The Mystery of the “Deer Park Lodge”
As seen here, most maps issued by the PR department of the Motor Parkway indicated the route and the location of the toll lodges including the Deer Park Lodge. However, as documented by Al Velocci's excellent book "The Toll Lodges of the Long Island Motor Parkway, and Their Gatekeepers' Lives" and my 10/10/08 toll lodge post, the Deer Park Lodge never existed. Here is further proof.
This 1929 Motor Parkway survey map shows the Dix Hills area around Deer Park Avenue (now Deer Park Road). Note the survey includes the last bridge built in Suffolk County and the location for the "Proposed Deer Park Lodge".
This 1950 aerial shows the area after the Deer Park Avenue Parkway Bridge had been removed. Note, the entrances and exits to the Motor Parkway on both the west and east side of Deer Park Road. As Al Velocci noted;" Parkway maps and brochures distributed over the years featured a lodge or a tollgate at Deer Park Avenue. Yes, there was in fact an entrance to the Parkway that opened in 1910, but it was never more than that- merely an entrance"."
These Motor Parkway entrances and exits in Dix Hills can also be seen in this 1947 aerial from the New York State Archives Fairchild Survey Suffolk County Collection.
Feedback and contributions are much appreciated on VanderbiltCupRaces.com . For example, I am still looking for a photo of the Motor Parkway bridge that went over Deer Park Avenue. Please leave your comments at the end of a post on the Blog or send an email to me at Howard@Kroplick.com .
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