Vanderbilt Cup Races

1930 List of Motor Parkway season ticket holders/Motor Parkway license plates

It is notable that the Motor Parkway had two lists of numbers. One list was for 'Season Ticket' holders who simply presented their season ticket at the toll lodge, and the second list were numbers represented by their enamel, 5"x5" plates affixed to the front of their vehicles. It is unclear at the moment if the list uncovered by the Vanderbilt Museum is a season ticket list, or the list of parkway plates. Either way, it's an impressive list of the extremely wealthy notable men and women on Long Island in 1930. Can you spot any other prominent Long Islanders in this 1930 list?

Profiles of Prominent 1930 Motor Parkway Season Ticket/ Plate Holders

#26 Herbert L. Pratt

It is unclear whether the name on the parkway list is 'Herbert L. Pratt' Senior or Junior. H.L.P. Senior was alive and 58 ears old at the time, and H.L.P. Junior was 30 years old, but we will look at the Senior's home, 'The Braes', for the sake of this list.

With the exception of Frank Woolworth's "Winfield Hall" and Joseph DeLamar's 'Pembroke', (both designed by C.P.H. Gilbert) The very large Pratt family at one time owned most of Glen Cove. The family patriarch, Charles Pratt, was an independent oil producer forming Astral Oil Works in the 1860's eventually becoming extremely wealthy by his company's absorption by Rockefeller's Standard Oil and his subsequent close association with Rockefeller.

After his death, Charles Pratt's six sons and two daughters later built their own family estates in Glen Cove. As of 2004, most of the extant Pratt family Gold Coast Mansions are still in use:

-'Welwyn', originally the estate of Harold I. Pratt, is owned by and operated as the Welwyn Preserve, a Nassau County Park; the house is now adapted as the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.

-'The Braes', seen in the photo to the left, initially owned by Herbert L. Pratt Sr. is now used as the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

Motor Parkway patron H.L. Pratt Sr. eventually rose to become President of Standard Oil Company of New York from 1923 to 1928.

(Fun fact; The Braes was the 'stand-in' for Wayne Manor in the films Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997))

-'The Manor', built for John Teele Pratt, is now the Glen Cove Mansion Hotel & Conference Center.

-'Poplar Hill', the Frederic B. Pratt residence, is now the Glengariff Healthcare Center, housing both Glengariff (a long-term nursing care facility) and the Pratt Pavilion for Nursing and Rehabilitation (a state-of-the-art, short-term, sub-acute rehabilitation center).

-'Killenworth', originally the home of George Dupont Pratt, has been (since the mid-20th century) the country retreat for the Russian delegation to the United Nations.

The Pratt Oval served all the surrounding Pratt estates and was the administration and service buildings to 'Dosoris Park', the entire complex of Pratt family estates in Glen Cove.

Original plans for the Pratt Oval

Of some of the remains of the Pratt Oval, outside of another outbuilding or two, is the original clock tower, now being used as a pool house for the private home that sits on the former property.

#117, 118, 119, 120, 121 Helen Hay Whitney

Helen Julia Hay Whitney (March 11, 1875 – September 24, 1944) was an American poet, writer, racehorse owner/breeder, socialite, and philanthropist. She was a member by marriage of the prominent Whitney family of New York.

'Greentree', designed by d'Hauteville & Cooper circa 1903 in Manhasset, was the home to Helen and Payne Whitney. Originally consisting of land that stretched from south of the current Long Island Expressway to Northern Blvd, much of their southern land was donated to create the current North Shore Hospital (Northwell Health) property. 

'Greentree', with less acreage, continued to be owned by the Whitney family throughout the 20th century and now functions as the Greentree Foundation, a conference center dedicated to international justice and human rights. 

#194 Thomas J. Hitchcock

Another name on the list without the disambiguation of Jr. or Sr.

Being that 'Broad Hollow Farm' in Old Westbury was passed down to Hitchcock Jr., it makes no difference to the estate in question.

Thomas Hitchcock Sr. (23 November 1860 – 29 September 1941) was one of the leading American polo players during the latter part of the 19th century and a Hall of Fame horse trainer and owner known as the father of American steeplechase horse racing.

Thomas Hitchcock Jr. (February 11, 1900 – April 18, 1944) was an American polo player and aviator who was killed in an air crash during World War II. He was inducted posthumously into the Polo Hall of Fame.

Hitchcock's horse track along Jericho Turnpike, was the site for the 1904 & 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race Start/Finish lines.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre purchased the old Hitchcock racetrack and grounds for $5.63 million at a public auction in 1996 and have since converted the grounds into a cemetery after decades of legal battles with the Village of Westbury. 

#380 E.F. Hutton

Edward Francis Hutton (September 7, 1875 – July 11, 1962) was an American financier and co-founder of E. F. Hutton & Co., once one of the largest financial firms in the United States (He's speaking, are you listening?)

Married to Marjorie Merriweather Post (daughter of C.W. Post, founder of the Postum Cereal Company) from 1920-1935, E. F. Hutton and Post built 2 lavish homes that still stand today.

'Hillwood', designed by Charles Hart of the firm Hart & Shape circa 1921, was their country home in Brookville is now the campus LIU CW Post. The home itself is the administration building.

Their Palm Beach, Florida home, Mar-A-Lago, designed and built by Joseph Urban between 1924 and 1927 also still stands.

#608 J. P. Morgan (Jr.)

To the north of the Pratts in Glen Cove, on East Island, was 'Matinecock Point', owned by J.P. Morgan Jr.

Morgan inherited the family fortune and took over the business interests including J.P. Morgan & Co. after his father J. P. Morgan Sr. passed away.

By 1930, with his father J.P. Morgan Sr. deceased since March 31st, 1913, the Junior was no longer known as such, hence the lack of 'Jr.' on the list.

The estate has been replaced by a neighborhood of homes and all that remains are the boathouse, dairyman, superintendent, and gardener's cottages as private residences.

J.P. Morgan's beautiful lack yacht, 'The Corsair' was often seen moored offshore of Matinecock Point.

Part 3 of the series continues with profiles of the 5 final names taken from the Motor Parkway list.