Motor Parkway Trails #2: Lake Success
The second of the Motor Parkway Trail series for "exploring, biking and hiking" documents a 0.6 mile of the road in Lake Success with remnants of the pavement, the Great Neck lodge and two bridges.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Parking for the Lake Success Trail can be found behind the Great Neck Middle School.
Then: Lakeville Road Motor Parkway Bridge
A 1928 aerial of the bridge.
By 1960, the bridge was long gone. The west embankment was still present with the former Great Neck Lodge in the background.
Now: Lakeville Road Motor Parkway Bridge
The entrance to the trail may be gated.
Remnants of the bridge abutments can found on the south side of the road.
Then: Great Neck Lodge
ThIn 1911 the Great Neck Lodge was the western terminus of the Long Island Motor Parkway.
The east side of the lodge as seen in the 1980s.
Now: Great Neck Lodge
Now: Motor Parkway path
Three-foot concrete extensions were added to both sides of the original 16-foot pavement in the 1920s.
Then:Motor Parkway Bridge over Northern State Parkway (near New Hyde Park Road)
Built by Robert Moses in 1931, the bridge was taken down around 1967.
Now:Motor Parkway Bridge over Northern State Parkway (near New Hyde Park Road)
Heading toward Northern State Parkway, the northern embankment of the bridge is still very much intact.
Note the three-foot concrete extensions.
A Google Earth aerial of Trail #2 in Lake Success.
Comments
Wonderful! I hope more people learn and appreciate the LIMP.
Howard,
It would be cool to include here the video of the Black Beast roaring down the same stretch when you visited the students of the Great Neck school working on their project. Just a thought.
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From Howard Kroplick:
Frank, great idea! See above.
In the 40s and early 50s my older sister and I along with our girl friends hiked, picked berries and played in that area. We thought we had discovered the tree covered road which was obviously no longer used. We believed it was the old Vanderbilt highway, parkway. For months we explored it in both directions never telling anyone for fear our parents would forbid us to go there. It seems rather remote at the time. Thanks for the photos. Brings back fun old memories.
Who paid for the bridge that was built in 1931? Was that section of the Parkway closed during the building of the bridge or did Vanderbilt work with NYS creating a detour through the NSP construction zone?
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From Howard Kroplick:
New York State paid for the bridge. There was a detour through the Northern State Parkway section during construction.