A Favorite Website: Long Island Ruins & Remnants
The website Long Island Ruins & Remnants is dedicated to finding remnants of Long Island's past.
The most recent article by John Leita is on the Long Island Motor Parkway and includes 15 current photos.
In 1903 Horatio Nelson Jackson was the first person to cross America by automobile. There was no single paved road to accomplish such an arduous task. A mere 5 years later Long Island could boast of a parkway solely for automobiles, the Motor Parkway.
It all started with Willy K. Vanderbilt Jr., an avid motorist and racer. In an effort to bring European racing to America he presented a 30 pound silver trophy to the American Automobile Association, for use as a prize. The first race was held on Long Island in 1904. The race originally went through the hamlets of Long Island on existing roads. The 1906 race was marked by tragedy when an onlooker walked onto the roadway and was run down by a racer.
The desire to have a portion of the Vanderbilt Cup race on a private roadway led to the construction of the first roadway solely for automobile traffic. As a dual benefit the Motor Parkway would be the gateway to Suffolk County, where recreation and summer outings awaited.
In 1929 Robert Moses, the great builder was constructing free parkways all over Long Island. The Motor Parkway charged a hefty toll. This combined with the great depression led to the close of the Motor Parkway in 1938. What remains of this pioneering parkway?
Other ruins discussed on the website include:
Comments
As preteen kids, we called it the “old motor road”, a great playground for us with our bicycles. The closest portion of it was north of LIJ and Hillside Hosp, and a no mans land south between what the was I sort of remember the Deepdale Golf Course, now the North Shore Towers.
West it ran into 73 Av in Glen Oaks, across the Queens Farm onto Creedmoor and into Alley Pond all the way to Cunningham west of Francis Lewis across the LIE overpass to Kissena Park into Flushing Meadows.
East was a bridge across the GCP/Northern State that we played on, across Lakeville Rd into the Great Neck South campus.
As we got older, we ventured further east on it, all the way to where I live now in Lake Ronkonkoma. There was a lot more of it then than now from what I can remember from 50 years ago 😊...
In your then travels, did you per chance also cross Broadhollow Rd, Melville, continuing over Ruland Rd,and on East.
Edith
Edith…I’m almost certain we crossed Broadhollow Rd, Rt 110 in Melville, continuing over Ruland Rd as we pressed eastward toward Lake Ronkonkoma. There seemed to be so much more of the the LIMP still in existance back then in the late 50s and early 60s than exists now…joey
Good morning Joey,
With apologies for missing yours of the 20th February this year but I had a “mis-hap” in my apartment which has since laid me quite low as they say.
That said, you are correct, travelling on the LIMP you would have crosed Broad Hollow Road, continuing Eastward over the Ruland Road bridge, then over the confluence of Pinelawn Road which continued in an Eastwardly direction parallel to Colonial Springs Road (no marked by LILCO poles on a Google map houdse between Colonial Springs Pinelawn Roads, with the first house in from the corner previously belonoing to our former Commission of Elections, Robert Hairston.
As I am now running out of space, the question that I have is: how does this septuagenarian’s memory (74 years of age) compare with yours… Fotos are always helpful; especially, any dealing with the Cross-Island Trolley line at or about Ruland Road, which would put that then at St. Rose Industrial Home for Girls, with the same Religious nuns in Farmingdale operating the Nazareth Trade School for Boys which remained opened till well into WW2.
Cordially, Edith
Edith Patricia Klarmann
Does anybody know anything on ladenburgs & ladenburg DR in westbury!!!!!!!!
laddenburg dr off salisbury pk dr westbury any info
Peter - I live very close to the area where the Ladenberg estate (“Oasis”) was located and have compiled a good amount of information about the family and the estate but too much to put in this comment. If you can send me your e-mail I’ll gladly send it to you. Art (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))
Peter, also stay tuned on this week’s mystery conclusion for more info on Ladenberg