Motor Parkway and Vanderbilt Cup Officials In Support of A New Jersey Speedway
New Jersey auto racing promoters in 1912 enlisted officials of the Long Island Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Race to promote their own motor speedways.
A previous post mentioned an aborted plan in 1912 to develop a New Jersey speedway and ultimately move it to Long Island. This post will detail a plan by the Metropolitan Motor Speedway to construct a Speedway in the marshes of New Jersey and its goal of raising over $1.5 million.
Art Kleiner
The Proposed Speedway's Origins
Property was acquired to build the speedway in what was known then as the "Kearny Meadows" or the "Newark Meadows". Much of the area was (and still is) marshland. (The Daily Home News Jan. 9, 1912)
Its location in New Jersey made it accessible to major population centers.
The Speedway was to be near major railroad lines. (The Sun Jun. 30, 1912)
A track 60' wide with seating for 100,000 people was proposed.
Besides auto racing, the Speedway's 200 (other sources say 300) acres would provide space for various other athletic events.
Independence Day, 1913 was selected as opening day . (The Daily Home News Jul. 1, 1912)
The premier opening day event would be an "international 500 mile race".
The seating capacity was raised to 200,000; lighting for evening events or 24 hour racing was planned.
Noted personalities associated with The Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Races were enlisted to "guarantee . . . the project will be carried through successfully".
Other sporting events were planned (including college games as noted in the sub-headline) along with circuses and Wild West shows.
Some thought due to the large population around the Speedway's location the 200,000 seating capacity would be inadequate.
The Site in 1909
GM Hopkins (1909)
GM Hopkins (1909)
The Stock Offering
Interesting that ads promoting the stock investment were placed in Long Island publications. Possibly even at this time (July, 1912) plans were being made to move the speedway from New Jersey to Long Island. Or possibly to obtain the support of other Motor Parkway personalities. (South Side Signal Jul. 12, 1912)
The Long-Islander Jul. 19, 1912
One more Motor Parkway official joins the Metropolitan Motor Speedway organization as President. (The Utica Observer Jul. 13, 1912)
The promoters hoped to entice two well known race drivers with a $25,000 purse to hold their match race on the new speedway. (The Daily Home News Aug. 12, 1912)
The race was proposed to be 300 miles by A. R. Pardington and other officials.
Eventually the whole Motordome plan evaporated as costs to fill in the meadows were estimated to be much higher and take much longer than originally planned.
The plan was abandoned with only $27,000 in stock issued and Pardington, Wagner and Thompson pulling out. The new plan to build the Motordome on Long Island also fizzled out as detailed in my post of May 28, 2022. (The Sun Apr. 3, 1913)
Later Years of the Site
This 1965 map shows the entire area as being marshland.
The Site Today
Even though the speedway was never constructed, the location today looks as it might have actually been a speedway. (Google Earth)
atlasobscura_com
In the late 1980s the site was to be the home of the Sky Mound, a work of art to replace a public landfill. However, that plan also doesn't appear to have materialized as rows of solar panels owned by PSE&G now occupy the site which is managed by the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority. (Google Earth)
So New Jersey never did get a speedway on which to run the Vanderbilt Cup Race. But it did get the Meadowlands and I'm sure other auto racing venues through the years!
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