Monday, December 27, 2010

Where old cars go to die: baseball stadium as clunker graveyard

If you're in a happy, cheerful mood and don't want to think about the inevitable creep of death and decay, you might want to skip this particular post. Because, friends, this post right here is all about what happens when your heyday runs out before your time does.

Behold an amazing finding on Indiana Landmarks' Flickr page by Jalopnik: Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, longtime home to the Indianapolis Indians minor league baseball team and now host to thousands of cars collected as part of the Cash for Clunkers program.

Below is an aerial view of the site.

That's just astounding on so many levels. Like the cars it now houses, the stadium is long past its useful life, though many preservation groups have tried to keep it viable. It's served as everything from baseball field to dirt track. The stadium is full of asbestos and lead paint, making rehabilitation a $10 million process, at best, to say nothing of all those freaking cars on the infield.

Studies found that the Cash for Clunkers program did raise the average gas mileage of cars on the road by 0.7 mpg, but cost taxpayers $2,000 per car. See if you can pick out the one that's got your tax dollars in it!

Heidi Klum Vogue Charlize Theron Eva Mendes Sarah Polley

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