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The National Gallery is planning to study how the upcoming Freedom 250 GrandPrix will impact its art collection as IndyCar racecars will reach the speed of 185 mph near some of the District’s most historic artifacts.
“In preparation for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the National Gallery conducted an extensive vibration study and based on the results we have implemented a set of measures to ensure the safety of our staff, visitors, collection, and facilities during the race,” gallery spokesman Chris Abanavas said in a statement to The Washington Post.
“While we are not releasing the specifics, I can share that any such measures are only being taken out of a great abundance of caution,” Abanavas added.
Trump administration officials say that the White House and Penske, the owner of IndyCar, have taken “all appropriate protocols” and worked alongside relevant agencies to ensure Freedom 250 race is safe and secure.
The event was created by President Trump through a January executive order and is scheduled to take place from Aug. 22 to the 23 and is the first of its kind NTT IndyCar Series street race to the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, organizers said the event would be extended from 125 laps to 147 laps to create a 250-mile race. Racecars will be driving at more than 100 miles over the traditional 25 mph speed limit in the nation’s capital, causing concern for historic preservationists.
Michelle Arcari Rose, a former associate general counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, told the Post “we certainly don’t know” whether the race could cause damage to historic pieces housed near the race path.
“It’s a huge risk to then unleash cars at 185 miles per hour in a place where we’ve never had cars really going more than 25 miles an hour,” Rose said.
Others like Mary Okin, assistant director of the nonprofit Living New Deal, have reached out to the National Park Service and related agencies questioning if the event was planned “without meaningful” consultation with “known preservation stakeholders.”
Art and artifacts can suffer severe damage from vibrations and high speeds. Vibrations cause structural fatigue, micro-cracks, and paint flaking, while rapid transit creates air pressure shifts and kinetic stress that can break fragile materials like glass, ceramics, and aged wood, according to Polytec.
Museums near the race path that feature art pieces with those materials including the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art.
The Smithsonian has concluded that the race will not impact its art but said it will monitor the situation before and after the race, per the Post.
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