speed records.  It was produced in an edition of 6 vehicles in 1909.  The car appeared in an exhibition run at the first Indy 500 race in 1911, just a month after it broke the land/air/water vehicle speed record of 141.7 miles per hour at Daytona Beach.

The mural was one of 46 murals commissioned by the Arts Council of Indianapolis as part of its nationally renowned 46 for XLVI mural initiative.  Read more about the initiative here.

Eduardo Mendieta lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is a muralist and graphic designer.  His work appears all over South Florida in art fairs, gallery shows, and in public spaces.  Read more about his work here.