Vanderbilt Cup Races

In Sunday's post In Search of the Fresh Meadows Toll Booth: Part I, it was documented that the Motor Parkway designated two new "toll lodges" in Queens when the Nassau Boulevard entrance was opened on July 1, 1928. The existence of the unique Rocky Hill Road Toll Booth, which crossed the Motor Parkway near Springfield Road, was confirmed in both aerial photos and the above ground level photo. But, what about its sister toll booth at the western terminus at Nassau Boulevard in Fresh Meadows?

To date, there has never been any known photographic evidence of the Nassau Boulevard Toll Booth. Last month, I decided to explore this Motor Parkway oddity by visiting the photo archives at the New York City Department of Parks and the Queens Borough President's Collection. Here is what I found.

My research focused on the new Queens section of the Motor Parkway from Nassau Boulevard (aka Horace Harding Boulevard and the World's Fair Boulevard in 1938-1939) to the first Motor Parkway bridge over North Hempstead Turnpike. This 1938 Fairchild aerial from the Queens Borough President's Collection did not disappoint. Horace Harding Boulevard runs west to east on top of the aerial. The Motor Parkway runs diagonally to the the North Hempstead Turnpike Bridge. Now take a closer look at the photo.

The entrance to the Motor Parkway is on the left side of the photo. Two structures can be seen; a "large white structure" on the east side of the parkway casting a large black shadow and a "small white dot" in the middle of the Motor Parkway with a mysterious black line (located just to the left of the big X). Does X mark the spot? We'll see!!

As shown for the first time in the book The Long Island Motor Parkway, the "large white structure" was the entrance sign at Horace Harding Boulevard.

At the suggestion of fellow LIMPer Mitch Kaftan, the search continued to the New York City Parks Photo Archive near the ruins of my beloved Shea Stadium.

Check out Part III to discover what I discovered at the Archive and for the exciting conclusion of In Search of the Nassau Boulevard Toll Gate.