Kleiner’s Korner: And Now For Something Completely Different: Part 5 (Motor Parkway - 1907 - 1929)
Flying farms, treatment of horses, an elevated roadway, a two-man race, the originator of the idea for the Motor Parkway and much more! Comments, photos and answers are welcomed.
Art Kleiner
"The Great Whizway"
A.R. Pardington discussing "flying farms" along the Motor Parkway. (Feb. 5, 1907)
Bring Your Horses
A person with many horses would do well to have heeded this advice! (Mar. 2, 1907)
Horses at work in 1908!
But Treat Them Well!
However, not everyone was okay with how the horses were used . . . (Brooklyn Daily Eage Jun. 21, 1908)
including the horses . . .
who approved of and appreciated the ASPCA's investigation!
The perpetrators were brought to justice! (Brooklyn Times Union Sept. 19, 1908)
A Elevated Roadway from New York to Buffalo
Reality vs. Imagination (Mar.27, 1907)
Prime Real Estate
Buy land now! The Pettit Real Estate brokerage was located in Fairground, LI. which was north of the Motor Parkway. (Mar. 30, 1907)
The area got its name from the nearby fairground (containing the Huntington Race Track) and was renamed Huntington Station around 1912 probably to reflect the new LIRR station that was erected. However, "Fairground Avenue" remains as a major thoroughfare in the area.
Wading River: The Proposed Eastern Most Reach
"sufficient evidence that a high-class development in connection to the speedway is ito take place" (Jun. 8, 1907)
Wilie K. and friends purchased a large tract of land in the area for future use that never came to be. (E. Belcher-Hyde 1909)
Various Routes Proposed (Jun. 11, 1907)
"No two are alike"
"no sober man will be able to run a motor car over it".
"The parkway can be made to benefit every part of Long Island . . ."
Original 1906 Route (The Automobile, Oct. 25, 1906)
A Ride on the Motor Parkway
Both men were killed during a ballooning accident on September 29, 1901. (Oct. 1, 1909)
A Two-Man Race on the Motor Parkway
An E.M.F. vs. a Hudson. Can anyone find any information on the drivers of these two cars or who actually won the race? (Oct. 12, 1912)
A New Town Planned
Lake Success?
1914
Jake Becker: The Originator of The Motor Parkway?
A roadway costing $30,000,000 . . . "The Motor Parkway came in time as a compromise undertaking". (Jul. 26, 1926)
The Hempstead Spur That Never Was Built
Marvin Terrace: The site of the proposed Fulton Ave. Motor Parkway Spur
The Golfer's View from the Motor Parkway
The Intercollegiate Golf Club (Apr. 3, 1928)
1938
Comments
Great post Art!
It’s a bit far from the LIMP, but I especially like the tidbit about Huntington Station. I live here and didn’t know about the name change, nor how the building of Pulaski Rd after 1912 changed the street layout around the station.
Thanks Greg. Always like your new posts as well! Lot of good information out there.
Excellent info, Art. Hope you & yours are enjoying the retired life. But know you can devote more time to hobbies & interests : )
No one wants Horses to be worked to death, but I think there was a big push to construct the LIMP in time for the 1908 races. With the contractors & workers paying fines for mistreatment of horses, I’d like to think that the LIMP corporation would either pay the fines or reimburse the workers.
Thanks Art for a very entertaining post. Two footnotes.
(1) As for Jake Becker, Williamsburgh German-American, former court interpreter and printing shop owner, and a nonagenarian Freemason in 1926, a reasonable answer is “Yes.” But it was “only” a $20 million proposal! (see attached) All part of a larger, great story for another time.
(2) The Huntington (train) station is a bit of a 1860s scam by the LIRR because it was far from Huntington village. The station was designed to steal riders away from a proposed expansion of another RR that could have served Huntington and undercut LIRR’s business. (That other RR is today’s Port Washington line.) It’s not as off-topic as Greg O. thinks, because that action has many ripple effects will affect the LIMP, especially its western terminus, much later.