Maywood Speedway

Maywood Speedway was a 2-mile board track in the Chicago suburbs that could accommodated 100,000 spectators. Local contractor George Shanks was responsible for turning investor David F. Reid’s plans into reality. Poor weather initially delayed construction but once started it took just 36 days to construct according to the Chicago Daily Tribune. It was a huge undertaking that cost $1,250,000 but lasted just three years. Racing continued after the United States entered World War I on 2 April 1917, but attendance dwindled. The venture was soon in dispute with the tax authorities and went bankrupt. It was demolished in 1918 to make way for a hospital for soldiers wounded in World War I which is now the Hines Memorial.