On Thanksgiving Day 1895, 6 cars gathered at this location in Jackson Park, Chicago for the much-publicized Chicago Times-Herald Race, and drove off Northbound towards Evanston, Illinois and into history. This event was the first automobile race in the United States, second only to an event in France in 1893, and it successfully introduced the automobile into the United States.

Today, in the shadow of the Museum of Science and Industry at the Northwest corner of South Cornell Drive and Midway Plaisance, a placemarker rock serves as the gathering place for gearheads young and old alike. This marker was placed here on November 23rd, 1995, the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Times-Herald Race.

On this past Thanksgiving Day, at precisely 9 AM, all the cars that you see in the video, and several others that drove past or stopped by before I arrived or after I left, gathered at the rock to commemorate this historic event. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, several car groups that make the journey yearly did not show up, most notably the MGs.

Despite all the events going on around the world, gearheads from all around the Chicagoland area gathered, showed off some nice cars, talked shop for about an hour, and went about their days with their friends and families afterwards, a Thanksgiving tradition.

The marker plaque reads:

"THE FIRST AUTOMBILE RACE IN AMERICA

This Jackson Park location marks the start and finish of the first automobile race in America. On Thanksgiving Day, 1895, six cars - four gasoline powered and two electric - raced fifty-four miles to Evanston and back. J. Frank Duryea won the race in seven hours and fifty-three minutes driving a gasoline powered vehicle. This race introduced the automobile to America.

Presented by
The American Autosport Centennial Committee

November 23, 1995"

Thank you for taking the time to watch this video. Recorded on Friday, November 26th, 2020 with a Samsung Galaxy S9+.